|
|
|
|||
 |
It was probably their videos that put Duran Duran over the edge and
on to Superstardom. When you think of Duran Duran you naturally think of video. They have pioneered rock video and are so far ahead of most other bands that they might be called the "Marco Polos" of video. A full length eleven track video album and a twelve minute epic-video of "New Moon on Monday are just a few of their many accomplishments. Their very first video was for "Planet Earth" – incidentally it’s also one of the oldest videos MTX has in their libraries – and through most of the mini-film, shows Duran Duran standing on a glacial block in the middle of nowhere, with Simon jumping off in the end. It’s a very simple video compared to what they produce now, but it’s still very well made and intriguing. |
||
| Although Duran Duran first built a small cult following in the states
with college radio station airplay, and touring, video is most probably what put them over
the edge. Their first single didn’t do so well in the states and it looked like their
next one, "Rio," was to follow suit. Then out came the video and it was a smash.
Then came their next single, "Hungry Like the Wolf," and both song and video
were utter successes. It was and still is one of their better videos to date. Simon
describes it as, "a story of desperation and the hunt! Hunting for love that is; but
in the video it is compared to the savage hunt in the jungle. It relates to a question of
‘who is hunting who?’ Like, just because I’m chasing or running after
someone it doesn’t mean that I am the predator or the hunter. It could be the other
way around. "It’s one of our better videos by far. It’s very fast-moving and active. Sort of a three-minute "Raiders of the Lost Ark." That video, along with many others, including "Rio," "Nightboat," "Save a Prayer," and "Lonely in Your Nightmare," was directed by Russell Mulcahy. Mr. Mulcahy, like Duran Duran, is known for his excellence in videos. He has worked with many groups from Fleetwood Mac, to The Rolling Stones, and Ultravox. |
 |
||
 |
Probably most of the bad press Duran Duran receives stems from their
videos. They got off on the wrong foot pretty quickly with their video for "Girls on
Film." "Yes, it was damned by the British Press. But it was the best publicity
we could have gotten at that point," Simon explains. Nick agrees whole heartedly, stating that, "More people probably heard about the video because they couldn’t see it than would have if they could see it. Though Duran Duran claim the video is "tastefully smutty" Nick Rhodes’ mother still receives calls asking why she let her son do something like that. As the videos mounted the press began to accuse D&D of selling their records or music with their good looks. Well of course that infuriated the band and Nick retaliates, "though we may be good looking that’s not why we make videos. We don’t write songs to accommodate our videos either. We let the song stand on it’s own merit and then we will do a video for it. We are naturals for videos because Simon writes his lyrics in 3-D. His lyrics are very active; but he wrote like that before he came to be it the band too." |
||
| "Our videos are just extensions of our songs, not the
other way around. Videos can’t take the place of the song. Also they can’t take
away from the song, they can only add to it." So you see, they feel very strongly about their videos, but still stronger about their music. Though I’m not a true fan of videos – I believe that the added dimension everyone talks about takes something away from the song as well, namely the opportunity for the listener to formulate his or her own meanings from the lyrics – I do see that a lot of work, time, and effort, as well as money, go into making Duran Duran videos. Simon agrees, "Well, first comes the writing and recording of the song, of course. Then a copy of the song goes to the video director and we discuss the story-line and whatever. Then comes the storyboard person. Props, clothes, and on and on it goes. Finally we film it and edit it. Then we hope that people like it." Nick chimes in accord with Simon. "Out of all the things that we do, I think the videos require the most energy and work, and by far the most money. But after all the pleasure it brings to us, and to all the people who have watched and enjoyed it, it is worth every penny and all the time we spent making it." |
 |
||
| Duran Duran/Culture Club Rock Fever Special 1984 |
|
||
