Notes: Ahh, the first ever Duran Duran video. It stands out from the rest mainly because it was the only one shot with TV cameras instead of standard film. Make a point to notice Nick Rhodes' poofy whitish/pink hair - perhaps his strangest style ever, and in the first video, no less! Not all that risque, but we get to see the Russell Mulcahy graphics for the first time (slanted lines, split images).

Notes: The first video shot in film by DD, also a bit more like your typical 80's video, with "choreographed" stage moves and repeat shots of Simon throwing flowers. A couple flubs: during Andy's mini-solo in the middle, the camera doesn't show him at all, rather drawn-out scenes of John and Nick; and Andy is seen driving away at his guitar during the opening verse, even though there's no guitar at that point in the song! Some scenes from this video are included in the booklet that accompanies their first album.

X-RATED:

Premise: A risque model show, with models walking down a runway and presenting themselves in front of Duran Duran, who are performing the song. The video starts with a "making of" scene (like MTV's "Making The Video"), complete with a title at the beginning, over the part of the song before Simon starts singing. This is about the only "clean" part of the video. Then the "show" starts. We see two women in see-through night-shirts having a pillowfight on a whipped-cream covered log; a sumo wrestler being taken down by a female model "wrestler" (also in a see-through top -- notice the trend?); the male sumo wrestler getting an oil massage from a nurse; a cowgirl riding a "horse" (a male model wearing a horse head cutout and a thong), then washing him off; a woman falling into an inflatable pool and getting "rescued" by a lifeguard (he gives her mouth-to-mouth resucitation, so of course, they start making out); and the grand finale (following a quick shot of a nude model with an ice cube -- I won't go into more detail): two models (one topless) mud wrestling.

Notes: This video is DEFINITELY NOT for anyone underage -- this is still probably one of the more explicit music videos ever made, which says something considering the video came out a month before the debut of MTV. It's not just the way the models are dressed, it's also the way they move, and the camera angles on the models that would probably give this an NC-17 rating even if it came out today. The "Night Version" of "Girls On Film" is used as the backing track. Despite the apparent similarities in the face, the lifeguard is NOT Simon. Needless to say, videos like these made a name for Duran Duran.

PG-RATED:

Premise: The same model show, with most of the explicit scenes removed. This time, we have the sumo-wrestler scene, the lifeguard scene, the oil massage scene, the cowgirl scene (with no horse washing). The other ones were completely left out. At the end there's a new scene where all the models, fully dressed-up in formal wear (except the sumo wrestler -- he's dressed like some kind of bouncer with a mask), dance to the song on the model stage, then go backstage to drink champagne and celebrate.

Notes: The version of the song here is the regular single/album version, hence the shorter "making of" intro to the song. By normal standards the PG version is still quite risque (and more so than most other Duran Duran videos), but at least it's clean enough to show on regular TV. For that matter, a lot of the suggestive shots (certain camera angles, shots of the models interacting with each other) were deleted as well. There also seem to be more shots of the band in this version.

Notes: The return to Russell Mulcahy means a return to the letterbox format (black bars on the top and bottom), as well as more split images and diagonal lines. A parrot keeps showing up for some reason, and gets in the way of Nick chaning his settings on the keyboards. I think this is the original single version of "My Own Way", pretty much not available nowadays (although there is that version's "Night Version" on the recently released "Essentials"). And the one time we see Andy with short-short black hair - for some reason, he looks a lot like Warren at times in this clip.

Notes: Interesting to note that while shooting videos in Antigua and Sri Lanka for tracks from "Rio", the decided to choot a video for a song from their debut album, albeit one that was not a single. I suppose it's possible to be picky about how the video jumps from day to night and back and forth, and how it's not entirely clear what happens to all five bandmembers (the costumes, camera filters and lighting makes it tough at times to tell who is who). But this is an early-era music video, not a nominee for the Oscars, and compared with other videos of the time seems big-budget and innovative. Also notable for the spoken dialogue on to of the music bed, a teachnique not often used in the early days of music video.

Notes: Considered one of the best vids of all time, at least DD's best. It was groundbreaking because it seemed more like a mini-movie that a performance clip, with fast editing and quality cinematography. Also the first video where they aren't *really* dressed-up.

Notes: Also a classic, it really helps their image of living the good life in the sun. Note how they're always wearing Alan Price suits. Some great scenes include drinking fluorescent champagne underwater, the red rubber ball that grows 10-times its size and knocks Simon off a dock (slightly different versions exist of that scene, with respect to the appearance of the ball), and Andy being thrown off the boat while it's moving. And then of course the sax solo, where you get both Nick and John playing, even though as far as I know, neither can actually play the saxophone. For more info, try to catch Pop-Up Video on VH1 here in the U.S., they have some good facts on the video.

Notes: Lots of singing to the camera by everybody, all decked out in 80's pastel clothing. John and Nick get splashed with water from an elephant's nose. Also a fair number of kids running around. The big thing in this video is the scenery.

Notes: A lot like "Save A Prayer". Note how the band members' hair styles change between the Sri Lanka and London footage, especially Nick's. I have a feeling the first half of this video was shot w/ "Hungry" and "Save" in early '82, and the London sequence a few months later. Also, the video is largely video cliche- free (i.e. nothing breaking or flying).

Notes: No members of Duran Duran are in this video, at least as far as I can tell. Yes, quite risque, no way you'll ever see it on MTV, but it isn't really pornographic like "Girls On Film", rather it's just very strange. Shot in all black-and-white.

Notes: The one video where they all where the same thing (blue shirts w/ white ties tucked in the buttons). There are slightly different versions: in one, at the end, after the camera zooms in on Andy, the show his being thrown off the boat from the "Rio" video; in another they show Simon knocking over the table from the "Hungry" video - I have no idea why they changed this.

Personal Note: This was the video that made me not like Duran when I was much younger. And it's now my favorite. I'll explain. Back in '83, I was all of 5 years old. And in the mind of someone that young, seeing what have to be kinda strange videos like Duran videos are possibly going to freak a person out. Well, they freaked me out, anyway! I was especially scared of the band member zoom-ins at the end of this video - maybe it was the hair, or the looks, or something. It ended up making me NOT like DD for years. In fact, when rumors hit of them breaking up around 86/87, I was actually happy! Even by 1989, when I found out my best friend was a DD fan, I was thinking, "that's terrible". Until one day in the spring of 1990. My family had just gotten cable for the first time in 6 years, and MTV was running one of those Classic MTV countdowns. I wasn't into old videos yet, so I didn't pay much attention. But as I was channel surfing, I saw them playing ITSISK. First time in years I was going to see a DD video, and it was the one that freaked me the most. Well, being 12 years old now, I figured I'd watch it again, see if it was all that bad. It got to the end, and I thought, "you were scared of this?!?!". It really seemed pretty cool. Suddenly I pulled a 180, and was hooked. And I've been a Duranie every since.

Notes: Actress Jennifer Connelly appears in this video: she's the girl dressed in white leading some smaller children during the scene with Nick and the juggler. Lots of graphics (like the word "cystoplasm" and skeletal drawings) appear on top of the video throughout. In my young, warped mind I always thought the juggler was a DD member - with the makeup and the hair, it's easy to think so. This is about the only time we see Roger with a hair color other than black or dark brown (some blond highlights). Apparently this video premiered before the single was released to radio back in October 1983 - possibly a first for the music industry.

Notes: The things that really stick out in my mind from this video are the close-up of someone tapping a matchbox, and someone else stopping it with their own hand; Simon possibly getting knocked over by a horse; and John doing nothing to help make clear the confusing lyric in the refrain "and a firedance through the night" by showing all 5 fingers as he sings "fire". The first real evidence that the band's videos weren't as daring as they used to be, and were beginning to become almost a parody of themselves (well, in my opinion, anyway). In fact, during a 1993 MTV interview where Simon & Nick were looking back on old videos, they wanted to get past the "New Moon" clip as soon as possible!

Notes: Shot in Toronto, ONT and Oakland, CA during the 1983-84 world tour. The waterfall coming out of the fake video board looks mighty cheesy, and then the people below get a mere splash. Otherwise a great stage performance clip.

LONG:

Premise: Based out of the movie "Arena". The video begins showing a post-apocalyptic setting of school desks, with the few students breathing fire. For awhile we see a video screen (like the one in "The Reflex") showing Simon, Andy & John performing in individual shots, with a robotic sculpted head nearby observing the action. When the second verse arrives, the video changes to color, creature-humans appear, and Simon is now strapped to a windmill that churns through a pool. the creatures move around the video set, flying, dancing, crawling, tossing firey ropes and riding elevators. A white funnel moves through the set, while Simon falls off the windmill and is nearly killed by a pirhana-like creature. A photographer walks through a nearly-empty set, then we see Nick in a cage with lots of computers. Andy, strapped up in the air, fights off other creatures with his guitar, and Simon pulls some into the pirhana lake. John is strapped to the top of an upright car, forced to watch images of himself on the video screen. Roger is in an airborne chair, fighting off still more creatures. Simon, now on dry land, nearly takes a mysterious hand before the video ends with the creatures dancing, video clips of old Duran videos, the "Wild Boys" video and other tv clips, and ends with Dr. Duran Duran himself (from the movie "Barbarella") laughing (there are clips from "Barbarella" interspersed throughout the video).

SHORT:

Premise: Uses the single version of the song. The differences here are a shorter intro (the video starts with the song), quicker editing of the bandmembers fighting off the creatures (mixed with the scenes of the creatures dancing and flying), and a different ending showing the band riding on an old-fashioned car with confetti falling on them.

Notes: Seemingly the biggest-budget video of all Duran videos. Simon had a near-drowing incident when the windmill stopped while he was underwater. The long version uses the "Wilder Than Wild Boys" remix of the song as the backing track. Also lots of extra sound effects on top of the music track.

Notes: Shot at Oakland Coliseum (now The Arena at Oakland) in Oakland, CA during the 83-84 world tour. Stage is all dark, and with a couple exceptions, really only Simon can be seen for the entire duration of the video. Lots of waving lighters. A cool closing shot from a helicopter through the windows of the arena to the stage (side note - Oakland Coliseum has huge glass windows all around the walls; up until a few years ago, you could see into the seating bowl from the outside, like in the video. However, a mid-90's renovation rebuilt the entire inside of the arena, so now from outside the windows you can only see the concourse.).

Notes: This is apparently Arcadia vs. The Power Station -- Roger communicates with Simons & Nick in the video, John destroys a camera launched by Roger, and Andy kills Nick at the end. This marked the last time Andy & Roger would appear in a Duran Duran video until Roger's cameo in "Perfect Day". The song itself is a slightly different edit from the single version (the beginning is shorter, and the end is extended).