Duran Duran Get Singled Out

A thirteen-CD set compiling all of Duran Duran's singles will be released on June 10th by Capitol. Duran Duran: The Singles Box 81-85 will span the band's prime years, including hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Girls on Film" and "Rio."

The set picks up three years after the band's start with 1981's "Planet Earth," which will be supplemented with an alternate version of the song and "Late Bar" as B-sides. Though DD had early success in the U.K. with singles like "Careless Memories," "Girls on Film" and "My Own Way," they didn't chart in the U.S until 1983, when "Hungry Like the Wolf" reached Number Three. That song began a string of nine charting singles in the States -- "Rio," "Is There Something I Should Know," "Union of the Snake," "New Moon on Monday," "The Reflex" (one of their two Number One singles), "The Wild Boys," "Save a Prayer," and "A View to a Kill" (the other) -- which fused pop, rock, glam, disco and some early electronica. Each of those hits are represented and will be packaged in replications of the original single sleeves.

Though some have written Duran off as MTV poster boys, frontman Simon LeBon said that the songs came first and the television was a lucky coincidence. "We wrote songs which were massively catchy," he explained to Rolling Stone. "I challenge anybody to deny that. We were the right age to catch video, because video was about looking great as well as sounding great. And we were very lucky because one way or another we ended up looking bloody fantastic in our videos."

In other news, the classic Duran Duran lineup is nearing completion on its first record in twenty years. Drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor departed the band in 1984 (following the release of Seven and the Ragged Tiger a year before) and bassist John Taylor left in 1996, leaving only LeBon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes from the band's classic lineup. That duo, along with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo released Medazzaland in 1997 and Pop Trash in 2000, before Cuccurullo left the band. Since then, all three Taylors (none related) have rejoined LeBon and Rhodes and are working on their first album together since Tiger. No release plans have been announced yet, though has been working on the record since last fall.

The track listing for The Singles Box 81-85:

Disc One:
Planet Earth
Late Bar
Planet Earth (Night version)

Disc Two:
Careless Memories
Khanada
Fame

Disc Three:
Girls on Film
Faster Than Light
Girls on Film (Night version)

Disc Four:
My Own Way
Like an Angel
My Own Way (Night version)

Disc Five:
Hungry Like the Wolf
Careless Memories (Live version)
Hungry Like the Wolf (Night version)

Disc Six:
Save a Prayer (7" edit)
Hold Back the Rain (Remix)
Hold Back the Rain (12" remix)

Disc Seven:
Rio (Part one)
Rio (Part two)
The Chauffeur (Blue silver)
My Own Way

Disc Eight:
Is There Something I Should Know?
Faith in This Colour
Is There Something I Should Know? (Monster mix)
Faith in This Colour (Alternate slow mix)

Disc Nine:
Union of the Snake
Secret Oktober
Union of the Snake (Monkey mix)

Disc Ten:
New Moon on Monday
Tiger Tiger
New Moon on Monday (Dance mix)

Disc Eleven:
The Reflex (7" version)
Make Me Smile (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon)
The Reflex (Dance mix)

Disc Twelve:
The Wild Boys
(I'm Looking for) Cracks in the Pavement
The Wild Boys (Wilder Than Wild Boys) Extended mix

Disc Thirteen:
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill (That Fatal Kiss)

ANDREW DANSBY
(March 25, 2003)