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| Simon |
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| Playlist |
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| John Taylor & Simon |
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| Simon LeBon |
Legendary rock band Duran Duran played The
Joint this week-end. Who are Duran Duran? A little history - the MTV cable
channel and the band were launched at about the same time, and each had a hand
in propelling the other to greater heights MTV needed showcase videos with
charismatic performers. Les Garland, senior executive vice president at MTV,
said "I remember our director of talent and artist relations came running
in and said, “You have got to see this video that’s come in.” Duran Duran were
getting zero radio airplay at the time, and MTV wanted to try to break new
music. “Hungry Like the Wolf” was the greatest video I’d ever seen" The
band's video work was influential in several ways. First, Duran Duran filmed in
exotic locales like Sri Lanka and Antigua, creating memorable images that were radically
different from the then-common low budget "band-playing-on-a-stage"
videos. Second, rather than simply playing their instruments, the band
participated in mini-storylines (often taking inspiration from contemporary
movies: "Hungry Like The Wolf" riffs on Raiders of the Lost Ark,
"The Wild Boys" on The Road Warrior, etc.). Videos were obviously
headed in this direction already, but Duran Duran led the trend with a style,
featuring quick editing, arresting graphic design, and surreal-to-nonsensical
image inserts, that drew attention from commentators and spawned a wealth of
imitators. (article courtesy of Wikipedia.)
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