DURAN DURAN - BEST OF. DAY 18

DURAN DURAN - BEST OF

I love a band that is so sure of its name they decided to repeat it. Duran Duran..I don’t even know what ‘Duran’ means. It doesn't matter though because in the 80’s anything goes. I was into them from the getgo, being a very progressive music aficionado. These days kids spend a fair chink of time worshipping the wiggles, whereas I went straight from my cabbage patch vinyls to Tears for Fears. 

I’ve seen Duran Duran twice. Once it was their comeback promo tour for ‘Sunrise’ which unlike most old dudes recording new music, was pretty damn good. They managed to return and be just as cool in tailored suits as they were in cut off jeans and make up. That was until morning TV dribble ‘Sunrise’ picked it up as their theme song. The launch was at a very small, very packed club and I felt very out of place. In the world of small time media and celebrity, unless you are one of those on-camera stiffs or your hair & clothes are so asymmetrical that you’re elevated to cool on freak points, then you just don’t feel 100%. Besides, my shitty regional radio wage barely (and I mean that sincerely) afforded food and bills. I lived on free giveaway food for months and packets of almost out of date chips washed down with cans of coke can have serious dental repercussions later on in life. So at that time in my life I probably had a gut and wore trackies.

The band came out, did a Q&A, we listened to the new single and that was it. ‘Well, at least I got to see Simon LeBon in close proximity’ I thought.  I’m not much for Hungry Like the Wolf, its too obvious! I’m one of those people who think ‘Ordinary World’ is their greatest song. Ordinary World is timeless, its a snapshot of lifetime passed, much like that Dream Academy song ‘Life in a Northern Town’. 

I got to see them again at the no longer running V Festival. Why the hell does the only festival sans massive douche’s off their heads, wearing tight shorts and no shirts have to end? Sigh. They were onstage when QOTSA or Smashing Pumpkins or whoever was playing the other main stage. That decision was a no-brainer. Besides, I’d already taken my Dad along for the Smashing Pumpkins side show. He’s quite the Pumpkins fan. 

If you’re 18 and know nothing about the 80’s beside that Adam Sandler movie ‘The Wedding Singer’ then this album is a good place to start. Granted, there’s about 700 other records to get into to, but Duran Duran still hold their own.