Duran Duran
Duran Duran

THE REVIEW

"New Romantics... it was pure opportunism in truth. We took that label and even put it in the lyrics of 'Planet Earth'. At that time, we thought we fit into that scene nicely. That movement was born from punk, rock, and glam rock. We added the electronics of Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, and perhaps got closer to Depeche Mode than to the others" (John Taylor).

The image of England at the end of the '70s fully reflects a nation where economic depression is not a brief transitional phase but a lasting state where there is a great desire for rebirth and expression that reveals itself as a natural outlet through music. The concept of anarchy and freedom that distinguishes punk is the right starting point for the development of that movement initially considered nameless, which will soon become that of the New Romantics.

The date of April 5, 1979, in Birmingham, will gain importance over time, representing the moment when the first performance of a local band, in its own original way, takes place. Starting from an innovative musical and visual proposal, it will, in a few years, monopolize charts and magazines, capturing not only adolescents. The thinking heads of this project are a capable guitarist named Nigel John Taylor and a skilled and talented keyboardist Nicholas James Bates equipped with an Edp Wasp and a K Rhythm Unit, who manage to give substance to their adolescent dreams. The first formation includes a schoolmate of Nigel, the singer and guitarist Stephen Duffy (who calls himself Dufait), who, along with the clarinetist Simon Colley, gives the four an avant-garde flavor that is not amiss. The subsequent involvement of Andy Wickett and the departure of Colley and Dufait begins to stabilize the group with the arrival of Roger Taylor (recruited from the punk band Scent Organs). Titles like "Hawks Don't Share" and "Aztec Moon" reveal an evident literary implication and the right training to reach the first demo, which will include "Girls on Film", "See-Me Repeat-Me" (later "Rio"), and the unpublished "Working the Steel". The first character divergences lead to Wickett's departure, the recruitment of Jeff Thomas (frontman of the Scent Organs), and Alan Curtis on guitar, with whom a second demo will be made, which does not arouse the expected interest.

The subsequent departure of Thomas and Curtis leads to the search through an announcement first and direct hiring afterwards, of a young and promising guitarist named Andy Taylor, with significant live experience, while on May 13, 1980, a young actor from the London hinterland by the name of Simon Le Bon will arrive to take on the role of the band's definitive singer ... and let the fairy tale begin.

After two months of continuous rehearsals on July 16 at the Rum Runner in Birmingham, the Berrow brothers - managers of the venue and responsible, up to a certain point, for the artistic direction of the five musicians, - will present a group with a raw musical flavor, making the Broad Street club the launching point for the final recruitment by Emi, signed on that Monday, December 8, 1980, which will certainly remain in everyone's memory for the loss of John Lennon.

The introduction of the first DD album comes from the repeated clicks of a camera in "Girls on Film" (for which in 1984, with Duran at the peak of their global success, they will pay 600 pounds to Wickett who claimed the parenthood of the chorus), an immediate disco-funk hit where the rhythm section is as simple as the refrain is easy to assimilate. Always marked by its ease of access for a broad audience is "Anyone Outhere", where the band's pop soul takes shape without yielding to predictable affectation. The dark atmosphere of "Nightboat" transports the listener to a dreamy yet reflective dimension, making the hypnotic bass line accompanying it appreciable. With "Sound of Thunder" (used to test the suitability of Simon Le Bon for entry into the group), we return to the track with an artificial fusion between guitar and keyboards where the poetic vein of the young singer finds appropriate expression. Still maintaining the value of an easily perceivable expressive identity thus far, it is certainly "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories" that capture the listener absolutely, summarizing the stylistic orientation of the entire album; the first, a no-frills piece where the spatial atmosphere of the synths combined with a solid rhythm section (also doubled with percussion and electronic toms) where verse and chorus are artfully blended with the sharp finish and melody work of Andy Taylor."Careless Memories" - unfortunately chosen as the second single by the Emi managers, - is instead an electro-punk song that benefits from an almost hysterical melody where a successful instrumental balance makes it a fairly decent piece. There's also time for the unrest of "Friends of Mine" where a pleasant refrain but never obvious emerges, leaving the album's closure to the oriental fragrance of the first instrumental trial of "Tel Aviv".

Nine tracks for a decent album that primarily targets those who want to know and try to understand the birth of a sound where a simple and pleasant synthesis of glam rock, disco music, electronics, and punk (mainly understood as anarchistic and unrestrained freedom of expression) converges. The first recording cry that from this moment on will ensure that listening to music begins to apply an unfamiliar until then attention also to aesthetic taste, becoming a reference point that the band will exploit to their advantage with the simultaneous dissemination of highly sought-after videoclips that the advent of Mtv will consecrate as the main means of music distribution.

[Among the various versions of this album released on the market, it is right to remember that the 1981 pressing for the American market sacrificed the track "To the Shore" in favor of the night version of "Planet Earth", even if not specifically indicated. The same unfortunate fate for the fourth track occurred for the reissue made by Capitol in 1983, when the original version of "Planet Earth" was once again included in the album, which, together with the hit single of the time "Is There Something I Should Know", made the full-length again appealing. The special editions recently released on the market contain two CDs: the first includes the addition of "Late Bar" (from the 45 rpm of "Planet Earth"), "Khanada" and the bowiana "Fame" (already paired with the single of "Careless Memories"), with "Faster Than Light" as the b-side of "Girls on Film"; the second disc will encourage purchases from those who don't want to miss anything from the Birmingham five, satisfying greed with extended versions and performances for the BBC of the most alluring tracks].