Duranalysis: Rio

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Comments

Ingrid Richter said…
Fine video, fine review!

Heh. Who knew that a handful of red balls would keep three Duran Duran guys completely occupied? Imagine if they had some string!
Morgan Richter said…
Yeah, apparently you just need to toss a few little balls at Duran Duran, and they're happy. At least John also had comic books to keep him entertained...
Cheryl K said…
OH yes, there is just so much about this video to love. I always seemed to remember there was story about our poor Nick being very seasick..?? I always perceived that Rio was happily drunk at the champagne-spilling part. The one thing that never stops bothering me about this video is how Simon's "Hey, look at that!" pointing part is a touch out of sync with the song's audio. But the rest of the video's delights (i.e. Nick) makes up for it (and throwing Andy overboard!)
Morgan Richter said…
I always seemed to remember there was story about our poor Nick being very seasick..??

Heh, yes, apparently our Nick was seasick and miserable all throughout shooting (and, being Nick, was probably letting everyone know exactly how miserable he was feeling).

(Quote from Nick: "The funny thing is that it looked like we were having a great time, but it was appalling. There wasn't one of us who didn't lose our lunch on that shoot. God, I hated that boat. Wrecking my Anthony Price suit with all those dreadful waves splashing everywhere.")

The one thing that never stops bothering me about this video is how Simon's "Hey, look at that!" pointing part is a touch out of sync with the song's audio

Ha! I never noticed that before, but I just took a look at it, and you're right. Funny!
Cheryl K said…
Hmmm...I'm surprised that Nick said everyone lost their lunch. 'Cause Simon is such a sailor. Do you remember when Drum capsized? I still have his Entertainment Tonight interview (audio only) on a cassette tape. I put the recorder up to the TV! He talks about the frogman (SCUBA diver) coming to get him from the air pocket under the boat...the situation was dire.
It makes Nick's loss of an Anthony Price suit seem like a trivial matter now!
Cheryl K said…
p.s. - That Drum capsizing was in '85, well after Rio. Maybe Simon got into sailing more after the "Rio" video was shot. I don't know.
Morgan Richter said…
Yeah, I guess Simon bought Drum in 1984 and got kind of obsessed with boating from that point on, though I have no idea how much of a sailing background he had prior to that. In Andy's autobiography, he seems pretty cheerfully emphatic that Nick was the only one throwing up on the yacht, which, despite Nick's claims to the contrary, seems entirely possible.

(I hate quoting unsourced facts from Wikipedia, because there tends to be a lot of made-up crap there, but this is a cute (and relevant!) trivia bit about Arcadia's "The Flame" video: The video's treatment is said to have been written by Rhodes and the various near-fatal pratfalls that occur to Le Bon's character was intended as punishment for his decision to enter the Fastnet yachting race that almost cost him his life in August 1985.)
Cheryl K said…
Hmmmm....interesting. Fits in with the notion that yes, Nick may not be the frontman, but he wields the power.
Morgan Richter said…
Nick may not be the frontman, but he wields the power.

He sure seems to, on both an official and an unofficial level. Nick is apparently sole legal owner of the Duran Duran name -- Andy Warhol, who was close to Nick, mentions that fact in his published diaries (it's also mentioned in yet another unsourced Wikipedia piece about the legal squabbles the band got into with Andy Taylor over the Notorious LP, which should be taken with the usual grain of salt: It is rumoured that Andy went so far as to try and stop the band from continuing with using the Duran Duran name; since that time the band ensured that the name is wholly owned by co-founding member Nick Rhodes). I would guess that not much happens with the band that doesn't meet with Nick's approval.
Cheryl K said…
Well you are a wellspring of info. I would have thought, at the least, that Nick and Simon would have shared legal rights. I'm long overdue to read Andy's bio. I shall see if I can interlibrary loan it. Can't wait for your next post!
khanada said…
re: who that is in the water during the pink shaving foam scene, it looks like either nick or john to me. (they really do look alike in this video at times!) the face looks more like nick but unless that water was really shallow (which it doesn't seem to be given how deep it is for rio), john would make more sense since the mystery man's only up to his waist in water. nick and rio should be of similar height i'd imagine (if rio weren't an inch or two taller as nick's kinda short) and the water depth would be the same where they're both standing, more or less.

i can spend way too much time writing and talking about anything duran-related. if only it actually were possible to write a thesis about them (though i'm not sure i'd enjoy having to make it all academic and finding sources for everything i say).
Morgan Richter said…
Khanada, you're right -- the height definitely suggests John, and that looks more like the back of his head than Nick's. From the face, though, it could be either. It's so weird how much John and Nick looked alike (height aside) during this time.
andiepants said…
Nick, Roger and John, all clad in bright designer suits, loiter on a yacht and roll little red balls around the deck. They look like a cluster of spoiled, pampered housecats, beautiful and lazy and waiting to be petted and adored.

I never made that connection before, but I love it! I'd roll around on the floor and play ball with those three.
;-)