Duran Duran - The Reflex Live at Tommys PopShow The Reflex is the eleventh single by the band Duran Duran, and their most successful, reaching #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States and #4 in Australia. It was the third and last to be taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, released internationally by EMI in April 1984. UK release: 16 April, 1984 Label: EMI Format(s): 7, 12 B-side(s): Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile), New Religion Peak chart positions: #1 UK Singles Chart #1 US Hot 100 #4 Australia The songs lyrics are puzzling to most listeners. Lead vocalist Simon Le Bon said he has no clue what the song means.> The remixes for both the 7 and 12 singles were done by Nile Rodgers, of Chic fame. It was his first work with the band, and he would later go on to produce The Wild Boys single as well as the album Notorious (1986) and several tracks on Astronaut (2004). Producer Ian Little recalls the sound Nick Rhodes came up with on his Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard: ...whenever I hear that steel-drum part it always brings a smile to my face because its so out of tune. Steel drums always are, but it was exactly right in terms of rhythm and tone. So a wood-block sound was mixed in to make it even more percussive and, Bobs your uncle, it did the job. The video for The Reflex was shot during the Sing Blue Silver tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario on 5 March 1984. Director Russell Mulcahy filmed some of the closeup footage in the indoor arena that afternoon, and the rest was filmed live during that evenings concert.[1] The Reflex is primarily a concert video, accurately portraying Duran Durans Sing Blue Silver tour performance style (perhaps with a little more hair spray and a little less sweat than usual). However, in keeping with the bands insistence that their videos never be ordinary, the video screen above the stage displayed bits of naked models wearing collars and chains illuminated with black light, occasionally interrupted by computerized video white noise. At one point, a waterfall appears to pour out of the video screen above the stage to soak the audience. The computer graphics used to achieve this were cutting edge at the time, but rapid advancement in the field quickly made the effect look dated. Mulcahy found it challenging to edit the video to match the jumpy fast-and-slow edits in the Nile Rodgers remix of the single. For the instrumental break in the middle of the song, he had to do some video scratching with Simon Le Bons silhouette. Keyboard enthusiasts have taken special note of the Fairlight CMI (the first digital sampling synthesiser) that Nick Rhodes operated with a light pen in this video, and throughout the tour. In its heavily remixed form, The Reflex was the bands second single to reach number one the UK singles chart, after Is There Something I Should Know? in 1983, and it would be their last #1 song there. It was preceded at number one by Hello by Lionel Richie and followed by Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! The song was also the bands first single to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (for two weeks) on 23 June, 1984. It was preceded at number one by Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper, and followed by When Doves Cry by Prince.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 22:20:49 +0000
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