Duran Duran were just about the biggest band around when Wild Boys came out, a scarcely believable 39 years ago, and they had a video budget to match. They perhaps hit the peak of video excess with this four minutes of ... well, everything, frankly.
At the time, the red-tops were full of "Le Bon almosts drowns on video set" stories, as I recall. Simon has sought to distance himself from the story in recent years, calling it an urban myth. But the video's choreographer, Arlene Philips of Strictly fame no less, remembers it slightly differently. As you may recall, Le Bon was strapped to the sail of a windmill which rotated and dunked his head underwater whilst he was singing. What can I say, it was the Eighties. Urban myth the near-drowning may be, but Arlene is quoted as saying, "The windmill stopped when he was under the water and he couldn't breathe. He was stuck there and they had to send divers in to rescue him. It was awful, waiting to see if he was OK. I'll never forget it. It was an amazing video, though. Wild Boys was just the most fabulous, mad video ever."
Of course he didn't nearly drown, and I'm sure he wouldn't have downplayed it if he had. But it does give me all the excuse I need to play this gloriously OTT slice of nostalgia, and dedicate it to The Man Of Cheese, a big Duran fan back in the day - happy birthday, mate.
And P.S. - if you don't sing the intro to this but with a lyric change any time anybody ever mentions the phrase "wild boar" then I'm afraid we need to have words...
Seems ridiculous that this is nigh on 40 years ago,but what a video!
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember the excitement of discussing videos like this the next day at school having seen them on Top Of The Pops,they were just so brilliant,and seem even more so now given that there was no AI/CGI involved.
Brings to mind more classics-who didn't try to dance like Adam Ant in the Prince Charming video at a school disco?
At school there was some unwritten uncool rule that you couldn't like bands like Duran Duran at the same time as The Jam,The Smiths,The Cure etc,but I did,and still do!
Can we all go back to 1980 please Mr P?
It's a belter, isn't it? And from the golden age of music video, I think, when record companies were happy to finance epics like this one. As for unwritten rules, I seem to remember the same for A-ha - couldn't possibly be allowed to like their Nordic synth melodrama alongside the Northern jangly angst of Smiths and Weddoes, and yet we did. Happy, happy days indeed. And yes - oh, to go back....
Delete