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Kaleb Black

King Duranie

I became interested in Duran Duran in about 1982 and have followed them ever since. I love the catchy songs, exotic videos and the band members themselves. I’ve always found Duran Duran have been able to keep up and still put out great music. Their concerts are always fun

Girls On Film

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GIRLS ON FILM

by Duran Duran: Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor

On July 13, 1981, Duran Duran released the song “Girls on Film.” It was the third single released on the band’s debut album, self-titled Duran Duran, and peaked at Number 5 on the UK singles chart.  The B-side of the single was “Faster Than Light”.

Download Girls on Film

LYRICS

Girls on film, girls on film, girls on film, girls on film

Lipstick cherry all over the lens as she’s falling
In miles of sharp blue water coming in where she lies
The diving man’s coming up for air cause the crowd all love pulling dolly by the hair, by the hair
And she wonders how she ever got here as she goes under again

Girls on film (two minutes later), girls on film
Girls on film (got your picture), girls on film

Wider baby smiling you just made a million
Fuses pumping live heat twisting out on a wire
Take one last glimpse into the night I’m touching close I’m holding bright, holding tight
Give me shudders in a whisper take me up till I’m shooting a star

Girls on film (she’s more than a lady), girls on film
Girls on film (two minutes later), girls on film
Girls on film (see you together), girls on film
Girls on film (see you later), girls on film
Girls on film (what ya doing), girls on film

The band hired directors Kevin Godley and Lol Creme (Godley & Creme) to create a very raunchy and controversial video for the song which featured nudity and various sexual situations that included whipped cream, mud wrestling, oil, ice cubes on nipples, spanking, pillow fighting, role playing, and more – all while the band played in the background. 

In 2022, Girls On Film went viral on Tiktok and many artists have recorded their own versions of the song including Billy Preston, Midnight Oil, Bjorn Again, and others including Stephen Pearcy of Ratt who said of Simon Le Bon, “You were my hero and always will be, you crusty fuck.”

The TV show Glee covered the song “Girls on Film”, and had an episode titled “Girls (and Boys) on Film”. John included the song in his COVID-lockdown bass tutorial series, STONE LOVE BASS ODYSSEY

What Does Duran Duran Have To Say About Girls On Film

John Taylor

duran duran john Taylor in girls on film 1981 video song lyrics

“‘Girls On Film’ was one of the first songs we ever wrote. I suppose it went through a lot of different… when the band was getting started we had three singers over a 12-month period. And every time we would bring a new singer we would say, ‘Well, we got this riff. “Girls on film,” you know?’ But, like, you can do whatever you like with the rest of the song. Make sure you sing this when you get to the chorus. And we re-wrote it every time. Even when Simon joined, he re-wrote it. Then we rearranged it. It was just one of those things where we knew he had this chorus hook that was strong. I mean, it was dumb. It was one of those phrases—people have written books about them. And they called books after it. How many times has Vogue used it for a headline? We did somewhat of a seditious video for it which got us a lot of notoriety. We were getting a lot of play in the American clubs in the early ’80s. A lot of them had big video screens [and we thought] ‘if we make a sort of dance version of the track like an extended dance mix…’ We did kind of a sleazy, slightly porno video. It was kind of contrived. I think our manager saw the opportunity. I think it’s really useful for an artist to have someone working with them that can see the picture. I mean, I could never manage myself. We had a good manager who could see the opportunity. And we were like, ‘Why not?’” – John Taylor, Courtesy Complex Magazine

Further reading:

Duran Duran’s banned ‘Girls on Film’ video still shocks, 40 years later: ‘I don’t honestly think it would get made today,’ says director.

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