PLANET EARTH

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

Planet Earth was released in February 1981, reached No. 12 on the U.K. singles chart, and was named one of the “100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine.

LYRICS

Only came outside to watch the night fall with the rain
I heard you making patterns rhyme
Like some new romantic looking for the tv sound
You’ll see I’m right some other time

Look now, look all around, there’s no sign of life
Voices, another sound, can you hear me now?
This is planet earth, you’re looking at planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop this is planet earth

My head is stuck on something precious
Let me know if you’re coming down to land
Is there anybody out there trying to get through?
My eyes are so cloudy I can’t see you

Look now, look all around, there’s no sign of life
Voices, another sound, can you hear me now?
This is planet earth, you’re looking at planet earth

Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
This is planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
Calling planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
Looking at planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
This is planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
Calling planet earth
Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop
Looking at planet earth

The band hired director Russel Mulcahy to direct the video for Planet Earth. Mulcahy also directed videos for The Human League, Paul McCartney, Culture Club, The Vapors (“Turning Japanese”), The Buggles (“Video Killed the Radio Star”), as well as Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Wild Boys”, “Rio,” “The Reflex,” “Save a Prayer,” “Is There Something I Should Know,” Arena (An Absurd Notion) and the As the Lights Go Down concert video. Mulcahy went on to direct the movie Highlander In 1985, starring Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert, followed by Resident Evil, and TV episodes for 13 Reasons Why, Queer as Folk, and the Teen Wolf series.

In 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Duran Duran gave an incredible performance at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where they played Planet Earth and The Universe Alone from the Paper Gods album.

The song was featured in the 2016 video game Watch Dogs 2 and the “bop bop bop” chorus was included in Cheryl Cole’s song “Stand Up”. Planet Earth has been covered by a variety of artists including John Taylor’s band Neurotic Outsiders, Andy Taylor and his band, and even William Shatner! The Dandy Warhols (produced by Nick Rhodes), recreated the Planet Earth video for their song “You Were the Last High.” The Killers and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way have performed the song with Duran Duran.

John Taylor featured Planet Earth in his STONE LOVE BASS ODYSSEY tutorial videos which he produced during the COVID lockdown.

What Does Duran Duran Have To Say About Planet Earth

John Taylor

“‘I call it funky punk. I was really a punk rocker,” John Taylor told Complex in 2012 about the song. “Then I discovered disco. When I discovered disco, I didn’t want to be a guitar player in a punk band. I wanted to be a postman in a funk band. But I was a punk and I never was going to be able to play like Chic. So ‘Planet Earth’ for me, as a bass player, was an expression of sort of my punky aspiration to be danceable to have that disco thing going on.”– Courtesy Complex Magazine

Andy Taylor once said the “essence” of the song was from Rod Stewart’s rakish 1979 disco-rock hit “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Taylor, who worked with Stewart later in the ’80s, added, “The synth-guitar hook line that kicks off the tune is played on the same scale and key; the first two chords Dm7 and F are the same, so the melody/counter-melody lines are interchangeable.”

Roger said: “My strongest memory of the release of ‘Planet Earth’ is one of gathering around the radio in Chipping Norton studios (where we were recording tracks for the forthcoming 1st album) and hearing one of our songs being played on the radio for the first time, being absolutely ecstatic and feeling that we had really ‘arrived,’ when in fact it was just the start of a very long journey.” Courtesy DuranDuran.com

Related Links:

“Planet Earth” at 40: The perfect debut single that boldly launched Duran Duran

Stone Love Bass Odyssey Duran Duran Planet Earth John Taylor bass tutorial