Friday 21 August 2009

D is for ...

D is for ...

Duran Duran - one of the biggest bands of the '80s, their poppy, synth led music instantly transporting you back through the decades to a time of hairspray, frilly collars and make up. Another band that took full opportunity of the video revolution of the dawning of the MTV era, its hard to imagine now the furore that some of their videos created: the video for 'Girls on Film' was banned by the BBC, but as so often in pop culture, this merely helped propel the single to the top of the charts.

As long as you promise you wont be offended, you can watch the girls on film video here:



Little known fact! The Duffer was at school with Simon Le Bon's cousins.

Starting from (semi) alternative New Romantic roots Duran Duran ultimately went mainstream and are perhaps synonymous with 1980s music - there domination and popularity being confirmed when they recorded the Bond theme 'A View to a Kill.'

Listen to some Duran Duran classics:

Dr. Martens or doc martens, docs, or just dm's, the footwear of the 1980s. At the start of the decade it was the doc. marten boot, worn by punks and skins, with rolled up jeans. People then began customizing them with different colours and designs, and by the end of decade the famous air ware sole on the bottom of just about every shoe imaginable from city boy brogues to tasseled loafers and all shades in between. 'Red or Dead' sold customised dm's from there stall on Camden Market, launching a brand that went on to enjoy commercial success, whilst retaining its cred.





Depeche Mode another band that typify the new romantic movement, moving away from the classic rock band combo of guitars and drums, completely embracing the synthesizer to create the elctro-pop that we associate with 1980s music. 3 tracks to listen to, the first two a little brooding and dark, the third a great piece of 80's electro pop (recently covered by the Saturdays, bringing it to a whole new audience (but not as good as the original!))

1 comment:

  1. Well...my first CD ever was by Duran Duran. I loved Depeche Mode and always wanted Doc Martins. I just couldn't give up my army boots.

    thanks for stopping by my blog!!

    ReplyDelete