perfect day and white lines by DD are not more popular than the originals in my part of the world.
In most territories the Grandmaster Melle Mel version of
White Lines (Don't Do It) reached a lower peak position on the charts than the cover by duran duran excluding the UK (#7 for Melle Mel / #17 for duran duran), Ireland (#22 for Melle Mel / NA for duran duran), Belgium (#27 for Melle Mel / NA for duran duran), & The Netherlands (#40 Melle Mel / NA for duran duran). I am not old enough to remember the original and the competition on the charts at that time versus in 1995, so it is difficult for me to comment, but White Lines was an unequivocal international success for duran duran that charted higher than the original in most of the world.
As for
Perfect Day, it was the B-Side to Lou Reed's biggest hit (
Walk on the Wild Side) which is bound to get exposure. That said, I wouldn't call
I'm Down a legitimate HIT by the Beatles because it appeared as the B-Side to
HELP! Walk on the Wild Side's peak position in any territory was #10 in the UK. Duran duran's cover of
Perfect Day got to #28 in the UK. I honestly do not think that if Lou Reed had released the song as a single on it's own sans
Walk on the Wild Side that it would have broken the Top 40 anywhere.
Regardless of chart positions, both of these songs are legitimate hits and as I noted
White Lines (Don't Do It) remains a concert mainstay, whereas the second biggest hit post 2002 (as you pointed out)
What Happens Tomorrow has not been played live since the Astronaut tour and is unlikely to ever return. This is because it was not a legitimate hit, but rather the lucky recipient of the reunion afterglow, similar to
(Reach Up For The) Sunrise. I am willing to bet
Dog Farting Into A Microphone would have charted for duran duran if it was released on October 4 2004 with the full force of the SONY hype machine behind it. I will, however, concede that
Dog Farting Into A Microphone would probably have not done as well as
(Reach Up For The) Sunrise., but to many duran duran fans they are sonically similar.
It's probably competing against a greater volume of music than ever, and streaming counts, not just for Duran but for everybody. So yes a lower threshold of physical sales but unless people are listening repeatedly with the sound on mute overnight....okay slight confession LOL!.....this argument doesn't hold water. All artists are subject to the same mechanism in terms of chart position. Perhaps you only value people who go out and buy the physical media and that is an argument in itself, but one can't deny that music does reach fans via streaming. In the case of PG, I have the physical media but have listened tenfold more times via Spotify because it's convenient.
It sounds like you are unaware that Spotify plays (and other streaming services, including youtube) count toward sales figures on both the UK and USA charts (I am unfamiliar with Ireland & other territories, but I suspect this phenomena is worldwide). So when duran duran debuted at #5 in the UK, it took into account physical sales, digital sales, and streams (Articles:
www.spotifyartists.com/streaming-now-included-in-the-official-uk-charts-what-does-this-mean-for-artists AND
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/1500-youtube-plays-now-counts-as-an-album-in-the-us/ ). Apparently, according to one article, 1.5 million streams equals 15,000 sales in the UK.
That really isn't the issue with Paper Gods's inflated debut position. We are in an age where distribution and awareness is as easy as it has ever been for the consumer. In 1988 unless you read pop magazines, watched video shows that would play duran duran or listen to radio shows that played them, you wouldn't exactly know when Big Thing was coming out. Furthermore, there was no imperative to get the album on the first day in order to placate the social media status machine. Lastly, your local record store might take a couple of weeks to even get the album in. I bought a ton of albums in the late 80s and early 90s, less than 10% of those were on the first week of release. I am buying far fewer albums today, but more than 50% of them are in the first week of release. There is a massive pre-order industry that simply didn't exist before. In the US early sales of Paper Gods were also fueled by a limited release from Target. All of these things factor into first week sales being far more likely than at any other time in the history of the music industry. Then there are the people who are busy streaming it in week 1 via Spotify and other locales on top of buying a physical release, such as yourself.
Despite all of this Paper Gods first week sales only topped Red Carpet Massacre, All You Need Is Now, and Pop Trash. So that first
top 10 since 1993 line is pure hype based on changes in the music industry, some of which have been orchestrated to make it so every established artist peaks in week #1 in order to generate the most hype and press possible for said artist. The level of sales (which now include downloads AND streams) needed to reach the top 10 is lower than it has been at any time in the last 50 years! So no, Top 10 in the US and top 5 in the UK doesn't impress me, especially since a week earlier Iron Maiden, a fellow UK EMI legacy act who sold fewer albums in their 80's heyday than duran duran, debuted at #1 in both the UK and USA. Their album has gone Gold in the UK and a few other territories.
Is it qualified if Simon agrees with me?.....though I'm not sure that holds any water either if he's as willing to throw me under a bus as the penultimate album ...insert here..
You guessed it. I could give a toss what Simon or anyone else in the band says about previous efforts. Their lenses are NOT unbiased, especially since they are tainted by sales figures. Liberty was NOT duran duran's most heavy-guitar laden album to date.
Actually hang on... You agree too, you just hide it well....
"Because the marketing and single choices didn't highlight that duran duran was incorporating more of a guitar driven alt rock sound into their music".
Do you not see how both can be true? Liberty is NOT the most heavy-guitar laden album to date AND EMI should have focused on the more heavy-guitar laden songs that were on the album if they wanted it to be more successful, as well as the album art and overall image of the band which was very poor for Liberty, but spot on for The Wedding Album. Whether we like it or not, image helps sell music and the images from Liberty were decidedly un-rockish and not in keeping with the times. The point is that despite Liberty having lame songs like
Violence of Summer,
Can You Deal With It, and the title track, the promotion should have focused on
My Antarctica and
First Impression in order to highlight duran duran's developing alt-rock side. Liberty wasn't all that heavy, excluding a few tracks that should have been the focal point for EMI.
No hang on you've changed your mind..
"What we can say definitively is that the most guitar heavy Duran Duran album to date, was The Wedding Album.
Ummm... you do understand the concept of time, right? Or did the fact that your reply came on the wrong side of midnight render you unable to grasp the concept. Let's go through this slowly. I am going to make two statements; both of them are true.
Statement #1: Big Thing was duran duran's most heavy-guitar laden album to date.
Statement #2: The Wedding Album was duran duran's most heavy-guitar laden album to date.
Both statements are true because the first one refers to an album that was released in 1988, while the second refers to an album released in 1993. So Big Thing was the most heavy-guitar laden album from 1988 until 1993, when the Wedding Album appeared and superseded it in terms of heavy-guitar ladenness. Either way, my point was that EVEN if I concede your (and Simon's) point that Liberty is actually the most heavy-guitar laden album to date, the point is made irrelevant by the fact that The Wedding Album was a more heavy-guitar laden album and their highest selling album since their 80s heyday. This makes my point, that even if what you say is true, that Liberty is a more heavy-guitar laden album, it cannot be the reason it failed, since they achieved their highest level of success in a decade with an even heavier album.
Get it?
Warren, if he was using steroids may have made him extremely aggressive to be around... Total speculation I know,but I'm just establishing that we only have one side of the story.
I actually think this is a possibility and a factor as to why Simon felted increasingly uneasy with Warren. I also live in the USA now and as a European can totally understand how it is often difficult to get along with people from this particular culture. Simon strikes me as a thoughtful European through and through, while Warren often comes off as a crass American. From a musical perspective I think that stuff is some irrelevant bullshit, but when you are touring with someone it is like being married to them and you may just get to a point where you ask yourself why am I living with this cretin I dislike? If there is rage on top of that it could lead to finding the breaking point. That said, if both Medazzaland and Pop Trash had gone Gold in the UK & USA, I am sure Simon would have found a way to live with the man and all of his alleged steroidal rage.
If we are destined to get more Last Night In The Citys there there is no price too big to get Warren back"......okay okay lol mitigating circumstances I'll have him back under these conditions!
Another WINNING argument brought to you by diatribein! Thanks, Cherry.
Sorry this was posted at 10 to midnight over there!