Duran Duran - Girls On Film '99 Remixes

Back in 1999, Duran Duran released Girls on Film — The Remixes, one of those non-descript promo campaigns focusing on remixed versions of old hits to help drum up support for the release of new material. In this case, it all came in the wake of the criminally underrated Medazzaland album with a few of the mixes cropping up as b-sides to the Electric Barbarella single.

Until now though, the majority of the mixes were consigned to uber-rare US 12"s, or quite simply never saw the light of day in the first place - but Duran Duran fans rejoice, you can now download them all!

iTunes has released four tasty collections of the mixes (each conveniently colour-coded), with the following tracklistings:

BLUE

16 Millimetre Mix
16 Millimetre Instrumental Mix
8 Millimetre Mix
8 Millimetre Instrumental Mix

GREEN

Salt Tank Mix
Salt Tank Mix Instrumental
Salt Tank Remix Radio Edit

LIGHT BLUE

Tall Paul Mix
Tall Paul Instrumental

RED

Tin Tin Out Mix
Tin Tin Out Instrumental Mix
Tin Tin Out Radio Mix

[Official Video] Duran Duran - Girl Panic!

These days, 'extended' cuts of music videos are ten-a-penny. Not content to let the song in itself do the talking, bands plough ever-increasing amounts of cash and time into creating videos that are not so much promo events and more fully blown films. Now, normally I'm not that big a fan of this style of video-vignette; I find the cuts between song and 'extra-narrative' jarring, breaking up a perfectly decent pop track. But with Duran Duran... well, I'm more than happy to make an exception.

You see, what they have delivered in the form of Girl Panic! is the extended music video to end all other extended music videos. We're talking a nine and a half minute beast here. Yup, NINE and a half minutes. Oh, and did we mention they've packed a load of dolled-up supermodels in as substitutes for the band, including none other than Naomi Campbell?

On paper, the concept already sounds incredible - in reality, it's positively jaw-dropping. Duran Duran play up to every aspect of themselves, touting picture-postcard images of London, dropping product placements for the Savoy hotel, Swarovski and Harper's Bazaar plus a sly montage of their past hits. Come into the video half-way through and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was the latest glossy M&S fashion ad - all smouldering eyes and vibrant lippy.

As for Girl Panic! itself, it's good to see another single release from the band's sublime All You Need Is Now album. Around its original digital release in December last year, there was a mass of hype over its Mark Ronson production and it was rightly hailed as a real return to form. But since then, things had gone a little hushed and with the band's cancelled UK tour dates, it seemed that the album might already have shut up shop.

As with any band of their era, Duran Duran face the trouble of mass exposure for their single releases, and be association, chart positions to match their glory days. The likes of Radio 1 refuse to play them, millions of potential listeners written off at the drop of a hat. But with a promo video of this scale, and with obvious viral-esque appeal, maybe - just maybe - Girl Panic! might just manage to snowball itself into a surprise hit. God knows, it deserves to.

Kaiser Chiefs - Starts With Nothing

Kaiser Chiefs remain to this date one of the bands that did best out of the immense explosion of indie acts that began in 2004. Four albums in though, and they teeter on a precipice of what to do next. Sales of their third LP Off With Their Heads were disappointing compared to previous fare.

So, in one of the most inventive moves of this year, they released a kind of pic n mix version of their new album on their website - fans could choose their own selection of tracks, creating their own unique running own.

It grabbed the attention of the music press, and it seemed to please fans - certainly, the band looked to have gone down a treat at Glastonbury.

Lead single Little Shocks (if a record released in such a manner can even have a 'lead single') didn't hold much water with me though, it felt like rather a retread of previous material. No, if there's a real gem to be found in the Kaiser's latest effort then it is Starts With Nothing.

At five and a half minutes long, it sees the band breaking out into broader, bigger, more experimental territory. Indeed, the first time I heard the track I wasn't even sure if it was the Kaiser Chiefs. But my attention was piqued though, as Starts With Nothing is actually brilliant; by far the best thing the band have put out since their debut album.

Full of sprawling 80s sounds, it touches on vast swathes of guitar and electronics to deliver something akin to Duran Duran's classic Is There Something I Should Know? - The 'yes that is my final answer' refrain is particularly Duran. In short though, the whole track is brilliant.

(Video) The Saturdays - Notorious

Before you ask... No, The Saturdays new single is not a cover of Duran Duran’s 80s classic Notorious. What it is though is one hell of a classy piece of dance-pop. With auto-tuned vocal samples and glitchy synths, it's bigger, bolder, braver than anything on their first three albums. This is the girls full on and in your face, upping their game and wearing the look with effortless chic.

Half the infectious beats of Far East Movement’s Like A G6, half epic-euro dance anthem in the vein of J Lo’s On The Floor, Notorious is a club banger through and through. With a resounding chorus of ‘I’m an outlaw, I’m the big boss, I’m a ganster on the dancefloor’, the track is bursting with confidence and swagger. There’s no room for second best here, only the refined super-glamour and highest grade of pop music that The Saturdays have made their own.

In the track’s video we see the foxy five-some taking a high speed elevator down from a futuristic office block straight to a club. This track is all about breaking free from the humdrum of working life and letting loose, unleashing that ‘outlaw’ in all of us.

Armed with towering stilettos, lip gloss and some suitably hot outfits, The Saturdays are the girls who can accomplish anything. December sees them stepping up to the big time, heading out on an arena tour across the UK. And from there, with tracks as good as Notorious, anything is possible really...

‘Closer, baby look in my eyes, do you recognise me?’ they sing, all sultryness and untamed passion. For The Saturdays, the whole world is their dancefloor, and they are there at the very heart of it – as for the rest of us; well, we’re hooked.

Notorious is released on the 22^nd May.

Starlings - Sirens

Starlings are one of my favourite new bands at the moment and ever since I covered their brilliant debut single Weight In Gold back in Novemeber last year I've been itching to hear more from them. Blasting out of Sheffield like the Human League born-again, they're now back with new track Sirens, and its every bit as epic and punchy as their previous single.

And speaking of the Human League, there's even some Don't You Want Me-esque synths thrown into the mix here plus some almost gothic sounding choral bits - all very atmospheric. And all this driven by a pulsing, dirty bassline that wouldn't sound out of place on Lady Gaga's new single.

Imagine Duran Duran's Girls on Film transposed into the 21st century, given a new lick of paint and with a brand new super-charged engine slapped on. This is exactly the kind of music the British indie scene should be making right now; exciting, innovative catchy records that shine with the passion and energy of the band behind them. Sirens makes it two stellar records in a row for Starlings and personally, I can't wait to hear the album. Keep up the good work lads.

Sirens is released on the 23rd May.

Starlings - Sirens by Sainted PR

Duran Duran - Pokerface (Live at Coachelle)

Girls On Film mixed into a cover of Lady Gaga's Pokerface? It could only be Duran Duran. Performing at Coachella festival, the band treated the crowd to precisely that.

I like how they work in chants of 'DURAN DURAN! We are the band that are designed to make you party!' in too. That's part of the charm of live gigs isn't it, you never know when a band is going to pull out a special cover like this. I'm going to Duran Duran's O2 gig on the 28th May and I can't wait! Let the summer begin.

Bonus edition Ahoy!

'Extended', 're-release', 'bonus', 'deluxe'. These are all words that have been occuring rather often recently. A top chart act releases an album and it does well. So how do you squeeze a few more sales out of that 'era'? Easy! Release a bonus version of it with MORE content. It's a win, win situation.

Currently I'm getting excited over the exclusive HMV edition of Duran Duran's All You Need Is Now which comes with a bonus remix CD. There's also the bonus version of Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns which is packaged with a DVD of the band playing live in Madrid. This release is rather awesomely titled A Thousand Suns +, with emphasis on the 'PLUS'. It's like those TV ads for razors. Properly amazing.

And just look at the cover. THOSE COLOURS! It's like someone got high and then went crazy on Photoshop. I love it.

Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

If I had a pound for every time Duran Duran’s newest album All You Need Is Now is ‘the next Rio’, I’d be a millionaire. But, the thing is, it really is. Not since that marvellous, seminal album have the band sounded quite this good. And not just that, for Duran have released plenty of good tracks since then (though quite how many is rather debatable, depending on how big of a fan you are) – but on this album, they sound energetic, re-invigorated, and most importantly – fun.

2004’s Astronaut was an amazing album, but in many ways, it did not sound like Duran Duran. It was futuristic in the extreme, consistent to the extreme and packed full of immaculately produced pop-rock classics. 2007’s Red Carpet Massacre was a miss-step, a rash grasp at ever-changing musical trends, the band latching onto man of the moment, Timbaland. The result was a jarring and rushed sounding end-product that just didn’t grab you the way you wanted it to. The singles were in place, but the makings of a good album were not.

Perhaps this is why All You Need Is Now comes as such a breath of fresh air then. It’s got that classic, Duran Duran youthful charm to it; that killer element that have kept them alive and innovative when so many other bands of their era have long since fallen. The title track is a brilliant introduction to the album, a cracking blend of old and new – something that defines this album. You’ll hear hints of instruments and sounds that you would swear came straight from Rio.

There’s contemporary touches here too, with producer Mark Ronson at the helm. Important note though: those coming to the album expecting a re-hash of Ronson’s Verion album, all horns and Zutons covers, will be surprised. He’s kept his touches on the band’s sound minimal, serving instead to pull everything together, a commanding force to better ensure the continuity of the final album. Oh, and there’s brilliant guest vocals from the Scissor Sister’s Ana Matronic and Kelis. The latter’s contribution is especially impressive on the epic, hypnotic, irresistible pull of The Man Who Stole A Leopard. It’s easily the band’s best ballad since Ordinary World.

Girl Panic!  is another favourite of mine, harking back to the likes of Careless Memories, displaying an aggressiveness the band haven’t played to in years. Most importantly, as an album, All You Need Is Now is a firm reminder that a band never comes with a sell by date. For Duran to be putting an album this good out 13 LP’s into their career is astounding. And judging by the top 10 position the album surged to on iTunes stores across the globe in its release week, the public tend to agree. Stunning, wonderful stuff.

Starlings - Weight In Gold

Starlings explode onto your stereo with a blistering blend of glossy synths, Duran Duran-esque basslines and the energy to match any of their contemporaries. Weight In Gold is a stunning debut for the Sheffield based band, the track hypnotising in its beauty and the shimmering catchiness of its chorus before tripping effortlessly into a twinkling guitar solo.

Fans of New Order and Delphic will find lots to love here, but what marks Starlings out in their own right is the organic feel to their music; it feels alive, fresh, more ‘human’. The band’s Facebook page describes them as ‘cosmic indie funk’, and there really could be no more perfect description than that. All the elements are there, capturing the essence of why Starlings hold so much potential to appeal to the masses.

There is most definitely a sense of ‘spaciness’ to there songs, that feeling of a fast expanse that their music flows into, a space of unlimited potential just waiting to be tapped into. ‘It’s a long, long way to fall, when you hover above us all’: a snatch of lyrics from the chorus, and when the Starlings sound as good as this, we’re all ready to fall further and further alongside them.

Released 20th December