Duran Duran “Girls on Film (Night Version)” b/w “Girls on Film” and “Faster Than Light” 1981. Today, February 16th, is Duran guitarist Andy Taylor’s birthday (b. 1961). My friend Carrie over at @tinglealley collects awkward photos of Duran Duran. A few months ago I came across this one (I think the picture may have been taken by Andy Warhol) and, after suppressing my hysterical laughter, sent it along to her. (In her collection, Andy seems to be particularly gifted at awkward.)

“Girls on Film” is probably one of the best known Duran Duran singles; it hit #5 in the UK in July of ‘81 and while never hitting the US charts officially, became one of the most famous videos on MTV after the American reissue of Duran Duran in 1983 in an edited format of course; the original had been banned already in the UK by the BBC. The unedited version was easy enough to find, though – I saw it on my friend Allyson’s betamax tape at some point in ‘84 or so.

“Girls on Film (Night Version)” appears on the A-side of this 12″ single and is a different arrangement of the single version on side B. “Faster Than Light” is heavy on the synths with groovy bass lines, a few rockin’ power chords and it also showcases Simon Le Bon’s amazingly high vocal range.