Duran Duran “The Wild Boys” 1984. 12″ single. Today, August 10th, is Duran Duran Appreciation Day – a celebration of the band and their fans (that’s me!) – so I’m taking “The Wild Boys” out for a spin. Side A is “The Wild Boys (Wilder Than Wild Boys) Extended Mix”, 8 minutes of their most tribal rhythmic funk via John and Roger, Andy throwing down power chords, Nick adding some outtathisworld keyboard effects and Simon singing with passion. Side B is the single version of “The Wild Boys” and “(I’m Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement” from Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

The video for “The Wild Boys,” which hit #2 in both the US and the UK, was at the time in ‘84 the most expensive ever made. Russell Mulcahy, its director, originally conceived Duran Duran writing the soundtrack for a film based on William S. Burrough’s novel The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead. He spent a staggering 1 million pounds on the video’s production, intending it to be a teaser for the unmade movie, and used the 8:00 minute version of the single for the full-length video promo. The movie never happened but Duran fans got a spectacular video.