Duran Duran “Union of the Snake” promo 12″ single, 1983. I know I blogged about Duran Duran yesterday, but today, April 26th, is Roger Taylor’s birthday (b. 1960) so I’m spinning the rock-solid beats of “Union of the Snake.” The single was the first release from their third LP Seven and the Ragged Tiger. “Union of the Snake” hit #3 in the UK and US and Roger Taylor stated that he drew inspiration for the song’s rhythm from David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” also released in 1983.

Side A is an extended mix of “Union of the Snake” and Side B has both the single version and “Secret Oktober,” which does not appear on any original Duran Duran albums (though it is on the 2010 reissue CD of Seven and the Ragged Tiger). The band needed a song for the flipside of “Union of the Snake” and quickly wrote “Secret Oktober,” whipping it out, including recording and mixing, in less than 24 hours. Amazing, because it is a beautiful, atmospheric track.

Wise on a birthday party, in a world
Full of surprising fireworks and sudden silence
(Shh)
Lies on a stranger’s bed the new day breaks, like a speeding train
Or an old friend ever expected, but never knocking

Holding your own in a battered car
All night parties cocktail bars
And smile when the butterfly escapes the killing jar

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over
Wise or naked in secret Oktober

Freefall on a windy morning shore
Nothing but a fading track of footsteps
Could prove that you’d ever been there
Spoken on a cotton cloud like the sound of gunshot
Taken by the wind, and lost in distant thunder

Racing on a shining plane
Tomorrow you’ll be content to watch as the lightning plays
Along the wires, and you’ll wonder

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over
Wise or naked in secret Oktober