Girls On Film – Duran Duran

We tried to do Rio a while back. Most of the song (Rio that is) is pretty straight forward, but there’s a section in the middle where the song totally breaks down (Woo, hey there wait a mininute, did it nearly run you down… etc.) and we just couldn’t get it right. We tried, and tried… Also the vocals are in a pretty high register on Rio.

We can’t really consider ourselves a pop/rock party band of middle aged people without covering a Duran Duran song.. so we finally decided to do what EVERYONE does, and cover Girls On Film.

The first thing to say about this song is that it’s just superbly well written. There’s hardly any production gimmicks on the original. In fact the only real additions to a live performance are the overdubbed guitar parts that pop up occasionally.

It’s not until you try and cover a song like this that you realise just what a well crafted song it is. It’s pretty hard to do a bad version of it, which I suppose is why so many bands cover it.

Lyrics

I suppose Simon LeBon must have spent a lot of time at fashion shows with Yasmin Bleeth.
There was a character on ‘The Fast Show’ who had the catch phrase ‘hardest job in the world’. This song is Simon Le Bon telling us just how tough it is being a mega-famous super-model.
I mean, I could take him to see some plater/welders doing a 16 hour shift if he likes but…

Seriously however, this kind of ‘oh this old thing’ humble brag lyrics about glamourous jobs and passtimes we’ll never see, is really what made Duran Duran famous. The scenes on super yachts, wearing Armani clothes surrounded by people who have never eaten a meal that cost less than a hundred quid. We just lapped it up in the 80’s.
I mean, Duran Duran were cooler than Crocket and Tubbs.

Standout lyric is probably : Lipstick cherry all over the lens as she’s falling.

Music

The song is pretty firmly in Am I think.
The song is really driven along by the unbelievable bass line. It’s just spectacular.

The complexity and relentlessness of the bass line contrasts sharply with the simplicity and scantness of everyone elses part. Particularly the guitar part. Andy Taylor plays just enough notes to leave you with an impression of the key.

The synth part is restricted to pretty much a couple of pad sounds.

It’s a superbly written song.