Duran Duran： Careless Memories (Original version!!!) — Duran Duran： Careless Memories (Original version!!!)

JUL 01 1981 · 12:00

Duran Duran： Careless Memories (Original version!!!) — Duran Duran： Careless Memories (Original version!!!) (1981) Director: Perry Haines & Terry Jones Era: New Wave / New Romantic Emergence (1981) - The nascent UK new wave scene crystallising around post-punk energy, synthesiser pop, and fashion-forward identity politics, just as Duran Duran were establishing their visual language. Exceptionally high. This original version of the 'Careless Memories' video was suppressed for nearly three decades following the single's commercial failure, only receiving official release on the 2010 deluxe remaster. Directed by the co-founders of i-D Magazine, it is a rare intersection of London's fashion avant-garde and embryonic music video culture. As Duran Duran's second-ever promo clip, it documents the band at their most unpolished and pre-superstar — a unique visual record of a pivotal moment. Its rarity, provenance, and historical position in both Duran Duran's catalogue and the wider UK new wave video canon make it a Tier 1 archival priority. Context: Released on 20 April 1981 as Duran Duran's second single from their self-titled debut album on Capitol-EMI, 'Careless Memories' arrived at a pivotal juncture: the UK new wave and New Romantic movements were at their most energised, with Birmingham-born Duran Duran rapidly ascending from the Rum Runner club scene. The single was an EMI-driven choice — the band had preferred 'Girls on Film' — and its underperformance at #37 (spending four weeks on chart) directly led to the band gaining creative autonomy over future single selections, paving the way for the breakthrough of 'Girls on Film' (#5 UK). The video, directed by i-D Magazine co-founders Perry Haines and Terry Jones, is a document of the intersection between the London fashion-magazine avant-garde and the emerging music promo industry, shot in Soho at the very moment that location was central to British subcultural life. Director notes: The video was shot on location in Soho, London, and on a misty soundstage. It intercuts band performance footage with a loose narrative vignette. The original version was rarely seen because the single underperformed commercially, stalling at #37 in the UK, and the video was largely suppressed. A re-edited second version was included in the 1983 Duran Duran video album. The original version annotated here was not officially released until the 2010 2CD+DVD remaster of the debut album. Nick Rhodes famously called it 'the worst video we've ever made', while biographer Malins described it as 'a folly of New Romantic pretension.' The video's rarity for nearly three decades makes this original cut a significant archival document of Duran Duran's earliest visual output.