Notorious (song)

"Notorious"
Single by Duran Duran
from the album Notorious
B-side	"Winter Marches On"
Released	20 October 1986
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1986
Genre	Funk rock, New Wave
Length	3:58 (45 mix)
Label	EMI - DDN 45
Producer	Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers
Duran Duran singles chronology
"A View to a Kill" (1985) "Notorious" (1986) "Skin Trade" (1987)
Notorious track listing "Notorious" (1) "American Science" (2) Greatest track listing "The Wild Boys" (12) "Notorious" (13) "I Don't Want Your Love" (14)

"Notorious" is the 14th single by Duran Duran. It was released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986. "Notorious" was the first single issued from the album Notorious, and the first released by Duran Duran as a 3-piece band after the departure of Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor. It was a hit all around the world, reaching #7 in the UK, #2 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top 5 in several countries. Duran Duran's success was on the wane, however, and the band would reach the Top 10 in the US only once more with "I Don't Want Your Love" in 1988, before 1993's "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone".

About the song

"Notorious" marked the debut of the new streamlined trio version of Duran Duran, as both Roger and Andy Taylor had left the band by the time the single and album were released. In fact, the acrimonious nature of Andy Taylor's departure was reflected in the song to a certain degree. According to songwriter Simon Le Bon, the lyric "Who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit" was a direct dig at the guitarist.^{[citation needed]}

As a trio, the band had enlisted the help of Nile Rodgers to take over production duties. His funk influences can be felt all over the single, from the tempo to the use of The Borneo Horns brass section. Rodgers also plays guitar on the single.

Music video

The video for "Notorious" was shot in September 1986 by directors Peter Kagan and Paula Greif, and bore an uncanny resemblance to the video the duo had filmed in June of that year for Steve Winwood's "Higher Love". The video was shot in black and white Super-8 with a hand-held camera, with quick cuts and changes of zoom and focus. It featured the three-piece band performing the song on a sound stage, with scantily clad dancers in the background choreographed by Paula Abdul.

The young model Christy Turlington appeared in outdoor scenes with the band. A still photo from this location was used as the cover of the album Notorious.

You can hear the gasping from a girl who is falling in love with a boy.

B-side and official remixes

For the first time, the B-side to the 7" single was not an original recording; "Winter Marches On" was an unaltered version of the Notorious album track. Before this, Duran Duran had always provided either completely original songs or previously unheard remixes on the B-side.

As a first for the band, "Notorious" was released as two separate 12" singles. The first had a Nile Rodgers produced "Extended Mix" while the second featured a remix by The Latin Rascals.

There are five official mixes of "Notorious":

• Album Version 4:18 - original mix
• 7"/45 Mix 3:58 - Album Version, with a slightly edited middle 8 and outro
• Extended Mix 5:18 - Album Version, with a one minute dub intro added on
• Latin Rascals Mix 6:23 – basically the Album Version, with a 1:10 dub intro and two brief remixed interludes spliced in
• Disconet Remix 6:33 – 1:30 dub intro, with the rest of the song more comprehensively remixed and rearranged; in particular, the guitars and percussion are accentuated

As a perenially popular song in their back catalogue, "Notorious" appears in various Duran Duran megamixes, most notably:

• "Notoriousaurus Rex (Master Mix)"
• "Burning the Ground" and its B-side, "Decadance"
• "DMC Megamix"

Chart positions

When the track made its debut on Montreal radio station CHOM during the October 20, 1986 edition of the nightly radio show "Rock And Roll News," DJ Randy Renaud declared that by the next night, the song "Amanda" by Boston (which had been holding on to the number one spot on CHOM's charts for several weeks) could "kiss the number one spot goodbye." Sure enough, by the next night, CHOM had received enough requests for the song that it supplanted "Amanda" from the #1 spot on the stations nightly countdown show, "The Top Six At Six."

• #2 Billboard Hot 100
• #7 UK chart
• #1 Italy
• #1 Canada
• #2 Sweden
• #4 Switzerland
• #5 Germany
• #1 European chart
• #14 Austria
• #37 France
• #4 Norway

Track listing

All release details pertain to the UK only.

7": EMI / DDN 45

1. "Notorious" (45 Mix) - 3:58
2. "Winter Marches On" - 3:25

12": EMI / 12 DDN 45

1. "Notorious" (Extended Mix) - 5:14
2. "Notorious" (45 Mix) - 3:58
3. "Winter Marches On" - 3:25

• also released on MC in New Zealand (EMI / TC-GOOD 149)

12": EMI / 12 DDNX 45

1. "Notorious" (The Latin Rascals Mix) - 6:23
2. "Notorious" (45 Mix) - 3:58
3. "Winter Marches On" - 3:25

• also released on MC (TC DDNX 45)

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1986-1995" boxset

1. "Notorious" (45 Mix) - 3:58
2. "Winter Marches On" - 3:25
3. "Notorious" (Extended Mix) - 5:14
4. "Notorious" (The Latin Rascals Mix) - 6:23

Covers and other appearances

Apart from the single, "Notorious" has also appeared on:

Albums:

• Notorious (1986)
• Duran Goes Dutch (1987)
• Master Mixes (1987)
• Decade (1989)
• 12" Collection (Japan only, 1991)
• Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (US only, 1998)
• Greatest (1998)
• Strange Behaviour (1999)

Singles:

• "Do You Believe In Shame ?" (1989)
• "Too Much Information" (1993)

Films:

• Donnie Darko featured the song during a scene in which Donnie's sister's dance group perform at a talent show and Donnie burns down a motivational speaker's house.
• Heard very briefly at the end of the trailer for the film Notorious

Sampled:

• The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1999 posthumous rap hit "Notorious B.I.G.".

Personnel

Duran Duran are:

• Simon Le Bon - Vocals
• John Taylor - Bass
• Nick Rhodes - Keyboards

With:

• Warren Cuccurullo - Guitars
• Andy Taylor - Guitars
• Nile Rodgers - Guitars
• The Borneo Horns - Horns
• Curtis King - Background Vocals
• Brenda White-King - Background Vocals
• Tessa Niles - Background Vocals
• Cindy Mizelle - Background Vocals

Production:

• Nile Rodgers - Producer
• Duran Duran - Producer
• Daniel Abraham - Engineer and Mixer
• The Latin Rascals - Remixers

External links

• TM's Duran Duran Discography