"Careless Memories" is the second single by the English new wave band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

, released on 20 April 1981. It reached no. 37 in the UK and no. 60 in Australia.

Content

"Careless Memories" has been described as "a classic hybrid of Euro-disco, new wave guitar pop and Bowie/

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

". Music journalist

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

has noted its influence from

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

as well as the motorik beats of Kraftwerk. Zaleski described it as a song that starts "with an insistent rhythmic oscillation that sounded like choppy helicopter blades" on which Duran Duran "piled on forceful sounds" featuring "Andy Taylor's slash-and-burn electric guitars, Nick Rhodes' atmospheric synths, quick and fiery bass from John Taylor and drums by Roger Taylor" and "a yearning, urgent vocal performance full of grit and desperation" by Simon Le Bon. While underperforming on the UK Singles chart upon its release, spending just four weeks on the chart with a peak position at number 37, the song quickly became a favourite of both fans and the band. The song has frequently been included in Duran Duran's live set lists throughout their career. The B-side of the single features the song "Khanada" which has been described as a "romantic song

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

radiates

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

energy with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

bass undercurrents" and featuring a chorus with two separate vocal lines intertwined. Simon Le Bon has revealed that the song was inspired by a

new romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

clothing designer the band knew named Jane Kahn.

Music video

The video was shot in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

and directed by Perry Haines, who went on to form '' i-D'' magazine. There are two different cuts of this video. The second version, which was included in the ''

'' video album released in 1983, features minor re-edits of certain scenes. The original version of the video was finally released on the ''

'' album 2010 2CD+DVD remaster.

B-sides and bonus tracks

The song "Khanada" was included as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to the single. The UK 12" release also included a cover version of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's " Fame" on the B-side. In Japan, the two B-sides were released on the ''Nite Romantics'' EP, along with night versions of "Girls on Film" and "Planet Earth".

Critical reception

Upon its release in April 1981, ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

reviewer Mark Ellen wrote: "Sensibly side-stepping the over-ploughed "sensitive" disco field (Spandau etc.), the persuasive force of the ten ton drum sound is not lost on this lot. Buried beneath layers of silk finish is a construction so staggeringly basic you wonder if their punk roots don't extend back to the Dry-Ice Age."

Formats and track listings

7": EMI / EMI 5168 United Kingdom

# "Careless Memories" – 3:41 # "Khanada" – 3:17

12": EMI / 12 EMI 5168 United Kingdom

# "Careless Memories" – 3:53 # " Fame" – 3:11 # "Khanada" – 3:17 * Track 1 is the album version of "Careless Memories".

12": Harvest / SPRO-9662, SPRO-9663 (Promo) United States

# "Careless Memories" – 3:53 # "Is There Anyone Out There" – 4.02 # "Girls on Film" – 3.30 * Track 1 is the album version of "Careless Memories".

CD: Part of '' Singles Box Set 1981–1985''

# "Careless Memories" – 3:44 # "Khanada" – 3:17 # "Fame" – 3:11 * Track 1 is the 7" version of "Careless Memories".

Charts

Other appearances

When the song " Is There Something I Should Know?" was issued as a single in the US, "Careless Memories" was placed on the flipside. The song was also a favourite live staple throughout the 1980s and was included on the live album ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

''. A live version of "Careless Memories" recorded in December 1981 at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

in London was released in 1982 as the B-side to " Hungry Like the Wolf". "Careless Memories" was one of the few singles included on neither the ''

Decade A decade (from , , ) is a period of 10 years. Decades may describe any 10-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement ...

'' nor '' Greatest'' single compilations.

Personnel

Duran Duran * Simon Le Bon – vocals *

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates; 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member and the keyboardist of the band Duran Duran. He has also been the only constant member of the group since their 1978 ...

– keyboards * John Taylor – bass guitar * Roger Taylor – drums * Andy Taylor – guitar Technical * Peter Ashworth – sleeve photography

Musical notes

The song has a rock double-timed bass line in the key of E, with a keyboard intro played deliberately off-time.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 singles Duran Duran songs Song recordings produced by Colin Thurston 1980 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Simon Le Bon Songs written by John Taylor (bass guitarist) Songs written by Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) Songs written by Andy Taylor (guitarist) Songs written by Nick Rhodes