"Election Day" is the first single released by

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 ...

offshoot band Arcadia. It was released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in October 1985 and subsequently hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at No. 6 in the US and No. 7 in the UK. In Italy, spurred on by several high profile TV appearances, it became a huge hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 between November 1985 and January 1986. It also reached the Top 5 in New Zealand and Ireland. Along with the Arcadia members, "Election Day" features

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

on vocals and speech segments.

Lyrical content

When ''

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 ...

'' published the lyrics in their magazine, they published the complete lyric, which included a verse that was subsequently dropped from the released version of the song: :''Don't even try to induce, In all my restrain there's no hesitation'' :''All the signs on the loose 'cause sanity's rare this end of the hard day'' :''Shadows are crawling out of the subway'' :''Any way that you choose in every direction just to confuse me'' This additional verse was also included in the lyrics which were printed on the back of the sleeve of the "Cryptic cut no voice" release.

Music video

The dark and moody video—with Gothic imagery inspired by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

's 1946 film, '' La Belle et la Bête''—was shot in and around Paris in late September 1985. It was directed by Roger Christian. There is a short cameo appearance by an actor dressed like

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

. A documentary film was made on the filming and production of the music video."Filming Election Day"
- September 1985, Paris, France. Video.

Official remixes

It was the first Duran Duran–related single to have more than one remix of the lead track, a feature that would continue on " Notorious" a year later. There were a total of seven mixes of "Election Day": * Album version (5:29) – Original mix; all except the early rough mix are different permutations of this version * Single version (4:30) – Edited album version * Consensus mix (8:39) – 12" and promo video version * "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" (4:28) – Instrumental B-side; title from first verse of the song * Cryptic cut/Fact and Story mix (9:06) – Largely instrumental, featuring extended passages and a short 'political speech' * Cryptic cut no voice mix (8:27) – The "Cryptic cut" mix, without the speech * Early rough mix (9:04) – An early, mostly instrumental version

Formats and track listings

7": Parlophone / NSR 1 (UK)

# "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30 # "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" – 4:28 * Track 1 is also known as the "7 inch mix" * B-side is an instrumental version of "Election Day"

12": Parlophone / 12 NSR 1 (UK)

# "Election Day" (Consensus mix) – 8:39 # "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30 # "She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless" – 4:28

12": Parlophone / 12 NSRA 1 (UK)

# "Election Day" (Cryptic cut no voice mix) – 8:27 # "Election Day" (single version) – 4:30 # "Election Day" (Consensus mix) – 8:39

12": Townhouse / PSLP393 (UK)

# "Election Day" (Cryptic cut / Fact and Story mix) – 9:06 * 1-sided UK promo, unlabelled * This version was later referred to by Le Bon and Rhodes as the "Cryptic cut" * The name "Fact and Story mix" comes from the spoken word part in the mix and was first referred to by this name on a bootleg remix album

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Arcadia *

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the Briti ...

– 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 * Roger Taylor – drums Additional musicians *

– guest vocalist *

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician. History The son of a Pentecostal mi ...

– guitars *

Masami Tsuchiya Masami Tsuchiya may refer to: * Masami Tsuchiya (Aum Shinrikyo) (1965–2018), member of the Aum Shinrikyo movement *Masami Tsuchiya (singer) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He rose to prominence in the late 1970 ...

– guitars *

Mark Egan Mark Egan (born January 14, 1951, in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American jazz bassist and trumpeter known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group and the Gil Evans Orchestra. He is co-founder of the jazz fusion band, Elements. Biogra ...

– bass guitar; double bass *

Andy Mackay Andrew Mackay (born 23 July 1946) is an English musician, best known as a founding member (playing oboe and saxophone) of the art rock group Roxy Music. In addition, he has taught music and provided scores for television, while his work as a se ...

– tenor saxophone Technical *

Alex Sadkin Alex Sadkin (April 9, 1949July 23, 1987) was an American record producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer. Early life Sadkin grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and played saxophone in Sunrise Junior High School and Fort Lauderdale Hig ...

– producer; engineer

Covers, samples, and media references

's 'Strange Behaviour' tour, the band performed a medley of "Election Day" and the Power Station's single, "

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

References

External links

Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes being interviewed on Arcadia and the theme of Election Day
* {{authority control 1985 debut singles Arcadia (band) songs Number-one singles in Italy 1985 songs Songs written by Simon Le Bon Songs written by Nick Rhodes Song recordings produced by Alex Sadkin Parlophone singles