The year is 1982. Man, what a time to be alive! Especially for me, being that I was born that year. Imagine, you’re an adolescent in an era that, although there wasn’t any internet yet, there was cable television. Cable was kind of mind blowing to be honest and it was the Wild Wild West at this time. Kids didn’t have Tik Tok or YouTube, but they had MTV!! I’ll hold the tired jokes about how that’s when they actually played music. MTV helped introduce all kinds of music to people that previously only had three channels to choose from when watching television. How did the infant network manage to set themselves apart from any other old thing on the boob tube? Well because if you want to be on MTV you obviously have to have a music video. Having visuals to go along with music that you could see over and over without having to be at a live concert or being forced to sit in front of Ed Sullivan or Dick Clark was revolutionary for the young folks of the time and a humongous marketing tool! Speaking of revolutionary, Paul Revere warned that the British were coming way back in 1775. Well, that wouldn’t be the only invasion since then. The British Invasion in the 60’s changed the musical climate of the entire world. In the late 70’s and early 80’s there was a second invasion. No warfare was necessary, we welcomed it this time around! Now to get on with it, as an Englishman would say. Duran Duran utilized all of the tools listed above. This group of young guys went viral before there was viral. They understood the popularity of Punk Rock and glammed that shit all the way up! Now, that may have been a deal breaker for the widely homophobic demographic of that time, no worries though, a video for a little song titled Girls on Film came out and, what I would have to guess is an enigma of record breaking prepubescent jack off sessions would be had worldwide because of it. That video will still make some guys and girls blush to this day. Look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Just be sure to find the uncensored version. Keep in mind, this was a great time to be alive because the HIV epidemic wouldn’t hit until a couple of years later. Being able to be free sexually if you so shall chose to had little consequences compared to the near future. Duran Duran became so popular that it became cool for girls to like this band as much as the boys and, let’s be real, Duran Duran probably already had the girls attention anyways. Posters and magazine covers were sure to be plastered everywhere. This new English phenomena was just beginning. Now on to my review of the actual music! Every song on this album is as salacious as the guys themselves. If you’re alive and more than 4 years old, you’ve heard Hungry Like a Wolf and Rio for sure. They’re expertly recorded to excite you, make you want to dance and most importantly give you that sexy feeling. Rio gives you a tropical feeling. Listening to it I can see the girls dancing in the sand. Horny, errr I mean Hungry Like The Wolf is self explanatory. The videos these guys put out were top notch. So much beauty, action and anticipation. The music videos that accompanied these songs were next level and inspired classic shows and movies, at least stylistically, like Miami Vice and Scarface. Tell me I’m wrong. They also have sold more than 100 million albums to date. Other great songs from Rio include New Religion, Hold Back the Rain and Lonely In Your Nightmare. Patrick Nagel created the cover art that is so iconically 80’s you get nostalgic just looking at it. In closing, Duran Duran put out pretty good music. Their success, in my opinion, should be chalked up to their vision. The styles, the fashion, the marketing, the good looks and the smarts of these party animals made every guy want to be them and every girl want to be with them.