What Are the 5 Biggest U.S. Hits by Duran Duran?

Duran Duran stormed onto U.S. shores on a wave of slick outfits, even slicker videos, and ridiculously catchy and imaginative music. No other band from the so-called British new wave made as much of an impact.

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They proved they were no flash in the pan, sustaining their chart success long after many of their peers had fallen off the track. Here is a look at Duran Duran’s five biggest U.S. hits.

5. “Hungry Like the Wolf” (No. 3 in 1983)

From the opening laughter through the hooky groove to those unforgettably cryptic yet evocative opening lines (Dark in the city, night is a wire / Steam in the subway, Earth is afire), Duran Duran pretty much had us in the palms of their hands in the opening moments of this, their major breakthrough in America. “Hungry Like the Wolf” also opened the doors to the rest of the amazing stuff found on the Rio album. The video helped, for sure, but all you need to do is close your eyes and listen, and you’ll hear all the dangerous passion that this song is meant to convey.

4. “Notorious” (No. 2 in 1986)

When Duran Duran returned from a 1985 hiatus that saw them branching out into two separate bands (The Power Station and Arcadia), they were two men down. Neither guitarist Andy Taylor nor drummer Roger Taylor returned to the fold. The ad hoc replacements were pretty great on this track, though: Future Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone delivering the funky beat on drums and Nile Rodgers giving the song much of its identity with his guitar riff. From there, the three remaining members (Simon LeBon, John Taylor, and Nick Rhodes) added their accents and, voila, another massive hit.

3. “The Wild Boys” (No. 2 in 1984)

“The Wild Boys” is essentially a soundtrack song for a movie that was never made. You can argue a lot of Duran Duran’s songs feel like that was originally their intent, so visual is the music that they create. What’s noteworthy here is how much open space can be found in the arrangement, as everything is largely focused on the tribal beat and Simon LeBon’s lyrics, which are bellowed to the hilt throughout—especially in the chorus. The song turns out to be a stirring rallying cry for any person or group that feels like life has penned them to the ropes.

2. “A View to a Kill” (No. 1 in 1985)

Has there ever been an artist or band better suited to deliver a James Bond theme than the Durans? Most of their songs seem to hint at exotic locales, daring escapes, and femme fatales. It was a natural that they’d knock this assignment out of the park. It helps that they and longtime Bond composer John Barry were so simpatico, so that both the musical identity of the band and the signature beats of the score all survive intact. The movie doesn’t rank all that high on lists of the best Bond films, but “A View to a Kill” ranks right up there with the best theme songs from the series.

1. “The Reflex” (No. 1 in 1984)

On their 1983 album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Duran Duran went bigger in every category: productions, themes, budgets. It made for a shakier ride on the whole than the comparatively lean and mean Rio, but individual moments like “The Reflex” undoubtedly rose to the ambition. Simon LeBon realized early on that pop lyrics need not always make linear sense as long as they’re striking and memorable, and that skill is on excellent display here. The quirky production touches, like the way LeBon’s voice is occasionally stretched beyond recognition, are grounded by the relentlessly funky groove.

Photo by Pete Still/Redferns