The Wild Boys

"The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single from the band Duran Duran, released on the live album Arena in October of 1984. It reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, the American Billboard Hot 100, and the Canadian CHUM Chart, and reached #1 on the German charts. It was the band's biggest charting single in Australia, reaching #3.

About the song
The idea for the song came from longtime Duran Duran video director Russell Mulcahy, who wanted to make a full-length feature film based on the surreal and sexual 1971 novel The Wild Boys: A Book Of The Dead by William S. Burroughs. He suggested that the band might create a modern soundtrack for the film in the same way that Queen would later provide a rock soundtrack for Mulcahy's 1986 movie Highlander. Singer Simon Le Bon began writing some lyrics based on Mulcahy's quick synopsis of the book, and the band created a harsh-sounding instrumental backdrop for them.

The song was the only studio track on the live album Arena, and was produced by Nile Rodgers, who had previously remixed the single "The Reflex". It was recorded at the end of July 1984 at Maison Rouge studios in London.

Donald A. Guarisco of All Music Guide said:

Duran Duran [...] weren't afraid to occasionally add a hard rocking edge to their danceable sound. The ultimate example of this tendency was "Wild Boys," a bombastic 1984 hit that welded wailing guitars to some startlingly explosive electronic effects. The lyrics of the song are steeped in warlike imagery ("reckless and so hungered, on the razor's edge you trail/because there's murder by the roadside") as they paint a portrait of brave young men who refuse to bow to the pressures of a "sore afraid new world." The music backs these sentiments up with a sense of steely grandeur, building from ominous verses into a soaring chorus that tempers its rousing feel with plenty of dark shadings. Duran Duran's recording of "Wild Boys" found the group teaming with dance music legend Nile Rodgers to create a song that balanced dance and rock elements in equal measure: Andy Taylor's fiery, snarling guitar riffs and dense synthesizer textures set a gritty, rocking tone but the deep, throbbing backdrop of drum machines and electronic percussion adds a danceable edge. The end result was surprisingly dark and edgy, sounding more like goth rock outfit the Sisters of Mercy than previous Duran Duran hits.

The single was issued with six separate collectible covers - one featuring each individual band member and one of the band collectively.

Music video
The video for "The Wild Boys" was directed by Russell Mulcahy. The cost was staggering, as his design filled one entire end of the "007 Stage" at Pinewood Studios with a metal pyramid and a windmill over a deep enclosed pool, and called for a lifelike robotic face, dozens of elaborate costumes, prosthetics, and makeup effects, and then-cutting-edge computer graphics. The choreography of dance routines, intricate stunts and fire effects added to the cost. Mulcahy meant the video to be a teaser for his full-length Burroughs film, demonstrating his vision to the movie studios he was wooing, but that project was never made.

The video featured all of the band members imprisoned and in peril, wearing uncharacteristically rough and ragged outfits similar to the pieced-together clothing of the film The Road Warrior. John Taylor was strapped to the roof of a Mercedes-Benz car, Nick Rhodes was caged with a pile of computer equipment, and Andy Taylor was bound (guitar and all) to a ship's figurehead. Singer Simon Le Bon, strapped to the spinning windmill which dunked his head beneath the water with each revolution, supposedly found himself in real difficulty when the windmill stopped with his head underwater. He was given a tube to breathe through and the issue was promptly fixed, but the British tabloids had a field day exaggerating Le Bon's "near death experience". Le Bon himself has dismissed this story in more than one interview as an "urban myth", claiming nothing of the sort happened.

"The Wild Boys" was named Best British Video at the 1985 BRIT Awards.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The b-side, "Cracks in the Pavement (live)", was recorded at the 5 March 1984 show at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This is the same concert where the video for "The Reflex" was filmed.

To promote the release of the compilation album Greatest in 1998, EMI commissioned a number of remixes, including two mixes of "The Wild Boys" that were released only on promotional discs:


 * "The Wild Boys [ASAP & PM Project Remix]" 3:42 appeared on a one-track promo CD in Spain
 * "Wild Boys 98 [4 On Da Floor Remix]" 3:10 appeared on a one-track promo CD in Belgium

Covers, samples, & media references
Cover versions of "The Wild Boys" have been recorded by Robyn Loau/Ronin System, the German bands Atrocity and Touch Down, and the Danish metal band Mnemic.

A sample of the phrase "Boys" (along with the "Girls" from "Girls on Film") was used as part of the "Girls! Boys!" chorus on the band's 1989 megamix single "Burning The Ground".

The song has long been the entrance music used by mixed martial arts fighter "Mirko Filipović".

Chart positions
"The Wild Boys" peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, the American Billboard Hot 100, and the Canadian CHUM Chart, and reached #1 on the German charts.

7": EMI DURAN 3 (UK)

 * 1) "The Wild Boys [45]"  – 4:16
 * 2) "(I'm looking for) Cracks in the pavement [Live 1984]"  – 4:08


 * Also released in sleeves featuring individual band members (DURANC3)

12": EMI 12 DURAN 3 (UK)

 * 1) "The Wild Boys [(Wilder Than The Wild Boys) Extended mix]"  – 8:00
 * 2) "The Wild Boys [45]"  – 4:16
 * 3) "(I'm looking for) Cracks in the pavement [Live 1984]"  – 4:08

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981-1985" boxset

 * 1) "The Wild Boys [45]"  – 4:16
 * 2) "(I'm looking for) Cracks in the pavement [Live 1984]"  – 4:08
 * 3) "The Wild Boys [(Wilder Than The Wild Boys) Extended mix]"  – 8:00

Other appearances
Apart from the single, "The Wild Boys" has also appeared on:

Albums:
 * Arena (1984)
 * Decade (1989)
 * Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (US only, 1998)
 * Greatest (1998)
 * Strange Behaviour (1999)

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - vocals
 * Nick Rhodes - keyboards
 * John Taylor - bass guitar
 * Roger Taylor - drums
 * Andy Taylor - guitar

Also credited:
 * Nile Rodgers - producer
 * Ian Little - producer
 * Nile Rodgers - remixer
 * Jason Corsaro - engineer and mixer