The Reflex

"The Reflex" is the eleventh single by the band Duran Duran, and their most successful, reaching #1 in both the United Kingdom and the United States and #4 in Australia. It was the third and last to be taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, released internationally by EMI in April 1984.

About the song
The song's lyrics are puzzling to most listeners. Lead vocalist Simon LeBon said he has no clue what the song means. According to the lyrics, the Reflex is a mysterious child and a game.

The remixes for both the 7" and 12" singles were done by Nile Rodgers, of Chic fame. It was his first work with the band, and he would later go on to produce "The Wild Boys" single as well as the album Notorious (1986) and several tracks on Astronaut (2004).

Producer Ian Little recalls the sound Nick Rhodes came up with on his Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard: "...whenever I hear that steel-drum part it always brings a smile to my face because it's so out of tune. Steel drums always are, but it was exactly right in terms of rhythm and tone. So a wood-block sound was mixed in to make it even more percussive and, Bob's your uncle, it did the job."

Music video
The video for "The Reflex" was shot during the Sing Blue Silver tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario on 5 March 1984. Director Russell Mulcahy filmed some of the closeup footage in the indoor arena that afternoon, and the rest was filmed live during that evening's concert.

"The Reflex" is primarily a concert video, accurately portraying Duran Duran's Sing Blue Silver tour performance style (perhaps with a little more hair spray and a little less sweat than usual). However, in keeping with the band's insistence that their videos "never be ordinary", the video screen above the stage displayed bits of naked models wearing collars and chains illuminated with black light, occasionally interrupted by computerized video white noise. At one point, a waterfall appears to pour out of the video screen above the stage to soak the audience. The computer graphics used to achieve this were cutting edge at the time, but rapid advancement in the field quickly made the effect look dated.

Mulcahy found it challenging to edit the video to match the jumpy fast-and-slow edits in the Nile Rodgers remix of the single. For the instrumental break in the middle of the song, he had to do some video "scratching" with Simon Le Bon's silhouette.

Keyboard enthusiasts have taken special note of the Fairlight CMI (the first digital sampling synthesiser) that Nick Rhodes operated with a light pen in this video, and throughout the tour.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The live b-side "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a cover of a Cockney Rebel song, recorded in early 1983 at Hammersmith Odeon in London, with lead Rebel Steve Harley joining the band onstage.

A second live b-side, "New Religion", was recorded 7 February, 1984 at The Forum in Los Angeles. This is not the same live version that appears on the Arena album.

Covers, samples, & media references
Cover versions have been recorded by Less than Jake and the duo of Kylie Minogue and Ben Lee.

The song has also been featured in the soundtracks for the movies American Wedding (2003) and Corky Romano (2001), as well as an episode of the short-lived 2002 television series That '80s Show in which bassist John Taylor made a guest appearance.

The song was referenced by Dave Chappelle in one of his skits that aired on The Lost Episodes.

Chart positions
In a heavily remixed form, "The Reflex" was the band's second single to top the UK singles chart, after "Is There Something I Should Know?" in 1983, and it would be their last #1 song there. The song was also the band's first single to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (for two weeks) on 23 June, 1984 (see 1984 in music).

Track listing
"The Reflex" was the second Duran Duran single to feature a vanity catalogue number in the UK, DURAN 2.

7": EMI DURAN 2 (UK)

 * 1) "The Reflex" [7" version]  – 4:20
 * 2) "Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)" [Live]  – 4:54

12": EMI 12 DURAN 2 (UK)

 * 1) "The Reflex" [Dance mix]  – 6:35
 * 2) "The Reflex" [7" version]  – 4:20
 * 3) "Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)" [Live]  – 4:54

7": Capitol B-5345 (US)

 * 1) "The Reflex" [The Dance Mix - edited]  – 4:25
 * 2) "New Religion" [Live in L.A.]  – 4:52

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

 * 1) "The Reflex" [7" version]  – 4:20
 * 2) "Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)" [Live]  – 4:54
 * 3) "The Reflex" [Dance mix]  – 6:35

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

Albums:
 * Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)
 * Tiger Tiger! ep (Japan only, 1984)
 * Decade (1989)
 * 12" Collection (Japan only, 1991)
 * Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (US only, 1998)
 * Greatest (1998)
 * Strange Behaviour (1999)

Singles:
 * Capitol Gold Cuts (1990)

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

Also credited:
 * Alex Sadkin - producer
 * Ian Little - producer
 * Nile Rodgers - remixer
 * Jason Corsaro - remix engineer