Notorious (song)

"Notorious" is the 14th single by Duran Duran. It was released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986. "Notorious" was the first single issued from the album Notorious, and reached #7 in the UK and #2 in the US. Duran Duran's success was on the wane, however, and the band would reach the Top 5 only once more before 1993's "Ordinary World".

About the song
"Notorious" marked the debut of the new streamlined trio version of Duran Duran, as both Roger and Andy Taylor had left the band by the time the single and album were released. In fact, the acrimonious nature of Andy Taylor's departure was reflected in the song to a certain degree. According to songwriter Simon Le Bon, the lyric "Who gives a damn for a flaky bandit" was a direct dig at the guitarist.

As a trio, the band had enlisted the help of Nile Rodgers to take over production duties. His funk influences can be felt all over the single, from the tempo to the use of The Borneo Horns brass section.

Music video
The video for "Notorious" was shot in November 1986 by directors Peter Kagan and Paula Greif, and bore an uncanny resemblance to the video the duo had filmed in June of that year for Steve Winwood's "Higher Love". The video was shot in black and white with a hand-held camera, with quick cuts and changes of zoom and focus. It featured the three-piece band performing the song on a sound stage, with scantily clad dancers in the background choreographed by Paula Abdul.

The young model Christy Turlington appeared in outdoor scenes with the band. A still photo from this location was used as the cover of the album Notorious.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The single's a-side featured an edited outro, cutting roughly 20 seconds from the album version.

As a first for the band, "Notorious" was released as two separate 12" singles. The first had a Nile Rodgers produced "Extended Mix" while the second featured a remix by The Latin Rascals.

This almost made up for the fact that for the first time, the b-side to the standard single was not an original recording; "Winter Marches On" was an unretouched version of the album track. Before this, Duran Duran had always provided either completely original songs or previously unheard remixes on the b-side.

Numerous other remixes of the song have appeared in various collections, including "Notoriousaurus Rex", a mega-mix of various Notorious-era remixes.

Covers, samples, & media references
"Notorious" was sampled in The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1999 posthumous rap hit "Notorious".

The song was also used in the 2001 film Donnie Darko, serving as the soundtrack to one of Sparkle Motion's dance routines.

Chart positions
When the track made its debut on Montreal radio station CHOM during the 20 October, 1986 edition of the nightly radio show "Rock And Roll News", DJ Randy Renaud declared that by the next night, the song "Amanda" by Boston (which had been holding on to the number one spot on CHOM's charts for several weeks) could "Kiss the number one spot goodbye". Sure enough, by the next night, CHOM had received enough requests for the song that it supplanted "Amanda" from the #1 spot on the stations nightly countdown show, "The Top Six At Six".


 * n.2 Billboard Hot 100
 * n.7 UK chart
 * n.1 Italy
 * n.1 Canada
 * n.2 Sweden
 * n.4 Switzerland
 * n.5 Germany
 * n.1 European chart
 * n.2 GLOBAL WORLD CHART

Track listing
All release details pertain to the UK only.

7": EMI DD 45

 * 1) "Notorious [45 Mix]" (3:58)
 * 2) "Winter Marches On" (3:25)

12": EMI 12 DD 45

 * 1) "Notorious [Extended Mix]" (5:14)
 * 2) "Notorious [45 Mix]" (3:58)
 * 3) "Winter Marches On" (3:25)

12": EMI 12 DDX 45

 * 1) "Notorious [The Latin Rascals Mix]" (6:23)
 * 2) "Notorious [45 Mix]" (3:58)
 * 3) "Winter Marches On" (3:25)

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1986-1995" boxset

 * 1) "Notorious [45 Mix]" (3:58)
 * 2) "Winter Marches On" (3:25)
 * 3) "Notorious [Extended Mix]" (5:14)
 * 4) "Notorious [The Latin Rascals Mix]" (6:23)

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

Albums:
 * Notorious (1986)
 * Duran Goes Dutch (1987)
 * Master Mixes (1987)
 * Decade (1989)
 * 12" Collection (Japan only, 1991)
 * Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (US only, 1998)
 * Greatest (1998)
 * Strange Behaviour (1999)

Singles:
 * Do You Believe In Shame? (1989)
 * Too Much Information (1993)

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - Vocals
 * John Taylor - Bass
 * Nick Rhodes - Keyboards

With:
 * Warren Cuccurullo - Guitars
 * Andy Taylor - Guitars
 * Nile Rodgers - Guitars
 * The Borneo Horns - Horns
 * Curtis King - Background Vocals
 * Brenda White-King - Background Vocals
 * Tessa Niles - Background Vocals
 * Cindy Mizelle - Background Vocals

Production:
 * Nile Rodgers - Producer
 * Duran Duran - Producer
 * Daniel Abraham - Engineer and Mixer
 * The Latin Rascals - Remixers