Perfect Day

"Perfect Day" is the first single from the Duran Duran covers album Thank You. It is a cover version of the 1972 song "Perfect Day", written by Lou Reed and originally released on the classic album Transformer. The song became much more familiar to the general public after its use for a British Children In Need charity campaign in 1997.

About the song
Lou Reed has been cited as an inspiration by several members of Duran Duran, and the album Thank You was intended to be a tribute to the band's influences, in the style of David Bowie's Pin Ups.

Reed has called Duran Duran's version "the best cover ever done of one of my songs" (he also praised a version by Kirsty MacColl, also released in 1995, on her album Galore).

The song is a fairly straightforward cover, with somber vocal delivery and slow, dreamy instrumental backing balancing tones of sweet nostalgia ("it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you") with an undercurrent of menace ("you're gonna reap just what you sow"). Backing vocals were provided by longtime Duran Duran collaborator Tessa Niles.

The song was notable for a rare appearance by Roger Taylor. Taylor had been Duran Duran's first drummer, but left the band at the height of their fame in 1986, and had had little contact with them in the ten years since. He joined Duran Duran in the studio to record "Perfect Day", "Watching The Detectives" and "Jeepster". Taylor also appeared in the video and in a promotional appearance on Top of the Pops.

The UK release included a 2-CD set ("Part 1" and "Part 2"), containing different mixes and bonus tracks, sold both separately and together. A limited edition release included a scratch and sniff ice cream cone cover.

Music video
The video was filmed in February 1995, and first aired in March. It was directed by Nick Egan, and featured the band with their instruments inside the box of a sound stage, sometimes playing their instruments and sometimes not. The stage is lined with vivid red walls, and the video is intensely saturated, even overexposed at times. Clips of a melancholy Simon Le Bon singing, and other band members performing or reacting to the lyrics, are interspersed with snippets of surreal images. The camera occasionally pulls back to show the entire stage structure and its supports, increasing the sense of unreality.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The bonus tracks on the double CD set issued in the US and the UK included two more covers which were not included on the album: "The Needle and the Damage Done", originally by Neil Young, and "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" originally by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

Chart positions
The song reached #28 on the UK Singles Chart.

7": Parlophone DD 20 (UK)

 * 1) "Perfect Day" (3:53)
 * 2) "Femme Fatale [Alternative Mix]" (4:14)

MC: Capitol 4KM 58392 4 (US)

 * 1) "Perfect Day" (3:53)
 * 2) "White Lines [Wrapless Edit]" (4:32)

CD: Parlophone CD DD 20 (UK)

 * 1) "Perfect Day" (3:53)
 * 2) "Love Voodoo [remix]" (7:36)
 * 3) "The Needle and the Damage Done" (2:03)
 * 4) "911 is a Joke [Alternative Version]" (3:49)

CD: Parlophone CD DDS 20 (UK)

 * 1) "Perfect Day" (3:53)
 * 2) "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" (4:56)
 * 3) "Perfect Day [Acoustic Version]" (3:44)
 * 4) "Femme Fatale [Alternative Mix]" (4:14)


 * This CD came in a 2-CD case that also housed CD DD 20.

CD: Capitol C2 7243 8 58392 2 1 (US)

 * 1) "Perfect Day [Album Version]" (3:53)
 * 2) "White Lines (Live Version)" (5:33)
 * 3) "White Lines (Oakland Funk Edit)" (4:24)
 * 4) "White Lines (Junior's Freestyle Edit)" (4:06)
 * 5) "None of the Above (Remix)" (4:07)


 * "White Lines" live recorded at Wembley Arena, London April 1994

CD: Capitol C2 0777 7 15981 2 8 (US)

 * 1) "Perfect Day [Album Version]" (3:53)
 * 2) "White Lines [Junior's House Mix Edit]" (4:05)
 * 3) "White Lines [Global Groove Edit]" (3:59)
 * 4) "White Lines [Blizzard Mix]" (4:40)
 * 5) "The Needle and the Damage Done" (2:03)

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

 * 1) "Perfect Day" (3:53)
 * 2) "Femme Fatale [Alternative Mix]" (4:14)
 * 3) "Love Voodoo [remix]" (7:36)
 * 4) "The Needle and the Damage Done" (2:03)
 * 5) "911 is a Joke [Alternative Version]" (3:49)
 * 6) "Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile)" (4:56)
 * 7) "Perfect Day [Acoustic Version]" (3:44)

Other appearances
Apart from the single, Perfect Day also appears on:

Albums:


 * Thank You (1995)
 * Singles Box Set 1986-1995 (2004)

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - vocals
 * Nick Rhodes - keyboards
 * John Taylor - bass guitar
 * Warren Cuccurullo - guitar

With:
 * Roger Taylor - drums
 * Tessa Niles - backing vocals

Also credited:
 * John Jones, Anthony J. Resta, Bob St. John - additional production and engineering
 * David Richards - mixing
 * Mark Tinley - additional programming