| Is There Something I Should Know? | |
| |
| single by Duran Duran | |
|---|---|
| B-side | "Faith In This Colour" "Careless Memories" |
| Released | 19 March 1983 (UK) June 1983 (US) |
| Recorded | December 1982 |
| Format | 7", 12" |
| Genre | New wave, synthpop |
| Length | 4:11 (Single Version) 6:43 (Monster Mix) |
| Label | Capitol, EMI |
| Writer(s) | Duran Duran |
| Producer(s) | Duran Duran Ian Little |
| Duran Duran | |
"Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by Duran Duran, released by Capitol-EMI on 19 March 1983 (UK).
About the song[]
The song became the band's first UK #1 record. In fact it achieved the then extremely rare feat of entering the UK charts at #1 in it's first week of release. In New Zealand, it was the longest-running #1 single of 1983, staying atop the charts for nine weeks. It also reached #4 in the United States.
"Is There Something I Should Know?" was recorded in London with producer Ian Little in December of 1982. The song was initially released in the UK as a stand-alone single on 19 March 1983 and later tacked onto the 1983 United States reissue of the band's debut album Duran Duran. The first long-playing album in the UK on which the song featured was the inaugural Now That's What I Call Music compilation at the end of the year.
The singles from the Duran Duran album did not receive much airplay in the United States on the album's first release; both the band and the New Romantic genre were unknown, and very few British bands were able to break into American radio at that time. However, at the end of 1982 the band's second album Rio was rapidly climbing the American charts, fueled by around-the-clock airplay of several different videos on MTV. The band and their label, Capitol-EMI, decided to re-release the debut album in the United States with the inclusion of this newly recorded single.
Music video[]
The memorable and much-played video for "Is There Something I Should Know?" featured color clips of the band members, in blue shirts with tucked-in white ties, interspersed with surreal images in black-and-white. It was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was one of the most popular videos of 1983 on MTV.
The end of the video included snippets from several earlier Duran Duran videos: "Save A Prayer", "Waiting for the Nightboat", "Girls on Film", "Hungry Like the Wolf", "My Own Way", and "Planet Earth". (See the Duran Duran video album for details.)
Asked if there was anything about their videos they'd like to change, drummer Roger Taylor commented, "The only part of a video I would change is the end of "Is There Something I Should Know" where I am singing to the camera. I look very uncomfortable doing this and cringe every time I see it to this day." [1]
B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes[]
The B-side to "Is There Something I Should Know?" was the instrumental "Faith in this Colour". An alternate slow mix of "Faith in this Colour" was used on the initial release of the UK 7" single, some pressings of which included brief unauthorized sound samples from the movie Star Wars -- these were promptly withdrawn when copyright concerns were raised.
The mainly instrumental "Monster Mix" of "Is There Something I Should Know?" was completed by producers Ian Little and Alex Sadkin.
Covers, samples, & media references[]
The band Sugar Ray featured elements from the video in a segment of the music video for their single "When It's Over."
Cover versions of the song have been recorded by The Mr. T Experience and the band allSTARS*.
The line "you're about as easy as a nuclear war" was the inspiration for the Duran Duran song "Yo Bad Azizi", included as a B-side to the "Serious" single released seven years later.
Chart positions[]
The song debuted in the #1 position on the UK charts on 26 March 1983. Duran Duran were one of the very few acts since Elvis Presley and The Beatles to debut at the top, before the advent of more aggressive marketing methods in the late 1980s made it a much easier goal to achieve.
The single also had great success in America, where it was released in June: it reached #4 on the Billboard charts on 6 August 1983 and sold more than a million copies.
Track listing[]
Release information pertains to UK release only.
7": EMI 5371
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" - 4:11
- "Faith In This Colour" (Alternate Slow Mix) - 4:05
12": 12 EMI 5371
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster Mix) - 6:40
- "Faith In This Colour" - 4:05
CD: Part of the "Singles Box Set 1981-1985"
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" - 4:11
- "Faith In This Colour" - 4:05
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster Mix) - 6:40
- "Faith In This Colour" (Alternate Slow Mix) - 4:05
- Monster mix remixed by Alex Sadkin and Ian Little
Other appearances[]
Apart from the single, "Is There Something I Should Know?" has also appeared on:
Albums:
- Duran Duran (1983)
- Arena (1984)
- 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)
Box sets:
Singles:
- "Capitol Gold Cuts" (1990
- "Come Undone" (1993)
Personnel[]
Duran Duran are:
- Simon Le Bon - vocals, harmonica
- John Taylor - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Nick Rhodes - keyboards, backing vocals
- Andy Taylor - guitar, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor - drums
Also credited:
- Producer - Duran Duran, Ian Little
- Mixed by Ian Little, Alex Sadkin
Lyrics[]
please Please tell me now Please Please tell me now Please please tell me now what it takes to make it show Please please tell me now Please please tell me now I made a break I run out yesterday Tried to find my mountain hideaway Maybe next year maybe no go I know you're watching me every minute of the day yeah I've seen the signs and the looks and the pictures They give your game away yeah There's a dream that strings the road With broken glass for us to hold And I cut so far before I had to stay Please please tell me now Is there something i should know Is there something I should say That would make you come my way Do you feel the same 'cos you don't let it show People stare and cross the road from me And jungle drums they all clear the way for me Can you read my mind can you see in the snow And fiery demons all dance When you walk through that door Don't say you're easy on me You're about as easy as a nuclear war Cos the dream that strings the road With broken glass for us to hold And I got so far before I had to say Please please tell me now Is there something I should know Is there something I should say That would make you come my way Do you feel the same 'cos you don't let it show Please please tell me now Is there something I should know Is there something I should say That would make you come my way Please please tell me now is there something I should know is there something I should say that would make you come my way Please please tell me now can you see what makes me blow can you see how much I die every time it passes by
See also[]
References[]
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