Duran Duran released their second album Rio on May 10, 1982. Even decades after its release, Rio can still be found at the intersection of style and substance. It’s pop/rock perfection in a lean nine-track package that can still cause the masses to dance their asses off while also finding time for introspection.
Perhaps the prime examples of the album’s mix of style and substance came with its music videos, which thanks to the launch of MTV, helped catapult Duran Duran to stardom not just in the United State but worldwide.
To celebrate the anniversary of this album and Duran Duran's upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, here are the seven music videos from Rio ranked.
7. ‘My Own Way’
The video for “My Own Way” was a pretty easy choice for last place. It’s not a bad video, per se, but compared to the rest of the evocative videos that make up this list, a flashy performance video just doesn’t measure up.
6. ‘Lonely In Your Nightmare’ (Version 2)
Fun fact: There are two versions of the “Lonely In Your Nightmare” music video! While both share the same narrative, “Version 2” features fewer interactions between Simon Le Bon and model Vanya Seager and is, thus, far less sensual.
5. ‘Save A Prayer’
“Save A Prayer” is the third single from Rio and the second video in the Russell Mulcahy trilogy from the LP, with the other videos being “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Rio.” The trilogy was filmed with Sri Lanka, with the video highlighting various beach views, Buddhist temple ruins and, of course, John Taylor getting water sprayed on him by on elephant. While that latter part is certainly whimsical, the video, itself, still maintains a sense of melancholy as echoed in the tender song about a one-night stand.
4. ‘Lonely In Your Nightmare’
The magic of the “Lonely In Your Nightmare” video is the chemistry between Simon Le Bon and model Vanya Seager, and the various points in the video where Le Bon gently sings in Seager’s ear, “Because you’re lonely in your nightmare/Let me in.” It’s a type of heat that still holds up today.
2. ‘Rio’
Finally! A depiction of yachting that doesn’t look like a WASP-y Ralph Lauren ad! For real, if sailing was actually as sexy like what we saw in the video for “Rio,” much more of us would be inclined to take to the sea. (At least this writer would.) Between the cheeky phone scene to John Taylor’s brief fantasy sequence to the sight of Simon Le Bon in a speedo, “Rio” is a picturesque delight.
1. 'Hungry Like the Wolf'
It’s the song and music video that truly broke Duran Duran in the United States, and it’s easy to see why. Inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark, Andy Taylor would perfectly describe the video in his 2008 memoir Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran as “Indiana Jones is horny and wants to get laid.” One look at stunning model Sheila Ming, and yeah…you can understand the motive. Add in that iconic table flip and you have one of the greatest music videos of all time.
