"The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 26 October 1984 in the United Kingdom. The song was the only studio track on the band's live album ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

'' (1984), and was produced by Nile Rodgers, who had previously remixed the band's previous single "

The Reflex "The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' ...

". It was recorded at the end of July 1984 at Maison Rouge Studios in London.

Background

The idea for the song came from longtime Duran Duran video director

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos ...

, who wanted to make a full-length feature film based on the surreal and sexual 1971 novel '' The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead'' by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

. He suggested that the band might create a modern soundtrack for the film in the same way that

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

would later provide a rock soundtrack for Mulcahy's 1986 film '' Highlander''. Lead vocalist

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

began writing some lyrics based on Mulcahy's quick synopsis of the book, and the band created a harsh-sounding instrumental backdrop for them. The single was issued with six separate collectible covers – one featuring each individual band member and one of the band collectively.

Critical reception

'' Cash Box'' called the song "a rolling pop tune with a tribal intensity."

Chart performances

"The Wild Boys" became one of the band's highest-charting singles, peaking at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks, behind "

Out of Touch "Out of Touch" is a song by American duo Hall & Oates from their twelfth studio album ''Big Bam Boom'' (1984). The song was released as the lead single from ''Big Bam Boom'' on Thursday, October 4, 1984, by RCA Records. This song was their last ...

" by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

and " Like a Virgin" by Madonna, while reaching the top spot on the US '' Cash Box'' Top Singles chart and in Germany and South Africa. It peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and on the Irish Singles Chart, as well as in several European countries. It also became the band's highest-peaking single in Australia, reaching number three. As of October 2021, "The Wild Boys" is the 10th-most

streamed Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Duran Duran song in the UK.

Music video

The music video for "The Wild Boys" was directed by

. The cost totalled over one million pounds, a staggering sum for music videos at the time, as his design filled one entire end of the "

007 Stage The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli. The stage was ori ...

" at Pinewood Studios with a metal

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

and a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

over a deep enclosed pool, and called for a lifelike robotic face, dozens of elaborate costumes, prosthetics, and make-up effects, and then-cutting-edge computer graphics. The choreography of dance routines was undertaken by

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, including intricate stunts and fire effects added to the cost. Mulcahy meant the video to be a teaser for his full-length Burroughs film, demonstrating his vision to the movie studios he was wooing, but that project was never made. The video featured all of the band members imprisoned and in peril, wearing uncharacteristically rough and ragged outfits similar to the pieced-together clothing of the film ''

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...

'' (1981). John Taylor was strapped to the roof of a car suffering a psycho-torture with pictures of his childhood and early past;

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...

was caged with a pile of computer equipment;

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

was put in a hot-air balloon that was dangling from the ceiling, leaving him high off the ground; Andy Taylor was bound (guitar and all) to a ship's

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

; and Simon Le Bon was strapped to a blade of the windmill, his head covered in water as the blade passed through the pool. "The Wild Boys" was named

British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...

at the 1985

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

Remixes and B-sides

The 8:00 12" "Wilder Than Wild Boys" extended mix, the only official contemporaneous remix, is actually the full length version. It continues after the album/single version's fade out with another instrumental section, then repeats the chorus to fade. This mix was also used for the full length promo video. To promote the release of the compilation album '' Greatest'' in 1998, EMI commissioned a number of remixes, including two mixes of "The Wild Boys" that were released only on promo discs: * "The Wild Boys SAP & PM Project Remix (3:42) appeared on a one-track promo CD in Spain * "Wild Boys 98 on da Floor Remix (3:10) appeared on a one-track promo CD in Belgium In 2004, noted remixer

Paul Dakeyne Paul David Dakeyne (born 30 January 1961), known by his stage name Tinman, is an English house music producer/ remixer from Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1994, his single "Eighteen Strings" (also written as "18 Strings") became an inte ...

and the Mitchell Project produced the 7:30 "Wicked 'n Wild Dub" for DMC, the UK-based

remix service A remix service is a company that provides remixed music to disc jockeys. History In the United States, the disco craze of the late 1970s led to the release of extended "disco" versions of songs, typically released as 12" vinyl singles. Many o ...

. The original single B-side, "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement (Live)", was recorded at the 5 March 1984 show at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. This is the same concert where the video for "

" was filmed.

Formats and track listing

7": Parlophone. / Duran 3 UK # "The Wild Boys (45)" – 4:14 # "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement" (1984) – 4:00 * Track 2 recorded live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 5 March 1984. * Also released in sleeves featuring individual band members (DURANC 3) 12": Parlophone. / 12 Duran 3 UK # "The Wild Boys" (Wilder Than the Wild Boys) (Extended Mix) – 8:00 # "The Wild Boys (45)" – 4:16 # "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement" (1984) – 4:08 * Track 3 recorded live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 5 March 1984. 7": Capitol Records. / B-5417 US # "The Wild Boys (45)" – 4:14 # "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement" (1984) – 4:00 * Track 2 recorded live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 5 March 1984. 12": Capitol Records. / V-6817 US # "The Wild Boys" (Wilder Than the Wild Boys) (Extended Mix) – 8:00 # "The Wild Boys (45)" – 4:16 # "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement" (1984) – 4:08 * Track 3 recorded live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 5 March 1984. CD: Part of ''

Singles Box Set 1981–1985 ''Singles Box Set 1981–1985'' is a box set by English new wave band Duran Duran. Consisting of 13 CDs, it was released on 12 May 2003 by EMI and covers the era from ''Duran Duran'' (1981) to ''Arena'' (1984), as well as the non-studio album ...

'' boxset # "The Wild Boys (45)" – 4:16 # "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement" (1984) – 4:08 # "The Wild Boys" (Wilder Than the Wild Boys) (Extended Mix) – 8:00 * Track 2 recorded live at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 5 March 1984.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other appearances

Apart from the single, "The Wild Boys" has also appeared on: Albums: *''

'' (1984) *'' Decade: Greatest Hits'' (1989) *'' Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran'' (US only, 1998) *'' Greatest'' (1998) *'' Strange Behaviour'' (1999)

Phixx version

English-Irish boy band

Phixx Phixx were an English-Irish boy band formed in 2003 from the five runners up on British TV show '' Popstars: The Rivals''. The original members were Andrew Kinlochan, Chris Park, Mikey Green, Peter Smith, and Nikk Mager. Between 2003 and 2005, ...

released their version in 2004 which peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Boys, The 1984 songs 1984 singles 2004 singles Capitol Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Concept Music singles Dance-rock songs Duran Duran songs EMI Records singles Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in South Africa Phixx songs Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Songs written by Andy Taylor (guitarist) Songs written by John Taylor (bass guitarist) Songs written by Nick Rhodes Songs written by Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) Songs written by Simon Le Bon