Duran Duran's Rio by Annie Zaleski

Author:Annie Zaleski [Zaleski, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Music, General, Genres & Styles, Dance, History & Criticism, Individual Composer & Musician
ISBN: 9781501355189
Google: az4sEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B08X6TJV3N
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 2021-05-06T05:00:00+00:00

“Rio”

The “Rio” clip was the most exuberant Duran Duran clip to date. Sporting colorful Antony Price suits, the band sail on a yacht, hobnob with beautiful women, and indulge in playful oceanic activities. At one point, Le Bon perches on the bow of the yacht, his hair billowing in the wind as the boat speeds along, the leader of a pack of handsome, carefree young men heading toward a bright future. This particular shot became one of the most indelible images of the 1980s.

“This [video] is where I started to get this idea that directing music videos in those days was a bit like being a tourist, but just with a bigger camera,” says Russell Mulcahy, who directed the clip. “Because I started getting along with Duran and also Icehouse and other people and started going to strange and wonderful places.” Although there had been talk of filming “Rio” indoors in London, that idea was nixed for a more tropical location: Antigua. Luckily, four-fifths of the band (save for Andy, who was back in London) were already on vacation there and didn’t need to travel.

“[We] had all decided to go on holiday together, just like The Beatles,” Rhodes says. “We all had suites next to each other on the beach and thought we were actually taking a break. But after several days we got a call from management saying, ‘Don’t move—we are coming over with a film crew, we need a video for “Rio.”’” The band was into the proposed video concept, so things moved fast. “Within a few days our holiday had been hijacked and we were shooting.”

Part of the shoot involved renting a 70-foot yacht named Eilean that was big enough to double as lodging for some band and crew; others who preferred being on land lived in a hotel on the beach. “I don’t think Nick, for example, is a boating chap,” Mulcahy laughs. (Rhodes said as much in a 2008 reminiscence for The Guardian: “I only like boats when they’re tied up, and you can have a cocktail without spilling it.”) The director’s approach to “Rio” exuded glam. “I had this very definite idea of ultra-color,” he says. “I just wanted the blue water and the contrast of very high tech, the vivid pinks and greens, whether it be plastics, liquids or whatever. The whole thing was based on this explosion of color; it was like a very Technicolor movie.”

In practice, the video explodes with brightness—fluorescent cocktails, rich-hued dresses, tinted water thrown on bodies—and striking figures. The mysterious “Rio” girl in the clip, played by model Reema Medawar (now Reema Ruspoli), lithely moves around the boat while streaked with brilliant body paint. “It’s quite extraordinary to be stopped continually with, ‘Are you Rio?’” Ruspoli told People in 2013. “To this day, I seem to be more Rio than Reema.”

The tropical atmosphere and luxurious setting lent itself to creativity. “Even when we were down there, we were still working out ideas,” Mulcahy says. “For example, it would

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