Duran Duran shoot X-rated video in LA
'Models in rehab' is the theme of video for new single 'Falling Down'
Duran Duran are gearing up for the release of their new album 'Red Carpet Massacre', which is due out November 12 in Europe and the UK and a day later in the US.
The band have been making the rounds in Los Angeles this week, where they previewed the new album at a listening party on Tuesday (September 18), and shot the video for the album's lead single 'Falling Down', which was co-written and produced by Justin Timberlake.
Inspired by a photo shoot in a fashion magazine that depicted models in rehab, the band decided to use the timely theme for their video.
Working with director Anthony Mandler (50 Cent, The Killers, Beyonce), they shot both an X-rated version featuring topless models, and a less racy version, as they did for their 1981 hit single 'Girls On Film'.
The band spent the entire day shooting at an old hospital in downtown LA. Original band members Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor dressed sharply in white suits, portraying doctors. Several glamourous, scantily clad models portrayed girls in treatment.
"The concept of models in rehab has so much to do with what the song's about," frontman Le Bon told NME.COM.
"It's very sad but there's a kind of beauty in it as well. The song is about arrogance and pride, as well as personal breakdowns and the hope for redemption and the resilience of the human spirit," he said.
Le Bon said that the theme of the song subconsciously came from a severe motorcycle accident he was involved in back in 1992.
"I was thrown to the ground at 90 miles an hour and I had enough time to think, 'If I survive this accident, I'll never race again,'" Le Bon recalled.
"I realised that's what I was referring to in the song. It was very personal and very easy to write. It's not about motorcycle racing. But I remember thinking, 'Please let me survive, I don't want to die.' And here we are making the video for it. This whole building and the way the girls are dressed really suits the song. It does have a glimpse of redemption."
Courtesy NME.com
