Careless Memories

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"Careless Memories"
Careless Memories.jpg
Single by Duran Duran
from the album Duran Duran
B-side
  • "Khanada"
  • "Fame"
Released20 April 1981 (1981-04-20)
RecordedDecember 1980
Studio Red Bus (London)
Genre
Length
  • 3:41 (single version)
  • 3:53 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Colin Thurston
Duran Duran singles chronology
"Planet Earth"
(1981)
"Careless Memories"
(1981)
"Girls on Film"
(1981)
Music video
"Careless Memories" on YouTube

"Careless Memories" is the second single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 20 April 1981. It reached no. 37 in the UK and no. 60 in Australia.

Contents

Music video

The video was shot in Soho and directed by Perry Haines, who went on to form i-D magazine.[ citation needed ]

There are two different cuts of this video. The second version, which was included in the Duran Duran video album released in 1983, features minor re-edits of certain scenes. The original version of the video was finally released on the Duran Duran album 2010 2CD+DVD remaster.

B-sides and bonus tracks

The song "Khanada" was included as the B-side to the single. The UK 12" release also included a cover version of David Bowie's "Fame" on the B-side.

In Japan, the two B-sides were released on the Nite Romantics EP, along with night versions of "Girls on Film" and "Planet Earth".[ citation needed ]

Critical reception

Upon its release in April 1981, Smash Hits' reviewer Mark Ellen wrote: "Sensibly side-stepping the over-ploughed "sensitive" disco field (Spandau etc.), the persuasive force of the ten ton drum sound is not lost on this lot. Buried beneath layers of silk finish is a construction so staggeringly basic you wonder if their punk roots don't extend back to the Dry-Ice Age." [2]

Formats and track listings

7": EMI / EMI 5168 United Kingdom

  1. "Careless Memories" – 3:41
  2. "Khanada" – 3:17

12": EMI / 12 EMI 5168 United Kingdom

  1. "Careless Memories" – 3:53
  2. "Fame" – 3:11
  3. "Khanada" – 3:17

12": Harvest / SPRO-9662, SPRO-9663 (Promo) United States

  1. "Careless Memories" – 3:53
  2. "Is There Anyone Out There" – 4.02
  3. "Girls on Film" – 3.30

CD: Part of Singles Box Set 1981–1985

  1. "Careless Memories" – 3:44
  2. "Khanada" – 3:17
  3. "Fame" – 3:11

Charts

Chart (1981)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [3] 60
UK Singles (OCC) [4] 37

Other appearances

When the song "Is There Something I Should Know?" was issued as a single in the US, "Careless Memories" was placed on the flipside. The song was also a favourite live staple throughout the 1980s and was included on the live album Arena .

A live version of "Careless Memories" recorded in December 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London was released in 1982 as the B-side to "Hungry Like the Wolf".

"Careless Memories" was one of the few singles included on neither the Decade nor Greatest single compilations.

Personnel

Duran Duran

Technical

Musical notes

The song has a rock double-timed bass line in the key of E, with a keyboard intro played deliberately off-time.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 S. Borthwick & R. Moy (2004), "Synthpop: into the digital age", Popular Music Genres: an Introduction, Routledge, p. 123, ISBN   978-0-7486-1745-6, More conventional soul/disco acts such as Chic also influenced synthpop. A track such as Duran Duran's Careless Memories is a classic hybrid of Euro-disco, new wave guitar pop and Bowie/Kraftwerk
  2. Ellen, Mark. "Singles". Smash Hits volume 63, 30 April 1981. p. 28.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  4. "Duran Duran: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2023.