"The Chauffeur" is a song by the English pop rock band Duran Duran,released on 10 May 1982 as the final track on their second studio album,Rio. Written and performed by the lead vocalist Simon Le Bon and the keyboardist Nick Rhodes,the song originated from a poem Le Bon had written prior to joining the band and was developed into an electronic arrangement during recording sessions at AIR Studios in London.
"The Chauffeur" is noted for its ghostly and unconventional arrangement,blending art pop,synth-pop,art rock,and dub with orchestral elements. It features a sparse electronic soundscape with found sounds and an ocarina solo,and is structured around synthesisers and drum machines without contributions from other band members. Critics have described it as a stylistic outlier within Rio,contrasting its subdued and haunting tone with the album's more energetic tracks. The lyrics are abstract and impressionistic,with interpretations ranging from a stream-of-consciousness portrayal of imagery to a narrative about obsession.
Upon its release,"The Chauffeur" received a negative response. However,retrospective assessments have been more favourable,with critics praising the song and some considering it one of Duran Duran's best. Despite not being released as a single,it has gained popularity over time and developed a cult following among fans. A music video directed by Ian Emes was produced for the song,noted for its stylised imagery and limited broadcast due to its content.
Background and recording
The lyrics to "The Chauffeur" predate the lead vocalist Simon Le Bon's joining of Duran Duran,[a] having been originally written in his personal notebook of poetry. He began compiling the book in 1977,using it to write lyrics and poems for songs while performing in earlier bands such as Dog Days and Rov Ostrov.[2] Le Bon later presented the notebook to Duran Duran at his audition,[4] and according to the band,his original vision for "The Chauffeur" was more acoustic.[5] He recalled that,prior to joining the group,he would sing and play songs like "The Chauffeur" on guitar.[2]
An early version of the song was recorded with the sound engineer Renate Blauel before Duran Duran moved to AIR Studios to continue work on their second studio album,Rio (1982).[6] During downtime at AIR,the keyboardist Nick Rhodes,drawn to Le Bon's lyrics,created an electronic track based on the existing material in an auxiliary studio room with Blauel,their tape operator,using keyboards and synthesisers. Le Bon later joined him,contributing the song's lyrics and adding a melody on ocarina.[5][7] Although the electronic arrangement marked a significant departure,Le Bon embraced the direction,and the band completed the track collaboratively.[4][5] An acoustic recording was later made without Rhodes titled the "Blue Silver" version. Reflecting on this,Rhodes quipped,"I guess that was my punishment for having created an entirely electronic track."[7][8] It is considered closer to the song's original sketch but still more harmonically developed.[5]
"The Chauffeur" has been described as art pop,[10][11]synth-pop,[11]art rock,[12] and dub.[13] The track is performed solely by Rhodes and Le Bon,[b][15] and avoids conventional pop song structure in favour of staccato phrases that drift high and low in a dreamy, meandering fashion. This atmosphere is enhanced by Le Bon's lascivious vocal delivery, set against a purely electronic soundscape of icy synthesisers and throbbing drum machines.[16] Though the song has been described as ghostly,[16] gothic,[17] sinister,[4] and eerie,[11]The A.V. Club's Stephen Thomas Erlewine observed that Rhodes' arrangement "doesn't dwell in darkness".[15] It also retains a melodic sensibility; Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that, "this being Duran Duran, it still packs a big pop melody".[18]John Freeman in The Quietus described it as "a sublime mix of plucked melodies set to an almost orchestral arrangement".[19] Both Chris Dahlen, writing in The Pitchfork 500, and Petridis have pointed to the new wave band Japan as a key inspiration for the song; Dahlen called it "a lesson well learned from their heroes and fellow New Romantics Japan", while Petridis wrote that their spirit "hangs over its brooding mood".[10][18] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger positioned the song as "the exact halfway point between [Scott] Walker's cold torture-tronica and the embarrassed, serious, Europhilia of, oh, Ultravox".[13]
"The Chauffeur" opens with faint, high-pitched keyboard notes accented by a slight echo.[13] Erlewine characterises the synths as emerging "like twinkling city lights across a desert horizon".[15] Around the 15-second mark, this is followed by what Ewing calls "the skronky sound of a guitar pretending to crack".[13] The bass, described by Ewing as "rearing, buzzing, and purring", momentarily glitches between 1:00 and 1:08 before giving way to Le Bon's ocarina solo at 2:15,[c][17][9] at which point the song shifts into a march-like section.[13] Ewing compares this section to Jona Lewie's "Stop The Cavalry", but with "Lewie's smackable downtrodden mateyness switched in favour of the art-rock aloof". Following the solo, the bass drops out and the beats drop in, their "skinny digital tick-tock start-stop" layered with found sounds such as casino chips dropping, an ice cube cracking,[7] and looped, warped speech.[13] The ocarina solo returns for the final two minutes of the song,[13] while Erlewine notes that the final passages feature "agile interlocking keyboard lines that almost seem playful in their spookiness".[15] The song concludes with a brief fade and the sound of rustling keys, which Rhodes says represent a chauffeur's keys.[6][13][21]
Critics have highlighted "The Chauffeur" as a stylistic outlier on Rio.[d] Mark Lindores of Classic Pop described the song as a "sinister synth-infused comedown" following the rest of the album's high-energy tracks and stated that it "highlighted the band's darker, more experimental side".[4] Erlewine calls it both the culmination of Rio and an anomaly within the album, comparing it to "Night Boat" and "Save a Prayer" in its reliance on atmospheric synths.[15] Petridis contrasts the track's mood with the rest of the album, writing that while "The rest of the Rio album is in glorious Technicolor, 'The Chauffeur' feels as if it's shot in noir-ish monochrome."[18] Dahlen similarly highlights the song's stark contrast to the rest of Rio, describing it as a minimalist and stylistically bold closer that feels unexpectedly avant-garde within the context of the otherwise commercially oriented album.[10]
Lyrically, "The Chauffeur" is abstract and impressionistic, and has been linked to Le Bon's 1979 visit to a kibbutz in Israel.[17][16] The overall lyrical tone of the song has been characterised as poetic and sensual.[22] Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic describes the lyrics as a "stream-of-consciousness haze" that presents images of "restless driving and sexy women", and observes that while they do not form a literal narrative, they effectively evoke a mood that matches the song's ghostly melody.[16] Classic Pop's Rik Flynn refers to the lyrics as a poem about a driver's obsession with his passenger, suggesting a more defined theme behind the song's imagery.[9] In American Songwriter, Bryan Reesman notes the song's ambiguity, suggesting that it could depict either an alienated couple on an aimless drive or a chauffeur longing for an unattainable lover. He observes that the story is never fully defined, leaving much open to interpretation.[20] Ewing examined the song's opening line, "Out on the tar planes, the glides are moving," suggesting that "tar planes" refer to roads and "glides" to cars.[13]
Release
"The Chauffeur" was released on 10 May 1982 by EMI as the last track on Duran Duran's second studio album, Rio.[19][23] The "Blue Silver" version of the song was also used as a B-side for "Rio",[7][8][16] which was released as a single on 1 November 1982.[24] Upon Rio's release, "The Chauffeur" received a negative comment from Record Mirror, which described it as "a ghastly, boring embarrassment" and the worst track on the album.[23]
Music video
The music video for "The Chauffeur" was directed by Ian Emes and filmed in London without the band's involvement.[25][26] It features the actress Perri Lister, who was known at the time as Billy Idol's partner.[27] Visually, the video draws from the work of the photographer Helmut Newton, incorporating dark, gothic imagery,[25] and was also influenced by the controversial 1974 film The Night Porter.[16] Set in a hotel and garage,[25] the narrative follows a chauffeur who drives an aristocratic woman to a secret nighttime rendezvous with another woman, which he observes silently from a distance.[20] Due to its nudity and sexually suggestive content, the video received limited airplay and was not shown on MTV.[16][25] Rhodes praised the director, saying Emes "did a spectacular job" and called the video "one of the things from that period that captured the moment of the other side of Duran Duran".[25]
Legacy
But, 'The Chauffeur', I don't know. I'm very proud of it. It's sort of darkly beautiful, which are often my favorite songs.
Retrospectively, "The Chauffeur" has been highly regarded by critics and gained popularity despite never being released as a single.[19] It is considered by some to be one of Duran Duran's best songs[e] and has developed a cult following among fans.[16][28] Dahlen described it as "almost a secret message for fans—among whom it's still a favorite—revealing a sinister edge to the band that gave us 'The Reflex'".[10] In a 2015 interview with Stereogum, Rhodes remarked on the song's unexpected legacy, noting that its music video may have contributed to its continued appeal. He observed that many younger listeners still approach him to express their admiration for both the song and its visuals.[28] In a review of "The Chauffeur", AllMusic reviewer Donald A. Guarisco praised the song, calling it "one of the finest". He also wrote that the song "provided a stylish finale for the group's successful Rio album".[16] Ewing contended that only ABBA "were making more ominous chart music", saying of Duran Duran's track: "This is experimental exploitative peacock music, absurd but lovely. Right now, with authenticity and camp, art and pop so rigorously patrolled, it's kept that rarest of qualities – the element of surprise."[13]
"The Chauffeur" has drawn lasting admiration from artists across a range of musical styles.[29][30][31] The producer Mark Ronson, who produced Duran Duran's 2010 studio album All You Need Is Now, praised the song's synth work, calling it "some of the coolest, eeriest synth programming of any pop song ever", and noted the "staggering" effort required to achieve its sound in the "pre-Pro Tools era".[29] The alternative metal band Deftones later recorded a cover of "The Chauffeur" and included it on their B-Sides & Rarities (2005) compilation album.[f][32] The frontman Chino Moreno has cited it as one of his favourite covers they did, stating, "I loved that song ever since I was growing up. It's cool to be able to sing the songs you grew up listening to."[30] The band's version replaced the original's icy synth textures with a heavier, guitar-driven sound, and Moreno's vocal performance was noted by Metal Hammer's Dave Everly for closely capturing Le Bon's tone. Everly included the cover in the magazine's list of "The Top 10 Best Metal Covers of 80s Pop Songs."[33] In a 2007 live performance in Las Vegas, the singer Jonathan Davis also covered "The Chauffeur" and introduced it by calling it "the greatest Duran Duran song ever".[31] Davis has described meeting Le Bon as a significant moment in his life, telling the story of how he immediately brought up "The Chauffeur" and later spent the night socialising with Le Bon in London.[34][35] Both Moreno and Davis' covers of the song have been cited as examples of what Everley described as Duran Duran's "unlikely influence on nu metal's founding fathers".[33]
↑ Le Bon was hired as Duran Duran's lead singer in May 1980.[1] According to Le Bon, "it was that existing body of work, which got me the gig, and made me such a valuable prospect to the largely lyric-less Duran Duran of 1980".[2] Prior to his arrival, the group had gone through a few vocalists, beginning with the original lead singer Stephen Duffy.[3]
1 2 In the Rio liner notes, the entire band is credited for writing and arranging every song.[14]
↑ Sometimes confused with another type of flute; Dahlen refers to it as a pan flute,[10] while Ewing and Reesman call it a synth-flute.[13][20]
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