The Chauffeur
| "The Chauffeur" | |
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| "The Chauffeur" | |
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"The Chauffeur" is a Duran Duran song from their second album Rio. The song was written by Simon Le Bon as poetry, several years before Rio was even begun. Two different versions of the song were originally recorded by Duran Duran, and the song has been covered by three mainstream artistes. Two music videos of the song have been made at different times, by different directors. Unusually for the band, the song's title does not appear anywhere in the song's lyrics, but the refrain from the song has been used by Duran Duran as the title of both a tour video and a book.
The Song
The origins of the lyrics for The Chauffeur have become part of the Duran Duran legend.[1]In May 1980, while the band were working for Paul & Michael Berrow, who at the time ran the Rum Runner night club in Birmingham, one of the Rum Runner bar maids recommended her ex-boyfriend to be their new lead singer. Simon Le Bon auditioned in May of 1980, bringing with him a book of poetry and lyrics, including the lyrics to the song which would eventually become The Chauffeur.[2]
The word chauffeur does not appear in the lyric at any point, however the song is written from the point of view of someone who is driving another person, a woman, on a hot day or days.[3]
Some versions of the song feature words at the end of the track, spoken sotto voce by a man. This monologue is taken from a natural history recording - the man is speaking about insects in the grass.[4]
The song refrain Sing Blue Silver was used as the title of the band's video covering it's 1983-84 tour. A book of the same name was also produced to support the tour, showcasing still photography by official tour photographer Denis O'Regan.
Music videos
The Chauffeur is one of two non-single tracks on Rio to have its own music video. None of the band appear in the video. It is a moody black-and-white piece inspired in part by the film, The Night Porter[5], and the photography of Helmut Newton.[6][2] A woman in an erotic costume is driven in a vintage car by a uniformed chauffeur. Elsewhere, another woman dresses herself carefully in lingerie and walks through the streets of London towards a rendezvous in an abandoned multi-storey car park. The chauffeur watches while a third woman (Perri Lister) in a topless dress, performs a sensuous dance to the accompaniment of the instrumental coda of the song — clearly an homage to Charlotte Rampling's topless "Dance of the Seven Veils" in The Night Porter.
The video featured on the 1983 video album entitled Duran Duran. It has also been included on the 1999 "Greatest VHS compilation and 2003 "Duran Duran: Greatest — The DVD" compilation.
Sleepthief created a video to accompany the release of The Chauffeur as a single[7], featuring band member Kirsty Hawkshaw. In this video, which seems at first to have a lighter, dreamier tone than the original, a uniformed chauffeur at separate times drives two different women in evening clothes to an assignation with a man. The women encounter each other twice at the man's house, the first time to observe the assignation, the second time to encounter a murder. The chauffeur then drives the two women away.
Song versions
1."The Chauffeur" (5:22) - The standard version of the song. Probably Duran Duran's most known non-single song.
2."The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)" (3:48) - Early acoustic demo version of the song that got it's only official release as one of the b-sides on the "Rio" single. This version of the song is almost two minutes shorter the the final version.
Track listing
All songs written by Duran Duran.
7": EMI EMI 5346 (UK)
- "Rio" – 4:40
- "The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)" – 3:48
CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981-1985" boxset
- "Rio (Part 1)" – 5:11
- "The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)" – 3:48
- "Rio (Part 2)" – 5:29
- "My Own Way" [remix] – 4:34
Appearances on other Duran Duran albums
Cover versions
- Deftones - B-Sides & Rarities. This version was used in the film Resident Evil:Apocalypse and appears on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse-Original Soundtrack CD [8]
- Sleepthief - on the album The Dawnseeker [9] Sleepthief have recorded ten remixes of the song, which were released as an EPon iTunes in 2007.[10] Sleepthief also created a video to accompany the release of The Chauffeur as a single.
- The LoveCrave - The Angel and the Rain
References
- ^ "Simon Le Bon: You Ask The Questions". The Independent on Sunday. Independent News & Media (INM). Wednesday, 25 May 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Duran Duran Timeline". Official Duran Duran website. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "The Chauffeur". Duran Duran Official Website. Duran Duran. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "Ask Katy". Official Duran Duran Website. Duran Duran. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ McKay, Ian McKay (July 23, 2009). "Charles Mehling". Filmografia di Liliana Cavani. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Cole, Sheri Kathleen (Spring 1999). "I am the eye, you are my victim: the pornographic ideology of music video". Enculturaton. 2 (2). Website hosted by George Mason University.
- ^ "Official Music Video for "The Chauffeur" featuring Kirsty Hawkshaw from the album THE DAWNSEEKER". Sleepthief on MySpace. MySpace. March 01, 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ (Audio CD issued 30 Aug 2004, Roadrunner, B0002QPTGW)
- ^ Elliott, Russell W (26 April 2006). "Sleepthief: The Dawnseeker". Musical Discoveries. Musical Discoveries. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ Arjan, Arjan (August 11, 2007). "Sleepthief Covers Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur"". arjanwrites.com. Retrieved 2009-08-05.