Is There Something I Should Know?
| "Is There Something I Should Know?" | ||||||||
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| Single by Duran Duran | ||||||||
| B-side | "Faith in this Colour" | |||||||
| Released | 19 March 1983 June 4 1983 [US] | |||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||||||
| Recorded | London, December 1982 | |||||||
| Genre | Pop, New Wave | |||||||
| Length | 4:11 | |||||||
| Label | EMI - EMI 5371 | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Duran Duran | |||||||
| Producer | Duran Duran, Colin Thurston, Ian Little | |||||||
| Duran Duran singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by Duran Duran, released on 19 March 1983.
The song was released as a stand-alone single and became the band's first UK Number One record. It debuted in the #1 position on the UK Singles Chart on 26 March 1983. Duran Duran were one of the very few acts since Elvis Presley and The Beatles to debut at the top, before the advent of more aggressive marketing methods in the late 1980s made it an easier goal to achieve.
The single also had great success in America, where it was released in late May: it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6 August 1983 and sold more than a million copies.
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About the song
"Is There Something I Should Know?" was recorded in London with producer Ian Little in December 1982. Although generally regarded as a stand-alone single, it was added to the 1983 United States re-issue of the band's 1981 debut album Duran Duran. The first album on which the song featured in the UK was the inaugural Now That's What I Call Music compilation at the end of the year.
The singles from the Duran Duran album did not receive much airplay in the United States on the album's first release; both the band and the New Romantic fashion style were unknown, and very few British bands were able to break into American radio at that time. However, by the end of 1982, the band's Rio album was rapidly climbing the American charts, fueled by saturation airplay of various Duran Duran videos on MTV. The band and their label, Capitol/EMI, decided to re-release the debut album in the United States with the inclusion of this newly recorded single.
Because of the time limitations of vinyl records, the inclusion of "Is There Something I Should Know?" required the omission of the album track "To The Shore" on the reissue. "To The Shore" was reinstated on later compact disc pressings.
"Is There Something I Should Know? was the song Duran Duran used to open their 1983/84 Seven and the Ragged Tiger album tour shows with and also Duran Duran's charity concert at Aston Villa football ground 1983 .
Music video
The memorable and much-played video for "Is There Something I Should Know?" featured colour clips of the band members, in blue shirts with tucked-in white ties, interspersed with surreal images in black-and-white. The video also included clips from several earlier Duran Duran videos, including some filmed for album tracks which were never released to MTV, specially "My Own Way". (See the Duran Duran video album for details.)
The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was one of the most popular videos of 1983 on MTV.
Asked if there was anything about their videos they'd like to change, drummer Roger Taylor commented, "The only part of a video I would change is the end of "Is There Something I Should Know" where I am singing to the camera. I look very uncomfortable doing this and cringe every time I see it to this day." [1]
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B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The B-side to "Is There Something I Should Know?" in the UK is the instrumental "Faith in this Colour". An "Alternate Slow Mix" of "Faith in this Colour" was used on the 7" single, some pressings of which included brief unauthorized sound samples from the movie Star Wars -- these were promptly withdrawn when copyright concerns were raised.
The mainly instrumental "Monster Mix" of "Is There Something I Should Know?" was completed by producers Ian Little and Alex Sadkin.
In the US, the song Careless Memories is the B-side of "Is There Something I Should Know".
Covers, samples, & media references
The band Sugar Ray took elements from the video and featured them in a segment of the music video for their single "When It's Over."
Cover versions of the song have been recorded by The Mr. T Experience and the band allSTARS*.
The line "you're about as easy as a nuclear war" was the inspiration for the Duran Duran song "Yo Bad Azizi", included as a b-side to the "Serious" single released seven years later.
The song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap Fringe episode 2.12, "What Lies Below."[2]
Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 16 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
Track listing
Release information pertains to UK release only.
7": EMI 5371
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:11
- "Faith in This Colour (Alternate Slow Mix)" – 4:05
12": 12 EMI 5371
- "Is There Something I Should Know? (Monster Mix)" – 6:40
- "Faith in This Colour" – 4:05
CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981-1985" boxset
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:11
- "Faith in This Colour" – 4:05
- "Is There Something I Should Know? (Monster Mix)" – 6:40
- "Faith in This Colour (Alternate Slow Mix)" – 4:05
- "Monster Mix" remixed by Alex Sadkin and Ian Little
UK: 7243 5 51736 2 1
Other appearances
Apart from the single, "Is There Something I Should Know?" has also appeared on:
Albums:
- Duran Duran (1983 reissue)
- Arena (1984)
- Tiger Tiger! ep (Japan only, 1984)
- Decade (1989)
- 12" Collection (Japan only, 1991)
- Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (US only, 1998)
- Greatest (1998)
- Strange Behaviour (1999)
- Singles Box Set 1981-1985 (2003)
- Singles Box Set 1986-1995 (2004)
Singles:
- Capitol Gold Cuts (1990)
- Come Undone (1993)
Personnel
Duran Duran are:
- Simon Le Bon - vocals
- Nick Rhodes - keyboards
- John Taylor - bass guitar
- Roger Taylor - drums
- Andy Taylor - guitar
Also credited:
- Ian Little - producer
References
| Preceded by "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler |
UK number-one single 20–27 March 1983 |
Succeeded by "Let's Dance" by David Bowie |
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