DURAN DURAN - DO YOU BELIEVE IN SHAME

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SHAME

DURAN DURAN

SONGWRITERS: JOHN TAYLOR; NICK RHODES & SIMON LEBON

COUNTRY: U. K.

ALBUM: BIG THING

LABEL: EMI RECORDS

GENRE: POP

YEAR: 1988

 

          Duran Duran (/djʊˌræn djʊˈræn/) are an English new wave band formed in Birmingham in 1978. The group were a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US in the 1980s. The group was formed by keyboardist Nick Rhodes and bassist John Taylor, with the later addition of drummer Roger Taylor, and after numerous personnel changes, guitarist Andy Taylor (none of the Taylors are related) and lead singer Simon Le Bon. These five members featured the most commercially successful line-up.

         When Duran Duran emerged they were generally considered part of the New Romantic scene, along with bands such as Spandau Ballet and Visage. However, the band would soon shed this image by using fashion and marketing to build a more refined and elegant presentation. The video age catapulted Duran Duran into the mainstream with the introduction of the 24-hour music channel MTV. Many of their videos were shot on 35mm film, which gave a much more polished look than was standard at the time. They also collaborated with professional film directors to take the quality a step further, often teaming up with Australian director Russell Mulcahy for some of their most memorable video offerings. In 1984, the band were early innovators with video technology in their live stadium shows. The band were one of the most successful acts of the 1980s, though by the end of the decade, membership and music style changes challenged the band before a resurgence in the early 1990s.

             The group have never disbanded, but after the departures of Andy and Roger Taylor in 1986, the line-up has changed to include former Missing Persons American guitarist Warren Cuccurullo from 1989 to 2001 and American drummer Sterling Campbell from 1989 to 1991. The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among the band's fans and music media. Andy Taylor left the band once again in mid-2006, and guitarist Dominic Brown has since been working with the band as a session player and touring member.

          Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They achieved 14 singles in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the US Billboard Hot 100. The band have won numerous awards throughout their career: two Brit Awards including the 2004 award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, two Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a Video Visionary Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards. They were also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

        "Do You Believe In Shame?" is a song by Duran Duran. Released on 10 April 1989, it was the third and final single from the Big Thing album.

            The song was dedicated to three of the band's dead friends: record producer Alex Sadkin, artist Andy Warhol and Simon Le Bon's childhood friend David Miles. Le Bon has since said that "Shame" is the first part of a trilogy of songs written as a tribute to Miles, the other songs being "Ordinary World" and "Out of My Mind".

             There was a successful legal challenge over the close resemblance of the melody of "Do You Believe In Shame?" to that of the Dale Hawkins classic "Suzie Q" (more famously covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones). The writing credits were changed accordingly. The members of Duran Duran have always denied that they intentionally copied any other works, and that the similarity of the two songs was based on what they described as a "basic blues progression".

Do you believe in love?

Do you believe in shame?

If love can conquer all

Then why do we only feel the pain?

 

I heard you speak my name

Heard you singing The Stones

Maybe heard you laughing

In a line of static on my telephone

 

So why your eyelids are closed

Inside a case of rust?

And did you have to change

All your poet's fire into frozen dust?

 

I've tried to justify it

To learn from your mistake

But where's the stupid lie

That has to make its point

With such a pointless waste?

 

Come out

Do you believe in shame?

Do you believe in lie?

And if they taste the same

Would you love again or abandon both?

 

I don't think I ever can

Believe my friend has gone

Keep saying it's alright

I'm going to bring you back

But I know I'm wrong

 

There's nothing I can say

There's nothing left to do

It's just that lately I feel so damn lonely

When I think of you

 

And it may seem selfish now

But I'll hold on to the memory

Until all this fear is washed away

 

Do you believe in love?

Do you believe in life?

'Cos I believe a little part of you

Inside of me will never die

 

'Cos I believe a little part of you

Inside of me will never die.