"Girls on Film" is the third single by English
new wave band
Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981. It became Duran Duran's first top 10 hit on the
UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 5 in July 1981, and an international hit reaching the top 20 in several countries, including number 1 in Portugal, number 4 in New Zealand and number 11 in Australia.
Background
Originally written and
demoed in 1979 by an early line-up of the band featuring lead vocalist Andy Wickett, Duran Duran re-wrote and re-recorded the song for their 1981 debut album. The different original version, which co-writer Wickett said "was inspired by the dark side of the glitz and glamour", was released as part of an EP in 2018.[4]
Music video
A music video was made with directing duo
Godley & Creme (of
10cc) and director of photography
Steven Bernstein at
Shepperton Studios in July 1981. Due to the inclusion of female nudity the video exists in both uncensored form (which was played in nightclubs) and a heavily censored version for MTV. [citation needed]
The Greek 12" release of "Girls on Film" contains a version with a longer camera intro not found on the other 12 inches. It was also released on some versions of the 1982 CarnivalEP. It appeared for the first time on CD on the 2010 remaster of Duran Duran as the "extended night version".
The instrumental version was not released on other vinyl releases and remains unreleased on CD.
^People Weekly, Vol. 62. Time, Incorporated. 2004. "But the big-haired lineup that gave us such '80s synth-pop hits as "Girls on Film," "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" has reunited for Astronaut, which finds the group taking creative flight again."