The picture that started it all.....
Stephen Pearcy & Simon Le Bon at The Limelight NYC, 1985
STEPHEN PEARCY'S 2021 VERSION OF DURAN DURAN'S 1981 "GIRLS ON FILM"
Stephen Pearcy is at it again with his Ace in the Hole, Erik Ferentinos & Matt Thorne.
And he just raised the bar on the Infamous 80's Song & Video, "Girls on Film".
So the story goes,
"Girls on Film" is the third single by Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981.
Originally written and demoed in 1979 by an early line-up of the band featuring singer Andy Wickett, Duran Duran re-wrote and re-recorded the song in 1981. 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.
The original "Girls on Film" video (July 1981) was filmed just weeks before MTV was launched in the United States and before anyone knew what an impact the music channel would have on the industry. The band expected the "Girls on Film" video to be played exclusively at nightclubs that had video screens. The raunchy video created an uproar, and it was consequently banned by the BBC and heavily edited for its original run on MTV; the band unabashedly enjoyed and capitalised on the controversy.
Around 1981/82 Pearcy saw that original video playing in a nightclub and was intrigued right from the start.
Pearcy's early influences were of course the obvious, Van Halen, Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, but he was also very influenced by Adam Ant and Duran Duran. So when a chance meeting at The Limelight turned into a not so friendly encounter, Pearcy took to the mic 36 years later to once again give a nod to Simon Le Bon, this time Take it or Leave it Le Bon. This cover is pretty flippin' cool!
"Girls on Film" just got roughed up in a good way...with Erik Ferentinos adding his signature style to this iconic song making it dirtier with some punk rock jabs whaling over Matt Thones' sailing keyboards with a dance beat, layer in Pearcy's salacious vocals and this 80's Mega Hit just got a whole lot Cooler.
Erik Ferentinos, Lead Guitarist
Original "Girls on Film" Video Shots, Duran Duran1981
STEPHEN PEARCY'S 2021 VERSION OF DURAN DURAN'S 1981 "GIRLS ON FILM"
Credits:
Lead Vocals: Stephen Pearcy
Back Up Vocals: Stephen Pearcy, Erik Ferentinos, Matt Thorne
ALL Guitars: Erik Ferentinos
Bass Guitar: Matt Thorne
Drum Beats: Erik Ferentinos
Keyboards: Matt Thorne
Mixed & Engineered: Matt Thorne
Recorded at: MT Studios
Original Artist: Duran Duran
Music Video Production: MissTruthAdare
My experience meeting my hero SP sounds similar to his meeting Simon. Ratt was always one of my favorite bands. At 13 years old I saw the video for Round & Round and bought 'Out of the Cellar' that day and then all the others albums as they were released. Saw them live on the 'Dancing Undercover' tour for the first time, bought the t-shirt. Got the videos, all the mags/read all the articles and hung pics and posters up in my room, drew logos on folders etc. etc. I moved on in musical tastes over the years but I've always come back to those magical first 5-6 Ratt albums. The whole band is full of great players but keep…
Love Stephen's "Girls on Film"