DURAN DURAN
ORDINARY WORLD
«Ordinary World» is the first single from Duran Duran’s self-titled 1993 album, commonly known as The Wedding Album. The ballad reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40, the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and the Italian Singles Chart. It also peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 in Iceland and Sweden and No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
The song was nominated for Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in May 1994. Lead vocalist Simon Le Bon sang the song with Luciano Pavarotti at a benefit concert for War Child. «Ordinary World» remains one of Duran Duran’s most popular songs and was in October 2021 their second-most streamed song in the UK.
Track information
- Released 19 December 1992
- Studio Privacy, London
- Genre Soft rock
- Label
EMICapitol - Songwriter(s)
Simon Le BonJohn TaylorNick RhodesWarren Cuccurullo
Background
By the early 1990s, Duran Duran’s popularity had faded. Their album Liberty had proved a commercial failure, its two singles failing to make a significant showing on the British or American charts. It was not until Capitol Records leaked «Ordinary World» to a radio station in Jacksonville, Florida during the second half of 1992 that it seemed like Duran Duran would find a resurgence in popularity. To their surprise, the single proved so popular that Capitol had to push the US release date up, ultimately releasing it in December.
The keyboards in the song were arranged and performed by Nick Rhodes and John Jones. The drums were played by Steve Ferrone at Maison Rouge. The guitar solo that characterises this song was arranged and performed by Warren Cuccurullo, former player with Frank Zappa. His instrumental rock trio version became a staple of his solo shows and was included on one of his solo albums «Roadrage». Le Bon noted the song lyrics are about «trying to get over the death of a best friend. And putting it into words freed me, absolutely. It really worked for me emotionally and mentally. Everyone who heard it could apply it to something in their life, but for a different reason.
Le Bon later performed the song with Luciano Pavarotti at a WarChild benefit. The performance featured new lyrics in Italian, written especially for the show by producer Michele Centonze, most of which were a very free adaptation (rather than a translation) of Le Bon’s original lyrics; the title «Ordinary World» was rendered as «mondo umile», i.e. humble world. The duet, along with the whole show, was released on home video as Pavarotti & Friends: Together for the Children of Bosnia. Later on, in an interview featured on the DVD release of the show, Le Bon stated that he loved singing in Italian because of the very open vowel sounds in the language.
The lyric to «Ordinary World» were written by Le Bon as the second of a trilogy of songs for his late friend David Miles; the others being «Do You Believe in Shame?» (1988) and «Out of My Mind» (1997).
DID YOU KNOW?
This is the last song of a trilogy written about the death of Simon Le Bon’s friend David Miles in 1986. The first was «Do You Believe In Shame,» followed by «Out of My Mind» and «Ordinary World.» They all deal with the grief and loss he experienced after the death of his friend. Le Bon had been evasive about the inspiration for the lyric, but revealed its true source as part of an interview included with their 2004 Live from London DVD.
When this song showed up, it was hard to believe it was Duran Duran. They were global superstars in the ’80 with an impressive run of hits, mostly uptempo songs, but their 1990 album Liberty stiffed, and they didn’t release any new music until the «Ordinary World» single late in 1992. It’s far more doleful and introspective than their previous work, but radio stations jumped on it, eager for mature pop songs with no trace of hip-hop or grunge. It made the Top 10 in several territories and did especially well in America, where it went to #3.
Duran Duran’s record company tested the waters by leaking «Ordinary World» to a few radio stations in Florida. It got a great response and quickly spread to other stations around the country, while also getting support from MTV and VH1. The next single, «Come Undone,» was also a hit, and the self-titled album became their first Platinum-seller since Notorious in 1986. (Their first album was also self-titled; the 1993 album is known as «the wedding album» because the cover shows wedding photos of the band members’ parents).
