As I watched There’s Something You Should Know, I kept cringing at how little the BBC special actually let us know. The reaction to it in the United States, where it just aired for the first time, has been wonderful to see. That Metal Show guru Eddie Trunk espoused on Twitter how important that band was and his legion of metal heads were quick to agree. So, on that level, the show has been a success but as a music fan, these glossy specials are a disservice to the hard work and perseverance of the musicians who make the music I love.
The show moves along nicely at first until we get to Seven & the Ragged Tiger and I notice that the show is more than half over with eleven albums still to cover. All of a sudden, the show starts taking creative liberties with the band’s story. Somehow, we skip from Notorious (covered in excellent detail) to the second eponymous album without mentioning Warren Cuccurullo or Sterling Campbell, both official members at one point. Even worse, Big Thing gets no mention! This is one of the more significant albums in the band’s history and it doesn’t even register on the radar?
Not touching on Liberty or Thank You glosses over the imperfections of the band’s studio work. Fair enough. This show is clearly just fluff for television with no promise of being accurate but it pains me to see this. It reminds me of the scene in Bohemian Rhapsody when the director injects a fake narrative about Queen getting back together for Live Aid. Oh, please. The band was on The Works tour until May of 1985. They were in peak condition to dominate Live Aid. And they did.
Getting back to There’s Something You Should Know, either I fell asleep or we jump from 1993 to 2004 as if Medazzaland and Pop Trash never occurred. Oh, and John left the band for a few albums. Might want to mention that. These selective gaps in the band’s story are some of the most interesting times for the band and what I would really want to know more about. Without the lows, the highs of Rio and All You Need Is Now lose some of their magnificence.
Interestingly, even with Mark Ronson in this special, there is no mention of the band’s flawless collaboration with him on AYNIK. We learn Andy Taylor left the band during the Astronaut tour and then we are looking at Paper Gods. Another two albums skipped, one of which ranks amongst their best ever. Hopefully, viewers who haven’t been along for every step of the DD journey will be excited to rediscover the band and find every album.
The show’s best moments are, well, every time Roger Taylor speaks and when Simon LeBon shows some cracks in his armor by discussing how it becomes a little easier to accept each time Duran Duran falls out of favor with popular culture. Taylor comes across as a genuine musician who loves the work. The fashion, the videos, the drugs, and the success are all secondary to his love of playing in the band.
Seeing LeBon open up a little about the band’s struggles gives me hope that there will be a deeper documentary someday that explores an amazing four decades of rock-n-roll. Come on lads, scratch the surface! We never expected you to be perfect and we, the fans, have proven that we will stand with you through it all.
