"Is There Something I Should Know?"
Single by Duran Duran
B-side
Released14 March 1983 (UK)
May 1983 (US)
RecordedDecember 1982
StudioGood Earth (London)
GenreNew wave[1]
Length
  • 4:11 (single version)
  • 6:43 (Monster mix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Duran Duran
  • Ian Little
Duran Duran singles chronology
"Rio"
(1982)		 "Is There Something I Should Know?"
(1983)		 "Union of the Snake"
(1983)
Alternate cover
12" Monster mix sleeve
Music video
"Is There Something I Should Know?" on YouTube

"Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 14 March 1983.

The song was released as a stand-alone single and became the band's first UK number one record. It debuted in the number one position on the UK Singles Chart on 26 March 1983.[2] The single also had great success in America, where it was released in late May. The song reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 6 August 1983 and sold more than a million copies.

Background

"Is There Something I Should Know?" was recorded at Tony Visconti’s Good Earth Studios in Soho, London with producer Ian Little, who was recommended to the group by Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera.[3] Eventually, the song would undergo several rounds of mixing due to a lack of compression on the drums as Little asserted: one mix was done at Good Earth, one at Eel Pie Studios, one at The Gallery and one at The Power Station in New York with Bob Clearmountain.[4] Keyboardist Nick Rhodes remembered being present most of the night during the mix with Clearmountain and leaving the next day thinking the band had something special on their hands. But upon reflection some days later, it was decided that despite being what they considered a "beautiful mix", it was a little too soft for the sound they were trying to achieve for the record.[5] So the final mix would be done with producer Alex Sadkin (who'd be brought in to produce the band's next album alongside Little, Seven and the Ragged Tiger) and Phil Thornalley at RAK Studios, London, who replaced the drums with samples triggered via AMS delay units.[4]

Although generally regarded as a stand-alone single, it was added to the 1983 US re-issue of the band's 1981 debut album, Duran Duran. The first album on which the song featured in the UK was the inaugural Now That's What I Call Music compilation at the end of the year.

The singles from the Duran Duran album did not receive much airplay in the United States on the album's first release; both the band and the New Romantic fashion style were unknown, and very few British bands were able to break into American radio at that time. However, by the end of 1982, the band's Rio album was rapidly climbing the American charts, fueled by saturation airplay of various Duran Duran videos on MTV. The band and their label, Capitol/EMI, decided to re-release the debut album in the United States with the inclusion of this newly recorded single.

Because of the time limitations of vinyl records, the inclusion of "Is There Something I Should Know?" required the omission of the album track "To the Shore" on the reissue. "To the Shore" was reinstated on later compact disc pressings.

"Is There Something I Should Know?" was the opening song on Duran Duran's set list for the 1983/84 Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour—as well as the charity concert at Villa Park in 1983.

In its contemporary review of the song, Cash Box praised "the upbeat arrangement, clear production and lustrous vocals."[6] David Hepworth of Smash Hits just noticed that producer change lead to "more pronounced rock group sound" and expressed displeasure with impossibility to do something "with an overly-strained chorus."[7] In a retrospective review of the song, AllMusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco wrote that the lyrics "deal with a difficult romantic relationship in rather obtuse terms." Guarisco highlighted what he described as "odd turns of phrase" in the lyrics, such as: "and fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door/Don't say you're easy on me 'cause you're about as easy as a nuclear war."

Although Guarisco questioned the lyrics, he praised the melody in the song. He wrote: "The melody of 'Is There Something I Should Know?' is one of Duran Duran's catchiest, matching twisty verse melodies full of ear-catching hooks with a harmonized chorus."[8]

According to Nick Rhodes, the pulsing keyboard sound is from a Roland Jupiter-8 synth, while the Prophet-5 was used for a small melodic part.[9]

Music video

The video for "Is There Something I Should Know?" featured colour clips of the band members, in blue shirts with tucked-in white ties, interspersed with surreal images in black-and-white. The video made a point of marking the transition between the first three albums, featuring clips from several earlier Duran Duran videos. This included "My Own Way"—presented on the Duran Duran video album but never released to MTV.

The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was one of the most popular videos of 1983 on MTV. The video is longer as there are verses that were edited out of the original 45 release, that subsequently made it to album, tape and CD. The DVD Greatest Hits has the long version video

When asked if there was anything about their videos they'd like to change, drummer Roger Taylor commented, "The only part of a video I would change is the end of 'Is There Something I Should Know?' where I am singing to the camera. I look very uncomfortable doing this and cringe every time I see it to this day."[10]

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

The B-side to "Is There Something I Should Know?" in the UK is the instrumental "Faith in This Colour". An "alternate slow mix" of "Faith in This Colour" was used on the 7" single, some pressings of which included brief unauthorized sound samples from the movie Star Wars—these were promptly withdrawn when copyright concerns were raised, although on the "alternate slow mix" from the singles box set, the scene, in which Obi-Wan leaves to disable the tractor beam, can clearly be heard in the last minute.

The mainly instrumental "Monster mix" of "Is There Something I Should Know?" was completed by producers Ian Little and Alex Sadkin and Phil Thornalley at RAK studio One.

In the US, the song "Careless Memories" was used as the B-side.

Formats and track listings

7": EMI / EMI 5371 United Kingdom

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:11
  2. "Faith in This Colour" (alternate slow mix) – 4:06

12": EMI / 12 EMI 5371 United Kingdom

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster mix) – 6:43
  2. "Faith in This Colour" – 4:06

7": Capitol / B-5233 United States

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:07
  2. "Careless Memories" – 3:53
  • Track 2 is the album version.

12": Capitol / 8551 United States

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster mix) – 6:40
  2. "Faith in This Colour" – 4:05

12": EMI / EMI Electrola 1C K062-65-106Z Germany

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster mix) – 6:43
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (short mix) – 4:06
  3. "Faith in This Colour" – 4:04
  • Track 2 "short mix" is the single version.

CD: Part of Singles Box Set 1981–1985

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:11
  2. "Faith in This Colour" – 4:05
  3. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Monster mix) – 6:40
  4. "Faith in This Colour" (alternate slow mix) – 4:05
  • "Monster mix" remixed by Alex Sadkin, Ian Little and Phil Thornalley.

Covers, samples and media references

The band Sugar Ray took elements from the video and featured them in a segment of the music video for their single "When It's Over".

Cover versions of the song have been recorded by the Mr. T Experience, Harvey Danger and Allstars, the last of which took the song back into the UK charts at #12 in September 2001 as a double-A-side with their own track "Things That Go Bump in the Night".

The second episode of the sixth season of the cartoon series The Venture Bros., entitled "Maybe No Go", follows Billy Quizboy and Pete White retrieving the rubber ball prop used in the music video from their archenemy, a collector of pop culture memorabillia.

The line "you're about as easy as a nuclear war" was the inspiration for the Duran Duran song "Yo Bad Azizi", included as a B-side to the "Serious" single released seven years later.

Allstars version

CD

  1. "Things That Go Bump in the Night"
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?"
  3. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Almighty mix)
  4. "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (video)

Cassette

  1. "Things That Go Bump in the Night"
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?"
  3. "That Crazy Thing That We Call Love"

12" vinyl

  1. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Mothership mix)
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (Almighty mix)
  3. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (K Boys club mix)
  4. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (radio edit)
  5. "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (Xenomania mix)
  6. "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (radio edit)

Promo CD

  1. "Things That Go Bump in the Night" (radio edit)
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?" (radio edit)

Charts

As of October 2021 "Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eleventh most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK.[34]

Personnel

Duran Duran

Technical

References

  1. ↑ "8EEZ Playlist: Duran Duran". Beat.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 421. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "Ian Little and Rio". duranduran.com. 15 November 2014.
  4. 1 2 Buskin, Richard (July 2004). "CLASSIC TRACKS: Duran Duran 'The Reflex'". soundonsound.com.
  5. ↑ "Clearmountain mix of "Is There Something I Should Know"". duranduran.com. 15 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 28 May 1983. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Hepworth, David (17–30 March 1983). "Singles: Duran Duran – "Is There Something I Should Know?" review" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 5, no. 6. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 29. ISSN 0260-3004. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022 – via World Radio History.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ Guarisco, Donald A. "Is There Something I Should Know? - Duran Duran : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Sounds in depth". duranduran.com. 6 September 2002.
  10. ↑ Archived 12 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 97. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6259." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Is There Something I Should Know". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 30 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Duran Duran" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  17. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 17, 1983" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Duran Duran: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 "Duran Duran | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  26. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending August 13, 1983". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  28. ↑ "National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. No. 497. 2 January 1984 – via Imgur.
  29. ↑ "The Top Singles of 1983". RPM. Vol. 39, no. 17. 24 December 1983. p. 10. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  30. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 1983". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  31. ↑ "The Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1983". Official Charts Company. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  32. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1983 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. 31 December 1983. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  34. ↑ "Duran Duran's Official Top 20 most-streamed songs revealed". Official Charts. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
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