Don’t ask Simon Le Bon what ‘The Reflex’ is about. It kind of annoys him, so as a reflex he deflects the question.
It’s a kind of childish song. There have been times when I’ve felt a little tired of it, but that’s also to do with the fact that people always ask me what the song’s about, and I never tell people what songs are about.”
Duran Duran bassist John Taylor added this observation.
It’s a really interesting lyric. You wouldn’t hear a lyric like that today. The early ’80s was really great for profoundly weird, paranoid pop lyrics.”
Profoundly weird, paranoid pop lyrics. I love that line.
By all means read the lyrics and decide for yourself. Use your imagination. It’s your interpretation that matters.
From this vantage point it is about vulnerability. In life, things happen, and we react. Metaphorically, ‘the reflex’ is a lonely child. That to me is a powerful line, and the central element of the song.
How we react becomes the story. As long as we are moving forward the possibility of finding ‘treasures in the dark’ exists. We need to believe in ourselves and stay true to a sense of purpose. If we maximize our engagement in the present, we only increase the likelihood that our future will be more rewarding.
Simon says “cross the bridge when you find it” because each day is a new opportunity to expand on our cosmic footprint.
You’ve gone too far this time
But I’m dancing on the Valentine
I tell you somebody’s fooling around
With my chances on the danger line
I’ll cross that bridge when I find it
Another day to make my stand, oh whoa
High time is no time for deciding
If I should find a helping hand, oh whoa
Oh, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
Oh, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
The reflex is a lonely child, who’s waiting by the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover, isn’t that bizarre?
And every little thing the reflex does
Leaves you answered with a question mark
I’m on a ride, and I want to get off
But they won’t slow down the roundabout
I sold the Renoir and TV set
Don’t wanna be around when this gets out
So, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
Oh, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
The reflex is a lonely child, he’s waiting in the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover, isn’t that bizarre?
And every little thing the reflex does
Leaves an answer with a question mark
So, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
Oh, why don’t you use it?
Try not to bruise it
Buy time, don’t lose it
The reflex is a lonely child who’s waiting by the park
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover, isn’t that bizarre?
And every little thing the reflex does
Leaves me answered with a question mark
Oh, the reflex, what a game, he’s hiding all the cards
The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark
And watching over lucky clover, isn’t that bizarre?
And every little thing the reflex does
Leaves you answered with a question mark”
‘The Reflex’ was offered to music fans as the opening track on Duran Duran’s ‘Seven and the Ragged Tiger’ album which was released in November of 1983. This album was the third of Duran Duran’s career and it marked the group’s first #1 album.
The crescendo.
For Duran Duran, the ascent to superstardom was a contrast between the adoration they received from their devoted fans and the absolute contempt they received from many music critics of the day.
Sounds’ referred to the album as “Seven and the Rancid Ravings“
They felt that this recording was;
So, assuredly awful it breaks new ground in badness…Seven is more redolent of illness – a nervous disorder of people near to cracking up – than it is of just being an amusingly dreadful recording.”
Michael Oldfield of Melody Maker managed to balance his review when he suggested that ‘Seven’ was an effort to combat their “wimpish image”. He went on to say that the record;
…Restores danger and menace to a band that was veering dangerously close to the insipid”
How’s that for something to hang your hat on?
Robert Christgau often pops up in Ted Tocks Covers features because his observations are always astute but this review stands somewhere in the harsh quadrant.
As public figures and maybe as people, these imperialist wimps are the most deplorable pop stars of the post-punk if not post-Presley era.”
He went on to label the lyrics “obtuse at best” before throwing a backhanded compliment Duran Duran’s way, but not before taking a swipe at Le Bon.
If you’d sooner listen to a machine sing than Simon Le Bon, what are you going to do with both?”
Oh…here is the positive remark.
Twice as pleasurable as anything Thomas Dolby is synthesizing these days”
I do recall this us against them attitude between the new music and the traditionalists, and admittedly, I was not a Duran Duran fan in the early ‘80s.
It was the mods versus the rockers, or the Deltas versus the Omegas.
So yes, these reviews kind of take me back to a time where ‘camps’ were very obvious and it took a lot to travel between the perceived tribes.
For Duran Duran, ‘The Reflex’ had an interesting evolution. As noted, the original version opened the album ‘Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Clocking in at 5:29 ‘The Reflex’ was deemed to be too long for a single. The group had recently heard ‘Original Sin’ by INXS which was produced by Nile Rogers. They liked the way Rogers had blended the unique INXS sound with the group’s widely accessible style. They asked Rogers to remix ‘The Reflex’. Nile Rogers reduced the track to 4:26 in short order, bringing his unique vision to the track. This is the version that went to #1 in the U.S. on this day forty years ago.
‘The Reflex’ was Duran Duran’s first #1 song in the United States and their second and final #1 hit in the U.K.
Music fans should marvel at Nile Roger’s ability to bring the dance sound he established with Chic, then add a dash of New Wave, and a whole lot of modern studio techniques. ‘The Reflex’ lacks the tantalizing rock attitude of ‘Original Sin’ but what Rogers did with this Duran Duran track grabbed a generation of music fans.
And they danced…
The video for ‘The Reflex’ was filmed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in March of 1984. Director Russell Mulcahy used concert footage and then he did a masterful job of using giant screen images from the background. This was innovative for the time and when he used modern digital effects, to simulate a waterfall coming out of the screen and soaking the audience this bit of innovation became a massive hit during video dance parties.
Me?
I stood in the background, waiting for ZZ Top, or The Police which was about as New Wave as I got in 1984.
Between 1982 and 1985, Duran Duran had a series of nine top 20 songs, but all of this success took a toll on Duran Duran. Members of the band were anxious to make new music but they were not on the same page when it came to a new direction. From here, two side projects were formed.
One camp saw Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor form Arcadia, while John and Andy Taylor worked with Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, as well as Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson to create the supergroup Power Station. These varied pursuits satisfied their creative desires but Duran Duran did come together to perform again. The event was Live Aid. Power Station was on tour in the United States in the summer of 1985 and at Bob Geldof’s request both Power Station and Duran Duran were added to the Philadelphia show to provide more star appeal for the new wave sector. This would be the last performance of Duran Duran’s original lineup for nearly two decades.
Here is ‘The Reflex’ from Live Aid.
Enjoy this interview between Jimmy Kimmel and Simon Le Bon where Simon relates a fun story about Live Aid and following Crosby Stills Nash and Young on the star-studded line up.
Apparently, Duran Duran’s warmup behind the stage was a little too loud, prompting Stephen Stills to pull back the curtain and bluntly ask them to turn it down a notch.
Will you guys shut the fuck up?”
Speaking of acoustic, before we move on to today’s covers, let’s have a look at a few more approaches to ‘The Reflex’ from about four decades ago. This one is labeled as Duran Duran (Acoustic – ish), clearly because with this much technology at the foundation of the song it is tough to break it all down to its core.
For the first cover we head back to 1997 and Less Than Jake. This is from their Duran Duran Tribute Album.
Moving on to 1999, here is Kylie Minogue and Ben Lee and a quality cover that blends their two voices effectively. This is from ‘The Songs of Duran Duran Undone’.
Frequently, I find myself captivated by acapella versions of these songs. Check out this intriguing cover by Retrocity. This is from their 2006 recording, ‘1980s – Totally Acapella’.
Learning more about Duran Duran as I wrote this feature, I discovered that a significant portion of their journey began in Birmingham, England before they migrated to London. There is an interesting pattern in the English music scene that somehow all roads seem to lead to Birmingham.
Duran Duran’s first gig as a band happened at a famous bar called the Rum Runner. This is where Nick Rhodes and the three Taylors met Simon Le Bon.
To make money, we all had jobs around the Rum Runner, and that week my job was painting the entrance off Broad Street. I was the first to come into contact with Simon as he strutted down the little alleyway. He had this natural frontman arrogance.”
Until then they had been known facetiously, as a band who had a different singer for every gig. Le Bon had a combination of characteristics that the band was looking for.
He had a notebook full of lyrics, which we hadn’t mastered. Then he started singing, and it was like: “Oh wow, he’s got a really distinctive voice.” We didn’t know what we were looking for, vocally, but we knew we wanted someone unique.
In Birmingham, Duran Duran was able to test their musical style and gradually move toward a fashion. By the time they got to London they fit in seamlessly.
As someone who came from London to Birmingham, I found it more welcoming, and less exclusive. You just had to have the right attitude, and to try. I remember when Spandau Ballet came up to play at the Botanic Gardens, we saw Boy George in the flesh for the first time, and he was dressed as a Chinese girl. It was like: “Wow, so that’s what they do down there.” There’s a difference between street fashion and costume, and the London scene was much more about costume. Fancy dress. People were going to theatrical costumiers to get their gear, whereas we were hand-making everything.”
Audiences showed up and almost defied them not to flop, and they won them over one set at a time.
We were building a set that had a beginning, a middle and an end, like writing a play. And you don’t expect people to go crazy, because they don’t know the material. But nobody threw anything. So, it was like: “When can we do it again?”
Tried and tested, and the audience just grew
The thing is, acts like the Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra and Judas Priest would tell you a similar story. A totally different audience but a similar coming of age tale.
Maybe they have more in common than we knew?
Ted Tocks Covers 