Duran Duran: Girls On Film

Before MTV most music videos were concert clips (think REO Speedwagon, Survivor). Bands and artists credited with the invention of the modern music video include Queen, Michael Jackson and Duran Duran. The latter boys from the U.K. are most interesting because of one notorious video: that of their 1981 single Girls On Film. In a DVD interview, Simon Le Bon says the raunchiness of the video and subsequent outcry from prudes and thought-police all over the isles, drowned the songs anti-exploitation message for the fashion industry.

Think models, in two shades of nude. Lights, cameras and foam machines. There’s a clean version on Youtube for anyone who’s interested, and don’t worry, you're not missing anything, it's only a nipple or two away from the original.

It’s hard to imagine a time without music television, but it was so new it allowed Simon and the boys to sell records in the U.S. without any touring presence or market awareness beyond the one song. ‘Girls On Film’ made #5 in the U.K and remains one of their best singles. Want an obscure fact? The camera click at the beginning is a Nikon, thanks Eddy P from England.