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Ordinary World
177 ordinary world single song DD 16 uk duran duran vinyl discography discogs wikipedia
single by Duran Duran
B-side "My Antarctica"
Released 19 December 1992 (US)
26 January 1993 (UK)
Recorded Privacy Studio, London
Format 7", 12", Cassette, CD
Genre Pop
Length 5:39 (Album Version)
4:43 (Single Version)
Label Capitol, EMI
Writer(s) Duran Duran
Producer(s) Duran Duran
John Jones
Duran Duran

"Ordinary World" is the 23rd single by Duran Duran, and the first single from The Wedding Album. It was released on 19 December 1992 in the United States and 26 January 1993 in the United Kingdom, reaching the top ten in both countries.

About the song[]

By the early 1990s, Duran Duran's once-Beatlesque popularity had faded. Their album Liberty had proved a commercial failure, its two singles failing to make a significant showing on British or American charts.

It wasn't until Capitol leaked "Ordinary World" to a radio station in Florida in the autumn of 1992 that it looked like Duran Duran mania might yet hit again. The single proved so popular that Capitol had to push the US release date up, ultimately releasing it in December. In the UK, the original January release date stood. The song can also be credited with introducing Duran Duran to a new generation of fans.

The keyboards and strings in the song were arranged and performed by Nick Rhodes and John Jones, using an AKAI S1000 & S900, Emulator III, and a Roland D-50.

The song won an Ivor Novello Award in May 1994.

Simon Le Bon would go on to sing the song with Luciano Pavarotti at a War Child benefit show. This performance was released on Pavarotti & Friends: Together for the Children of Bosnia.

It has been voted Best Duran Duran Song On Earth by fans.

Music video[]

The video was filmed by director Nick Egan at Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, California and features a woman and her husband posing for photographs after presumably getting married while the band attend the wedding or rather reception as guests.

Nick Egan: “The idea came after I had visited The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena and was struck by the scale and beauty of the various gardens, Japanese and in particular the cactus garden which looked like another planet. The question I get asked the most is about the wedding dress. The costume artist did a great job taking my idea from Fellini's 'Juliet of the Spirits', and the dress I borrowed from a Giorgio Armani black cocktail dress which had that big bow.” [1]

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes[]

To capitalise on the success of "Ordinary World" and the new Duran Duran fans it was finding, EMI used the single's release to lure these new fans to the band's back catalogue. This mini-Decade was spread over the two CD singles released during the campaign.

Other Mixes[]

An acoustic version of the song was included on the band's next release, the "Come Undone" single.

There were several other versions of "Ordinary World" released.[2]

  • The "Single Version" or "Single Mix" was a differently mixed and edited version, sent to radio stations, used for the promotional video, and available on the CD single release in certain countries outside the US.

  • The "Acoustic version" was more correctly the "Acoustic Mix" and was created using the studio guitar & vocal tracks and adding specially arranged live string orchestration. An alternative live acoustic performance was recorded at the May 15 "No Ordinary Tour" live performance at Tower Records in Hollywood, which was simulcast to Hard Rock Cafés around the world. This live version was found on a number of "Ordinary World" releases outside the UK, most notably the Canadian and American cassette single. It would eventually be released in the UK on the first CD single for "Come Undone".
  • The "AC edit" was featured on a US promo CD that came packaged with the Decade album.
  • A version recorded live on Simon Mayo's Radio 1 show would surface in 1995 as a B-side to "White Lines".
  • A 6:08 version, recorded at Sony Studios in New York City for Hard Rock Live, was included on a promotional 2-track CD in June 2000 by the band's new label Hollywood Records.

Covers, samples, & media references[]

The song has been covered by RED, Riverfenix, Something for Kate, Stereoblonde , Aurora, Kurt Nilsen, Circa Survive, and Mandy Kane.

The song appeared in the soundtrack to the film Layer Cake in 2004, and was noted for its use in the memorable attack scene in the restaurant.

The song has been covered and appeared in the e3 2017 trailer of "The Evil Within 2" during Bethesda's Press Conference.

Chart positions[]

"Ordinary World" peaked at #3 in the US and held at #6 in the UK.

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia 18
Austria 15
Flanders 20
Canada Top Singles 1
Canada Adult Contemporary 10
Denmark (IFPI) 7
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 10
France 6
Germany 16
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 2
Ireland 3
Italy (Musica e dischi) 1
Dutch 40 14
Dutch 100 16
New Zealand 3
Norway 5
Sweden 2
Switzerland 11
UK 6
US Billboard Hot 100 3
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 14
US Billboard Alternative Songs 2
US Billboard Pop Songs 1


Track listing[]

7": Parlophone DD 16 (UK)

  1. "Ordinary World" (Single Version) - 4:43
  2. "My Antarctica" - 5:00

CD: Parlophone CD DDS 16 (UK)

  1. "Ordinary World" - 5:49
  2. "Save A Prayer" (Single Version) - 5:25
  3. "Skin Trade" (Radio Cut) - 4:25
  4. "My Antarctica" - 5:00
  • This CD came in a 2-CD case that also housed CD DDP 16.

CD: Parlophone CD DDP 16 (UK)

  1. "Ordinary World" (Single Version) - 4:41
  2. "The Reflex" (Dance Mix-Edit) - 4:25
  3. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (130 B.P.M. Single Version) - 3:25
  4. "Girls on Film" - 3:30
  • This CD was released as a picture disc.

CD: Part of the "Singles Box Set 1986-1995"

  1. "Ordinary World" (Single Version) - 4:41
  2. "My Antarctica" - 5:00
  3. "Ordinary World" - 5:49
  4. "Save A Prayer" (Single Version) - 5:25
  5. "Skin Trade" (Radio Cut) - 4:25
  6. "The Reflex" (Dance Mix-Edit) - 4:25
  7. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (130 B.P.M. Single Version) - 3:25
  8. "Girls on Film" - 3:30

Other appearances[]

Apart from the single, "Ordinary World" has also appeared on:

Albums:

Box sets:

Singles:

EPs:

Personnel[]

Duran Duran are:

With:

Lyrics[]

Came in from a rainy Thursday
On the avenue
Thought I heard you talking softly

I turned on the lights, the TV
And the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you

What has happened to it all?
Crazy, some are saying
Where is the life that I recognize?
Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Passion or coincidence
Once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
Well now pride's gone out the window
Cross the rooftops
Run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart

What is happening to me?
Crazy, some'd say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Papers in the roadside
Tell of suffering and greed
Here today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here besides the news
Of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk

And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Every one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world
Every one
Is my world

See also[]

References[]


DURAN DURAN
Simon Le BonNick RhodesJohn TaylorRoger Taylor
Andy TaylorWarren CuccurulloSterling Campbell
DISCOGRAPHY
ALBUMS

Duran DuranRioSeven and the Ragged TigerArenaNotoriousBig ThingLibertyDuran Duran (The Wedding Album)Thank YouMedazzalandPop TrashAstronautRed Carpet MassacreAll You Need Is NowPaper GodsFuture PastDanse Macabre

COMPILATIONS and EPs

CarnivalDecade: Greatest HitsGreatestNight Versions: The Essential Duran DuranStrange BehaviourSingles Box Set 1981-1985Singles Box Set 1986-1995From Mediterranea With Love

SINGLES

"Planet Earth" • "Careless Memories" • "Girls on Film" • "My Own Way" • "Hungry Like the Wolf" • "Save a Prayer" • "Rio"• "Is There Something I Should Know?" • "Union of the Snake" • "New Moon on Monday" • "The Reflex" • "The Wild Boys" • "A View to a Kill" • "Notorious" • "Skin Trade" • "Meet El Presidente" • "I Don't Want Your Love" • "All She Wants Is" • "Do You Believe in Shame?" • "Burning the Ground" • "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" • "Serious" • "Ordinary World" • "Come Undone" • "Too Much Information" • "Perfect Day" • "White Lines" • "Out of My Mind" • "Electric Barbarella" • "Someone Else Not Me" • "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" • "What Happens Tomorrow" • "Nice" • "Falling Down • "All You Need Is Now • "Girl Panic! • "Leave A Light On • "Pressure Off" • "Five Years" • "Invisible" • "More Joy" • "Anniversary" • "Tonight United" • "Give It All Up " • "Danse Macabre" • "Black Moonlight"

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