Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran is a compilation album of remixes by Duran Duran. From the very beginning of their career, the band had dubbed the extended dance remixes of their songs "night versions", as they were intended for play in nightclubs.
Unlike many of their contemporaries, Duran Duran didn't just extend the intro or loop the bridge section of a song to pad out a dance track for a 12-inch single. As Allmusic explained, "According to Nick Rhodes' liner notes, they recorded extended versions of their singles to be used in night clubs. Rather than have the master tapes cut and taped into remixes, Duran Duran went back into the studio and recorded longer versions of the songs with more instrumental breaks."
The collection had been in the works for some time, but it was released by Capitol/EMI in April 1998, about the same time that Duran Duran was dismissed from the record label after an eighteen-year history. EMI was quick to start mining the band's back catalogue; Night Versions was followed seven months later by the greatest hits collection Greatest, and by another remix collection Strange Behaviour four months after that.
Similar to other releases in Capitol's "Essential" range, this disc was commercially available for only six months from the time of release. This may account for the inflated aftermarket value of the disc, considering all the material and more was released on the latter Strange Behaviour collection. It has given influence not only in title but also to its concept to the album Nite Versions by Soulwax.Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran is a compilation album of remixes by Duran Duran. From the very beginning of their career, the band had dubbed the extended dance remixes of their songs "night versions", as they were intended for play in nightclubs.
Unlike many of their contemporaries, Duran Duran didn't just extend the intro or loop the bridge section of a song to pad out a dance track for a 12-inch single. As Allmusic explained, "According to Nick Rhodes' liner notes, they recorded extended versions of their singles to be used in night clubs. Rather than have the master tapes cut and taped into remixes, Duran Duran went back into the studio and recorded longer versions of the songs with more instrumental breaks."
The collection had been in the works for some time, but it was released by Capitol/EMI in April 1998, about the same time that Duran Duran was dismissed from the record label after an eighteen-year history. EMI was quick to start mining the band's back catalogue; Night Versions was followed seven months later by the greatest hits collection Greatest, and by another remix collection Strange Behaviour four months after that.
Similar to other releases in Capitol's "Essential" range, this disc was commercially available for only six months from the time of release. This may account for the inflated aftermarket value of the disc, considering all the material and more was released on the latter Strange Behaviour collection. It has given influence not only in title but also to its concept to the album Nite Versions by Soulwax.false2025-11-08 00:22:48Essential Duran Duran (Night Versions)19981998-04-071998-04-077New WavePop1113322283328f31276c6-b0f9-42b2-90cb-616041248bc91a1cd7f3-e5df-4eca-bae2-2757c9e656b5855f1b14-56d4-3a08-82d8-47e9f682805d/media/data/media5/Music/Duran Duran/Essential Duran Duran (Night Versions)/folder.jpgDuran DuranDuran DuranDuran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of bassist Simon Colley and drummer Roger Taylor the following year, the band went through numerous personnel changes before May 1980, when they settled on their most famous line-up by adding guitarist Andy Taylor and lead vocalist Simon Le Bon.
Emerging as members of the New Romantic scene, Duran Duran were innovators of the music video and a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US in the 1980s. By 1984, the band had achieved levels of fame similar to Beatlemania. The band's first major hit was "Girls on Film" (1981), from their self-titled debut album, the popularity of which was enhanced by a controversial music video. The band's breakthrough second album was Rio (1982), a worldwide hit. The songs "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" featured cinematic music videos directed by Australian film maker Russell Mulcahy and became two of their biggest hits. Their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, became their only UK number one album and featured the US and UK number one single "The Reflex". In 1985, the band topped the US charts with the single "A View to a Kill" from the soundtrack of the James Bond film of the same title.
Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor left the band before the recording of their fourth album, Notorious (1986), which yielded the top ten title track; Warren Cuccurullo replaced Andy as guitarist. The band spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s continuing to release albums and singles to only moderate success. Their comeback album, 1993's Duran Duran (commonly called The Wedding Album), featured two top-ten worldwide hits "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone". After John Taylor left in 1997, the band released a number of albums and singles which underperformed on the sales charts. A full reunion of the line-up of Le Bon, Rhodes and all three Taylors in 2001 led to a number of highly successful concert tours and the 2004 album Astronaut, which reached number three in the UK and top 40 in numerous other countries. The album's lead single "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise" was an international dance hit, and reached number five in the UK. Andy Taylor left again in 2006, and the band have released five additional albums, with the most recent being Danse Macabre in 2023.
According to Billboard, Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records. They achieved 30 top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart (14 of them top 10) and 21 top 40 singles in the US Billboard Hot 100. The band have won numerous awards throughout their career: two Brit Awards including the 2004 award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, two Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Video Visionary Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards. They were also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.