Duran Duran think their 1980s music videos would get them “cancelled” in today’s climate.
The ‘Hungry Like A Wolf’ hitmakers earned a reputation for their racy and glamorous promos but frontman Simon Le Bon has claimed they wouldn’t be allowed to make them in the same way now.
He told the Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column: “‘Girls On Film’ was the one that got the censors because we had naked ladies in it.
“Nobody would make that video now because you’re liable to be cancelled or ‘Me Too-ed.’ “
The 62-year-old star also pondered the way the music industry has changed with music videos taking a backseat compared to previous generations.
He added: “All sorts of things have changed. In a way YouTube has opened things up but then public perceptions have changed.
“It’s weird the way the evolution has happened, as different media platforms have emerged and disappeared.
“MTV came along and developed into something else and they aren’t playing so many music videos now.”
And Duran Duran’s own tastes have changed, with Simon admiring The Clockworks’ video to their track ‘Throw It All Away’.
He said: “I like lyrics videos. There’s a band called The Clockworks with a lyric video, which is just words on buildings, and it’s amazing.”
Meanwhile, the band – completed by Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor – are set to release new album ‘Future Past’ later this week, and they were “at each other’s throats” making the record during lockdown.
Simon recently revealed: “We were at each other’s throats, we were all stressed out of our minds and in the end had no choice but to close up the studio and go home.
“We weren’t really talking but just sitting around in our spaces.”
Fortunately, those feelings soon subsided when the world started to open up again.
Bassist and guitarist John said: “When we got back to the studio, there was this tremendous sense of ‘we have to do this and get this finished’. We were lucky to be alive … we were so happy to see each other.”