BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“New Moon on Monday” is the tenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 23 January 1984 in the United Kingdom.
The second single to be taken from the band’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), the song was another success, reaching the top-ten on both the UK and US charts. On 11 February 1984, the single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and on 17 March, it reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, after entering on 14 January 1984 at number 56. It did not chart well in Australia and Scandinavia, territories where its predecessor, “Union of the Snake”, had been a big hit. This trend was reversed with the next single, “The Reflex”, which became a worldwide number-one hit.
In a retrospective review, “New Moon on Monday” was praised by Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco, who wrote: “The music holds the unusual lyrics together by wedding effervescent verse melodies that bounce high and low to a triumphant-sounding chorus with a rousing feel.”
The music video for “New Moon on Monday” was filmed by director Brian Grant during the icy first week of January 1984, in the village of Noyers in France. It has a loosely sketched storyline in which the band appear as members of an underground rebellion called “La Luna” (the name is one of the few connections between the video’s content and the song lyrics), organizing a revolt against a modern (1980s-era computers are used) oppressive militaristic regime, apparently in France.
“We set out to make a little movie”, recalled Grant. “I’m not sure we succeeded.” He was not the first choice to shoot the video, as Russell Mulcahy, director of many of the band’s other videos, was unavailable.
Several versions of this video exist. The longest is a 17-minute “movie version” which includes an extended introduction before the song starts (including a scene of dialogue between Simon Le Bon and the story’s female lead, played by Patricia Barzyk, winner of the Miss France title in 1980; a brief snippet of “Union of the Snake” is also heard on a radio), and is set to an extended remix of the song. A shorter version, with a spoken French-dialogue intro, was originally submitted to MTV, who then later requested an even shorter version without the prologue.
Yet another version was produced for the Dancing on the Valentine video collection, showing blue-lit scenes of the band members in front of a full-moon backdrop. All but one of the versions were included as easter eggs on the 2004 DVD compilation Greatest.
Both Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes say this is the band’s least favorite video. “Everybody … hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together”, Taylor wrote in his memoirs. “Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays [it].” He recalls that they were miserable since their Christmas holiday had been cut short to shoot the video, and spent most of the day on the dark and cold set drinking, to the point that he was “half cut” by the time the last scenes were shot. “It’s one of the few times I’ve seen Nick dance”.
“New Moon on Monday” was backed with a remix of the instrumental “Tiger Tiger” done by Ian Little. The original version of the instrumental was found on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album. The release was rounded out by an extended version of the title track.
SIDE A:
New Moon On Monday (Remix) 6:04
Remix – Ian Little
SIDE B:
Tiger Tiger (Remix) 3:25
Remix – Ian LittleIan Little
Saxophone – Andy Hamilton (7)
New Moon On Monday 4:16
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | New Moon On Monday | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #10 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI – 12 DURAN 1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 04 Feb 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Arranged By, Written-By – Duran Duran
Photography By – Rebecca Blake (2)
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Duran Duran, Ian Little
Sleeve [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted iMaGes
NOTES:
From the DURAN DURAN LP “SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER”
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
I love Tigers!
Thanks again, Paul 🙂
Thanks for this, Still looking for a rip of all the “Electric Barbarella” promo US 12 inches …
Thank’s from Israel 🙂
One of my favourite Duran Duran singles. Such a catchy hook which always grabbed me from when i first heard it.
Thanks Paul 🙂
Wow !! I never knew there was a 17 minute video for this song !!
Thank you very much for this particular info Paul 🙂
It’s not just the great music that you bring to us here at burningtheground;
but the info you give to accompany the tracks.
I’m a bit of a data-nerd when it comes to things I love; so much appreciated
by me and the other data-nerds I’m sure 🙂
Well, Duran Duran…. What can I say? Love them, adore them. Some 30 12inches are cherished in my collection. The 12inch mixes from Seven And The Ragged Tiger are indeed kind of boring. I re-cut New Moon and The Reflex some years ago and still listen to only my own versions. With NWOM for example I reorganised the instrumental and the vocal sections. Ian Little should have done that 🙂 Tried to upload it to soundcloud but they won´t let me. Anyway. Great track from a great album. I love each and every track off that. Bty, their Greatest Hits… Read more »
Great track. I know some people find it unadventurous, but I’m a big fan of the instrumental intro remix format. Love hearing the guitar part and that synth on the chorus without the vocals.
Ah, the “Bew Moon On Monday” version…my favourite! lol
Thank you for this great post! Love this song and 12″! 🙂
Thank you for the high quality sleeve scans! As always, you’ve got an eye for detail. You noticed the moon and title are off-white on the sleeve. People who photograph or scan these sleeves often overcorrect and make it all bright white.
Thank you for noticing mjb. It’s always hard to know what everyone else sees because our monitors are all different 🙂
Fabulous!
Thank you Jermajesty 🙂
Thank you Paul. Liked all three singles from Seven And The Ragged Tiger, in particular Union Of The Snake.
Me too Omar always thought “Seven And The Ragged Tiger” was a great LP. 🙂
Agreed!
“Seven and the Ragged Tiger” completed a classic trilogy of albums 🙂
Well i think you know me well enough to know that you’ve now scored a big 5/5 with me this week. And what a 12 to end on! I’m just amazed that you’ve never posted this classic before! It’s actually probably my favourite ever Duran track too. I’d highly rate their entire career though especially the last two albums so it’s not like i’m just stuck in the 80’s. I do wish for the band to put this back in their live set. I think it’s been out for many years. They have reintroduced it of course in recent years… Read more »
My favorite too Neil. I love how Bowie Simon’s voice sounds. I have been waiting for the right time to post this record guess that was today 🙂
It’s so weird that I heard Duran Duran’s “Union of the Snake” today on the radio this morning and that you’ve posted their “New Monday On Monday” single today. I’m looking forward to hearing this mix because of the flip-side remix of “Tiger Tiger.” Thank you for a terrific week of musical gems as always.
Have a nice weekend Paul!!!
Jeff
We are in sync Jeff. Have a great weekend 🙂
paul, duran duran is always one my favorite bands from the 80’s era. i don’t think they fared very well for me after that, despite that they are still around even now with albums and singles. this was probably the second to last single from their golden era. as mentioned their videos were still very extravagent. this album did well, but overall was not match to do as well as ‘rio’ did. i thought it was ok, but it was the singles that saved it. ‘the union of the snake’ was the first 12 inch i ever bought so thats… Read more »
I always appreciate your feedback -1. I agree that Ian Little did not get very creative with this mix but I love how it keeps the integrity of the original with a few added extra tidbits. This track has always been on the top of my Duran Duran favorites list. Have a great weekend 🙂