Duran Duran were native to the music video era and understood the form quite well. Nick Rhodes said, "Video to us is like stereo was to Pink Floyd." It helped that they were very photogenic and willing to travel to exotic locales for shoots. It also helped that MTV launched in 1981, just as they were making their ascent. They quickly became stars on the network, accounting for much of their American success.
They are named after the bad guy in the 1967 Jane Fonda movie Barbarella. It's a very campy film that spoofs more serious sci-fi movies. John Taylor came up with the idea for the name after watching the film on BBC TV.
They first toured in the US in 1982 as the opening act for Blondie.
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