"Election Day" Arcadia

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2515
Date:  10/26/1985
Debut:  46
Peak:  6
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Synthpop, New Wave



Pop Bits:  When Duran Duran took a break, the members splintered off into two side project bands. John and Andy Taylor developed The Power Station ("Some Like It Hot," #6 Pop), while Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes created Arcadia, with Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor working in the studio with them (Taylor did some work with The Power Station as well). Arcadia, along with Alex Sadkin, produced the band's debut album So Red the Rose. This first single was pushed out ahead of the album and after a high debut it headed right for the Top 10. It was also a slight entry at Dance getting to #29. While the album only peaked at #23, it would still be a platinum seller, as was The Power Station's debut, which made it to #6.

ReduxReview:  Well, like a lot of Duran Duran songs, the lyrics here make zero sense. Perhaps it does to someone, but not me. Plus, the title of the song vs. the lyrics have always bugged me. The song is "Election Day," yet in the chorus Le Bon sings "re-election day." He does say "election day" at one point, but not in the chorus. I guess the title was just better without the "re." Despite all that, I liked this song when it came out. Unlike the rock of The Power Station, this one didn't veer too far from in the Duran Duran lane and it could have easily been one of that band's tracks. The addition of Jones (see below) was terrific and she made the most out of the indecipherable lyrics. Neither of the albums from the two offshoot bands were all that good, yet I'd say Arcadia's was a hair better due to some experimenting they did with a couple of tracks. It made the album more interesting than the bland rock track from The Power Station (with the exception of their two Top 10 hits).

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  The center section of this song featured a spoken word passage. That part was done by singer/model/actress Grace Jones. The pairing of Jones with the band most likely came about due to the James Bond film A View to a Kill. Jones co-starred in the film while Duran Duran supplied the hit #1 theme song. Jones was at hear peak around this time period. Her recording career that was doing quite well with 1981's Nightclubbing hitting #32 and her 1986 song "Slave to the Rhythm" hitting #1 Dance. She also co-starred in several hit films including A View to a Kill, Conan the Destroyer, Vamp, and Boomerang. She even appeared in Pee Wee Herman's 1988 TV Special Christmas at Pee Wee's Playhouse where she did her version of "The Little Drummer Boy."

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