"Rio" is the seventh single by English rock band Duran Duran. It was first released as a single in Australia, in August 1982, followed by a UK release on 1 November 1982.
The song was the fourth and final single lifted from the band's second studio album of the same name and was edited for its release. It was issued worldwide in October 1982 and became a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 9 on 11 December 1982.[5] As of October 2021, "Rio" is the third most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK.[6]
"Rio" was released as the third single from the album in Australia, and debuted on the Kent Music Report top 100 singles chart dated 6 September 1982.[7] The song did not attract much notice in the United States upon its initial global release but received early airplay at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles as early as 2 August 1982.[8] After the band's breakthrough hit "Hungry Like the Wolf" found success in the American charts in December 1982, Capitol Records reissued the single in March 1983 to be the band's second US top 20 hit, peaking at number 14.
The song originated from an idea by John Taylor about Rio de Janeiro – "the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop"; Simon Le Bon wrote the lyrics to the song, and chose not to write about the city but about a girl named Rio.[9] Its verses were inspired by their earlier song "See Me, Repeat Me" and the chorus was taken from "Stevie's Radio Station", a song written by the band TV Eye, featuring lead vocalist Andy Wickett, who went on to be one of Duran Duran's early lead vocalists. The song was a favourite of Nick and John and was incorporated into Duran Duran live sets during Wickett's tenure.[10]
Nick Rhodes created the unusual sound at the beginning of the song by throwing several small metal rods onto the strings of a grand piano in the studio.[11] The recorded sound was then reversed to create the intro.[12] Rhodes produced the synthesiser lead using the arpeggiator on a Roland Jupiter-4 set to random while playing a Cmaj7 chord.[13] The tenor saxophone solo was performed by Andy Hamilton. The laughter on the track was that of Rhodes's girlfriend at the time.[citation needed]
Cash Box called it "a perfect follow-up to 'Hungry Like The Wolf'", saying that "the melody's warm sea breeze contrasts effectively with the menace in 'Wolf' and is equally catchy."[14]
Director Russell Mulcahy filmed the music video for "Rio", which featured images of the band in Antony Price suits,[15] singing and playing around on a yacht speeding over the crystal blue Caribbean Sea. The yacht in the music video was the Eilean.[16][17] Short segments show band members trying to live out their assorted daydreams while being teased by a body-painted woman, played by Reema Ruspoli.[15][citation needed]
The music video was shot over the course of three days in May 1982 on the island of Antigua.[18] The yacht scenes were filmed on the bay at English Harbour, the beach scenes at Miller's Beach, and the segment featuring the raft at Shirley Heights. Some close ups were filmed later on the Solent due to a film processing error.
Director Mulcahy originally planned a scene where the band members got chased off the island by people wielding guns, but did not have enough film stock left to shoot this. He had to borrow a tourist's camera to shoot the part of John Taylor playing a saxophone on a mountaintop. When the video was featured on VH1's Pop-Up Video, it mentions that after the video was completed, Mulcahy, Le Bon, and Taylor went for a swim and were inches away from sharks when the yacht captain yelled for them to get out of the water. Rhodes was reportedly seasick during the filming, and has often said "I hate boats unless they're tied up and you're having cocktails on them."[19]
While in Antigua, the band also filmed a video for the album track "Night Boat", which appeared with "Rio" and nine other videos on the Duran Duran video album released in 1983.
There are 13 different official mixes of "Rio", many of which are edits of the album version or Kershenbaum remix with fades in various places.[20]
The B-side of the November 1982 original United Kingdom single was "The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)", an acoustic version of the moody album track. The B-side of the April 1983 reissue in the United States was an upbeat remix of "Hold Back the Rain". The B-side of the 12-inch single included a remix of "My Own Way".
Nicole Scherzinger (lead vocalist for the Pussycat Dolls) recorded a cover version of "Rio" as a promotion for Caress Brazilian body wash from Unilever.[37] The song was released to radio on 28 July 2008 and as a CD single in August 2008. The music video shows Scherzinger performing in a pink dress in front of a crowd, with flowers appearing all around her as she sings on stage.[38]
Of the cover, Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon said, "When we were first approached about Nicole doing a version of 'Rio' for this campaign, we thought it was the perfect fit. She's exotic and beautiful and embodies everything that inspired the original version. Because it's one of our signature songs very few people have covered it over the years, so it has been great for us to hear a new interpretation."[39]
^People Weekly, Vol. 62. Time, Incorporated. 2004. "But the big-haired lineup that gave us such '80s synth-pop hits as "Girls on Film," "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" has reunited for Astronaut, which finds the group taking creative flight again."
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