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Come Undone (Duran Duran song)

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"Come Undone"
Single by Duran Duran
from the album Duran Duran
B-side"Ordinary World" (acoustic)
Released29 March 1993 (1993-03-29)[1]
StudioPrivacy (Battersea)
Genre
Length
  • 4:15 (edit)
  • 4:38 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Duran Duran
Producer(s)Duran Duran
Duran Duran singles chronology
"Ordinary World"
(1992) 		"Come Undone"
(1993) 		"Too Much Information"
(1993)
Music video
"Come Undone" on YouTube

"Come Undone" is a song by English rock band Duran Duran, released in March 1993 by Parlophone and Capitol as the second single from their seventh studio album, Duran Duran (1993). With their commercial and critical success reestablished by the previous single "Ordinary World", "Come Undone" continued to showcase more of the band's entry into the adult contemporary radio format.

The single became the group's second consecutive US top-10 hit from the Wedding Album, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming their last top-40 hit on that chart. It was also popular in the United Kingdom and other international markets, reaching number two in Canada, number eight in Italy, number nine in Ireland, and number 13 in the UK. As of October 2021, "Come Undone" is the eighth-most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK.[5] The accompanying music video was directed by Julien Temple.

Background

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"Come Undone" stands out as the sole track on the album to which John Taylor didn't contribute. Despite being the second single released from Duran Duran, the song was actually the final one recorded after the album was already completed in early 1992.[6] At that stage, Taylor had completed his parts for all the other songs and had left for Los Angeles to spend time with his wife.[7] In an interview with BBC, Taylor remarked, "Maybe I wished I'd played on 'Come Undone'. I'd gone back to Los Angeles. We'd put that album to bed. I'm not coming back for one more song. Maybe it would have been a different song if I'd been there, maybe it wouldn't have been such a great song. But I'm not one for regrets."[8] Subsequently, co-producer John Jones stepped in to handle the bass for the song. Due to the timing of events, "Come Undone" almost didn't make it onto the album.[6] Warren Cuccurullo revealed to author Steve Malins that he and Nick Rhodes had originally planned on using the song for a project outside of Duran Duran with Gavin Rossdale, but had changed plans when singer Simon Le Bon took a liking to the music and began to come up with lyrics on the spot.[9]

Recording history

[edit]

"Come Undone" was initially built off of a single guitar hook, which the group's guitarist at the time, Warren Cuccurullo, developed in Privacy Studios while trying to do a re-interpretation of the song "First Impression" from their 1990 album Liberty.[6] John Jones and Cuccurullo expanded on this idea, incorporating a drum loop and bass from Jones' track "Face to Face".[6] Although the drum loop was often mistaken for a sample of Ashley's Roachclip, it was an original creation according to the American music journalist Annie Zaleski.[10] Their unfinished demo caught the attention of Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon, which they played to them through a phone call.[6] This led to Rhodes joining them in the studio to finalize the music that afternoon. Le Bon swiftly penned lyrics for the song and added vocals the following day.[6] The next day they brought in the English singer Tessa Niles for backing vocals and added additional overdubs.[6] Niles told Rolling Stone that Rhodes and Cuccurullo were "asking me to jump through various vocal hoops and try different things on the chorus and try it in different ways. My initial idea for the female vocal was quite soft and breathy and sexy. I think at one point, Nick said, 'Listen, unleash the diva. Just go for it. Bring her out and let's see what you got.'"[11][10] The song was then mixed the next day, completing the creative process.[6]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Come Undone" was directed by British film, documentary and music video director Julien Temple and shot the music video inside of an aquarium.[12][7] It features multiple, unrelated clips of people in different areas. These include a little girl seeing her parents together, an older couple who have survived a flood, a little girl hiding under the bed while placing her head on top of her white teddy bear, an alcoholic, and a man who is revealed to be a cross-dresser.[7] Also seen in the video is a woman, Tessa Niles, struggling underwater to break free of the chains that bind her, where she sings her backup line in the song.[7] A portion of the music video can be seen in the "No Laughing" episode of the MTV show Beavis and Butt-Head, which was aired in July 1993.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

[edit]

The single was released in the United Kingdom on 29 March 1993, with an acoustic version of "Ordinary World" as the B-side. This was the single's official B-side in the UK, along with two official remixes of "Come Undone". In the US however, three new, original compositions written during the album's production were featured as B-sides – "Time for Temptation", "Stop Dead" and "Falling Angel". For collectors, the US releases also contained an alternate mix of "To the Shore" and the first appearance on CD of "The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)".

Track listings

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Personnel

[edit]

Duran Duran

Additional Musicians

  • John Jones – drums, bass, keyboards, vocals
  • Tessa Niles – backing vocals

Charts

[edit]

Cover versions

[edit]

American rock band, Bad Omens, released a version of Come Undone on the deluxe version of their second album, Finding God Before God Finds Me.[47][48]

References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 March 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  2. ^ "CD REVIEWS". Hartford Courant. 3 August 2000. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
  3. ^ McCarthy, Patrick (1 July 2007). "Nostalgia trip is marked by litany of great hits". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Top 10 Duran Duran Songs". WatchMojo. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  5. ^ Griffiths, George (26 October 2021). "Duran Duran's Official Top 20 most-streamed songs revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Chiu, David (11 February 2023). "Duran Duran's Pivotal Comeback 'The Wedding Album' Marks 30 Years". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Reesman, Bryan (31 January 2024). "The Meaning Behind "Come Undone" by Duran Duran". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  8. ^ Elliott, Mark (29 March 2023). "Come Undone: How Duran Duran Tied Off Another Hit Song". Dig!. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  9. ^ Malins, S: Duran Duran - Notorious: The Unauthorized Biography, page 221. Carlton Publishing Group, 2005.
  10. ^ a b Zaleski, Annie (29 March 2023). "30 Years Ago: Duran Duran Strikes Gold Again With 'Come Undone'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ Greene, Andy (4 November 2020). "Singer Tessa Niles on Backing Bowie at Live Aid, Joining Clapton at 'Unplugged'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  12. ^ Franson, Todd (17 March 2016). "18 Great Duran Duran Videos". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  13. ^ Come Undone (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 1993. DD 17.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Come Undone (UK cassette single sleeve). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 1993. TCDD 17.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Come Undone (UK CD1 liner notes). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 1993. CDDDS 17.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Come Undone (UK CD2 liner notes). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 1993. CDDD 17.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Come Undone (US CD single liner notes). Duran Duran. Capitol Records. 1993. C2 0777 7 15969 2 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Come Undone (US cassette single sleeve). Duran Duran. Capitol Records. 1993. 4KM 0777 7 44918 4 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Come Undone (Canadian cassette single sleeve). Duran Duran. Capitol Records. 1993. 4KM 44918.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Come Undone (Australian CD single liner notes). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 1993. 8 80570 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ The Singles 1986–1995 (UK box set liner notes). Duran Duran. Parlophone. 2004. 7243 5 49892 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  23. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0972." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  25. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 20. 15 May 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  26. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 20. 15 May 1993. p. 26. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  27. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  28. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone" (in French). Les classement single.
  29. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  30. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (29. apríl – 5. maí)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 29 April 1993. p. 29. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  31. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Come Undone". Irish Singles Chart.
  32. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 24. 12 June 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  33. ^ "Regional EHR Top 20: South" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 17. 24 April 1993. p. 47.
  34. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 34, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  35. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone". Top 40 Singles.
  36. ^ "Duran Duran – Come Undone". Singles Top 100.
  37. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  38. ^ "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 8 May 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  40. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  41. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  42. ^ "Duran Duran Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  43. ^ "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LVI, no. 43. 3 July 1993. p. 12. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  44. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  45. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  46. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1993". Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  47. ^ "Come Undone". YouTube. 30 September 2022.
  48. ^ "BAD OMENS Release Deluxe Edition Of Album 'Finding God Before God Finds Me'". 19 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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