Duran Duran - Rio

Duran Duran - Rio

Rio is the second studio album from Duran Duran. The album, which spawned no less than four singles, was originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982 to high critical acclaim. Since its release, and subsequent #2 position in the UK and #1 in the Australian album charts, the album has frequently been highlighted by various music magazines as one of the top-100 of all time.

The album was written by the band between October 1981 and early 1982, mainly at Air Studios in London with Colin Thurston acting as producer. The hit songs, 'Hungry like the Wolf' and 'Save a Prayer' both hit top 5 positions in the UK singles charts in 1982, on the back of the album's success.

Rio was promoted in a unique way by the band. They reunited with director Russell Mulcahy to release individual music videos for each track in the form of a video album. This creative process saw the release of the iconic music videos for 'Rio', 'Hungry Like the Wolf' and 'Save a Prayer', amongst others.

The Cover Art

The original artwork for Rio is adorned with a painting of a smiling woman by American artist, Patrick Nagel. The painting is typical of Nagel's work, drawing inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints, as well as the 1920s Art Deco style and the design aesthetics of other influential American illustrators from the early twentieth century. The actual cover was designed by Malcolm Garrett.

The re-release for Rio in 2001 showed an alternative Nagel painting.