Arcadia (band)
Arcadia | |
---|---|
Origin | United Kingdom |
Genres | |
Years active | 1985–1986 |
Labels | |
Spinoff of | Duran Duran |
Past members |
Arcadia were a British pop group formed in 1985 by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran as a side project during a break in the band's schedule.[1][2] The project was active only during 1985 and 1986 and for just one album, So Red the Rose, which was certified Platinum in the United States and included the singles "Election Day", "Goodbye Is Forever", "The Flame", and "The Promise" (featuring David Gilmour and Sting). Drummer Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and one music video ("Election Day"), and stated he was to be involved only in the recording side of the project (he also had minor involvement in The Power Station, the other Duran Duran splinter group, formed by Duran Duran's Andy and John Taylor alongside Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson of Chic).[3]
The name of the band reportedly was inspired by the
Music career
So Red the Rose (1985)
The group recorded just one album, the platinum-selling So Red the Rose. It peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 23 in the US, and featured the UK/US Top 10 single "Election Day",[1] as well as the top 40 hits "The Promise" and "Goodbye Is Forever". It also contains the single "The Flame" and the promo-singles "Missing", "El Diablo" and "Keep Me in the Dark".
Simon Le Bon described So Red the Rose as "the most pretentious album ever made",
A video collection was also released which featured music videos for the singles directed by Roger Christian, Marcelo Anciano, Russell Mulcahy and Dean Chamberlain. The band also recorded and released the stand-alone single "Say the Word" for the Playing for Keeps movie soundtrack, which was not included on So Red the Rose.
EMI re-released the album as a three-disc box set in April 2010. This remastering collected all permutations and remixes of tracks released by the band. The third disc comprised the video collection on DVD, but it does not include the video for "Say the Word".
Band changes
Arcadia continued the Duran Duran tradition of a slick image. For the Arcadia incarnation of their ever-changing band aesthetic, Le Bon, Rhodes and Roger Taylor donned an upmarket '
Other appearances
The group made a variety of promotional appearances on television, but never toured. When Duran Duran released their
Band members
- Simon Le Bon – vocals (1985–1986)
- Nick Rhodes – keyboards (1985–1986)
- Roger Taylor – drums (1985)
Guest musicians
- Carlos Alomar – guitar
- Pierre Defaye – violin
- Rafael De Jesus – percussion
- Jean-Claude Dubois – harp
- Mark Egan – bass on "The Promise", "El Diablo" and "Lady Ice"
- David Gilmour – guitar on "The Promise" and "Missing"
- Herbie Hancock – piano
- Steve Jordan – percussion
- Grace Jones – voice on "Election Day"
- Andy Mackay – saxophone
- Sting – vocals on "The Promise"
- David Van Tieghem – percussion
Discography
Studio album
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | sales threshold )
| |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK |
US |
AUS[7] | SWE [8] |
NZ
[9] |
CAN | |||
1985 | So Red the Rose
|
30 | 23 | 35 | 48 | 22 | 14 |
|
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK[10]
|
US | US Dance
|
AUS[7] | NZ
|
NOR | NL
|
SWI
|
IRE | ||||||
1985 | "Election Day" | 7 | 6 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 5 | So Red the Rose | |||
"Goodbye Is Forever" | — | 33 | — | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
1986 | "The Promise" | 37 | — | — | 94 | — | — | — | — | 24 | ||||
"The Flame" | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | — | 29 | |||||
"Say the Word" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Playing for Keeps (soundtrack) | ||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Videography
Video albums
Year | Title | Distributor |
---|---|---|
1987 | Arcadia | Picture Music International (MVP 9911382)[11] |
The Videos | Castle Communications (CMV 1054)[12] |
Music videos
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
1985 | "Election Day" | Roger Christian |
"The Promise" | Marcelo Anciano | |
1986 | "Goodbye Is Forever" | |
"The Flame" | Russell Mulcahy | |
"Say the Word" (theme from Playing for Keeps) |
||
"Missing" (originally unreleased) | Dean Chamberlain |
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ "Forth Worth Stare-Telegram, 07 Aug 1987". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 7 August 1987. p. 112. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (17 November 1985). "Le Bon Finds His Version Of Arcadia". Los Angeles Times. United States. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ "Album Picks: Freezepop". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "So Red the Rose - Arcadia | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "The Rightful Heir?". Q Magazine No. 48. September 1990. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Steffen Hung (13 December 1985). "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ Steffen Hung (15 December 1985). "New Zealand charts portal". Charts.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Arcadia (3) - Arcadia (VHS) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Arcadia (3) - The Videos (VHS) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
External links
- So Red The Rose Arcadia archive and fansite