‘The Wild Boys’: The Duran Duran song inspired by William S. Burroughs
Despite being the kings of 1980s pop, Duran Duran’s lyrical references might come as something of a surprise. Providing mainstream audiences with tremendous pop hits like ‘Rio’, ‘Girls On Film’ and ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’, to name just a few, the Birmingham-born band has proven on multiple occasions to be more intellectual than they’re often given credit for.
In comparison to alternative outfits like Joy Division or The Smiths, the music of Duran Duran isn’t particularly associated with the counterculture movement. While not quite edgy enough to fit in with the alt-pop crowd like Frankie Goes To Hollywood or Roxy Music, their lyrics still speak of a band that was plugged into what was relevant at the time.
One song, in particular, suggests the literary streak that ran through the band. Referencing the infamous beat generation writer William S. Burroughs, the band’s track ‘The Wild Boys’ takes its title from the 1971 novel.
Of course, a whole host of other artists have also found inspiration in Burroughs’ work. As a leader of the Beat Generation, Burroughs is known for his experimental fiction and ‘cut-up technique’ used to build novels out of mish-mash sections and storylines. While most famous for Naked Lunch, his later novel The Wild Boys has inspired several musicians.
David Bowie’s character Ziggy Stardust was based on the wild boys of Burroughs‘ work, telling a biographer that it was “that and Clockwork Orange that really started to put together the shape and the look of what Ziggy and the Spiders were going to become”.
Similarly, Patti Smith’s weaving narrative on her iconic debut album Horses is inspired by The Wild Boys’ protagonist. Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, meanwhile, also referenced the book as one of his favourite novels.
But it was the pop outfit Duran Duran that was given the task of soundtracking the novel. The band’s long-term collaborator, Russell Mulcahy, who directed all their music videos, purchased the movie rights to the novel, hoping to make a film of the apocalyptic, violent book. Making grand plans, he tasked Duran Duran to create the soundtrack, prompting them to write the 1984 single of the same name.
Ultimately, the movie was never made, but the track went on to be a roaring success as one of the band’s highest-charting singles. Finding a chance to bring his vision to life in some small way, the video Mulcahy directed for the song was the most expensive music video ever made at the time of creation. The music clip totalled over £1million, which is a staggering amount in the 1980s, even during the glory days of MTV.
Clearly using the music video as a way to still realise all the ideas he had for the film, ‘The Wild Boys’ video includes stunts, fire effects, and several settings as they retell the story of the novel.
The thought that, had history turned out a little differently, we would’ve got a Duran Duran-scored take on William S. Burroughs is a huge cultural loss. The coming together of two wildly different creatives, the meeting of ‘80s pop and the beat generation is so bad, it’s good.
