Notorious

Notorious is the fourth studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 21 November 1986 by EMI Records. The album peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 12 on the US Billboard 200. Produced by the band with Nile Rodgers, the album showcased a new funk-pop musical direction for the band, emphasizing bass and brass, as exemplified by the singles "Notorious" and "Skin Trade". In 2010, EMI released a raft of material surrounding the Notorious reissue consisting of a two-disc set, a deluxe three-disc set, a digital only EP and a digital only live album. The box set also includes remixes, live tracks and the Working for the Skin Trade live video (for the first time on DVD). Background After their extensive 1984 world tour Duran Duran took a break and eventually split into two different side projects, Arcadia and the Power Station. When they reconvened in 1986 to record a new studio album with Nile Rodgers the band faced several problems and conflicts. Drummer Roger Taylor was too exhausted to continue in the music business, and guitarist Andy Taylor soon also left the band after taking part in some early recording sessions for the album. The remaining three members continued as a trio, recruiting Missing Persons guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and drummer Steve Ferrone to play on the album. In years to come, the band would refer to Notorious as their Alfred Hitchcock-inspired album. This is due to having a number of tracks titled after Hitchcock movies. In addition to the album and lead single named for the film Notorious (1946), there was also Vertigo (1958) and Rope (1948), the original title for "Hold Me".