Maybe you wouldn’t imagine that a singer for a metal band like Ratt would be a fan of band like Duran Duran.
But Stephen Pearcy was a fan.
He was very excited to meet Duran singer Simon Le Bon in a New York night club.
He even tricked him into a photo together.
Read the story of their encounter on Stephen Pearcy’s website.
The site also says of the song: ““Girls on Film” is the third single by Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981.
Originally written and demoed in 1979 by an early line-up of the band featuring singer Andy Wickett, Duran Duran re-wrote and re-recorded the song in 1981. The different original version, which co-writer Wickett said “was inspired by the dark side of the glitz and glamour”, was released as part of an EP in 2018.
The original “Girls on Film” video (July 1981) was filmed just weeks before MTV was launched in the United States and before anyone knew what an impact the music channel would have on the industry. The band expected the “Girls on Film” video to be played exclusively at nightclubs that had video screens. The raunchy video created an uproar, and it was consequently banned by the BBC and heavily edited for its original run on MTV; the band unabashedly enjoyed and capitalised on the controversy.
Around 1981/82 Pearcy saw that original video playing in a nightclub and was intrigued right from the start.
Pearcy’s early influences were of course the obvious, Van Halen, Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, but he was also very influenced by Adam Ant and Duran Duran. So when a chance meeting at The Limelight turned into a not so friendly encounter, Pearcy took to the mic 36 years later to once again give a nod to Simon Le Bon, this time Take it or Leave it Le Bon. This cover is pretty flippin’ cool!”
Stephen is reportedly working on a new solo album but there is no word on if this song will be part of it.
Watch Stephen’s video below.
