I know what you’re thinking … how can a Duran Duran song possibly be considered Lost in the ’80s? How about when the band itself basically dislikes the single so much they haven’t played it live in more than 20 years and didn’t even put it on any of their compilations? Don’t believe me? Take it away, John Taylor:
The only song from Rio you don’t play is My Own Way. Why not?
JT: Hmm. Not a favourite. We were doing it in a medley with Some Like it Hot for a while. Not a favourite.
Released between their self-titled debut and their big breakthrough, Rio, “My Own Way (Single Version)” (download) was meant to keep the momentum going on the charts while the band prepared their follow-up. With its hyper beat and sweeping disco strings, the single was slight, but pleasant, and served as the link between the group’s New Romantic beginnings and new, Roxy Music-meets-teen pop image.
The internal dissatisfaction with “My Own Way” must have been nearly instantaneous, since the band featured a rerecorded version (download) on Rio when it was released less than a year later. Slowed down to a more danceable funk beat with some changes in the arrangement and lyrics, the new version reflected the cosmopolitan, sophisticated gloss of the re-invented Duran. Still wasn’t enough to sway the band, though, since “My Own Way” didn’t make the cut on either the Decade compilation or Greatest (but “Serious” did?!). To add insult to injury, even the fun video, an important artifact in the evolution of the group, has been left off every DVD and video compilation since the original Duran Duran video LP in 1983.
Too bad, because the song was always a big favorite of mine (the Rio version, at least). But to this day, I still wonder — just where the hell is “45, between 6th and Broadway?”
“My Own Way” did not chart.
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