“Secret Oktoberâ€, the flip side of Duran’s “Union of the Snake†is truly a buried gem, a song that would have considerably brightened the overblown and overly bloated “Seven and the Ragged Tiger†(perhaps replacing the unnecessary instrumental “Tiger, Tigerâ€?). “Secret Oktober†is basically Simon and Nick, vocals and synths, very much in the vein of “The Chauffer†off “Rioâ€, a nice melody over a comparatively understated synth riff. It continues to be a big fan favorite to this day – I even saw them do it live in 1994 during the Cucurillo years, so it must be close to the boys. Luckily for Durannies, each and every b-side and remix is available on two different box sets.
The first one (’81-’85) is essential, the second, not so much.
And by request, here’s a pretty rare Kissing the Pink b-side – “Garden Party†is not the Ricky Nelson hit, but rather an extension of its a-side, “Maybe This Day†(which we’ve talked about here). I’d like to think it was meant to describe the party sung about in “Maybe This Day†(over the garden wall she said / let’s go to the party). Perhaps, or maybe it has nothing to do with it. In any case, it’s an arty, moody little number, worth a couple of listens, but hardly their best.
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