11.8.2021 willitellit

Duran Duran Appreciation Day 10.8.2021

Duran Duran Appreciation Day -päivää 10.8.2021 ja Duran Duran 40 -vuotisjuhlavuotta kunnioittaaksemme julkaisemme Maijun moniosaisen kirjoituksen DD -faniudesta. Tässä on ensimmäinen osa, olkaat hyvät (translation will be added later, sorry for the delay):

Miten kaikki alkoikaan…

Kuinka minusta tuli Duran Duran fani – By Maiju

Elettiin kevään loppua vuonna 1981. Kuuntelin radiota omassa huoneessani. Juontaja sanoi seuraavaksi tulevan uuden kappaleen ja esittäjä on Duran Duran ja kappale on Planet Earth. Istuin paikallani ja kuuntelin. Kappaleen loputtua kerrottiin, että kyseinen kappale on bändin ensi single ja bändi on Englannista.

En ollut tuota ennen halunnut musiikkilehteä. Kuitenkin, kun tuli päivällisen aika, menin syömään. Pyysin äidiltä, että hän toisi töistä minulle Suosikin. Seuraavana päivänä koulusta tultuani oli keittiön pöydällä Suosikki. Tuohon aikaan en vielä saanut viikkorahaa ja harvoin pyysin mitään. Olihan lehdessä jotain Duran Duranista, juttu ja kuva. Katsoin kyseistä kuvaa ja tuumasin, että onpa hyvän näköisiä miehiä.

Jossain vaiheessa tuli tietysti kaverin kanssa juteltua asiasta. Asiaan kuului tietysti se, että pitää tykätä jostain yhtyeen jäsenestä. No kaverini sanoi heti, että hän tykkää Nickistä. Hän kysyi, kuka minusta on paras tai kenet haluaisin. En osannut päättää, joten sanoin John. Kaikki olivat mielestäni ihania. Seikkailivat omissa unelmissa joko porukassa tai yksitellen minun kanssa milloin missäkin. Tämä unelmointi kiihtyi kiihtymistään sen myötä, kun ensimmäisen kerran näki videoita…😍

No videot meidän talouteen saapuivat vuonna 1982. Niitä opeteltiin sitten käyttämään ja Hitti Mittaria tuli nauhoitettua. Ensimmäinen video olikin My Own Way ja mikä parasta oli vielä ennen sitä Simonin ja Nickin haastattelu. Duranithan esiintyivät Syyskuussa 1982 Helsingissä ja Turussa. Taisivat samalla reissulla saada Suomesta viemisiksi kultalevyn Rio -levystä, joka oli ilmestynyt aiemmin. Uutena vuonna 1982-83 pitikin olla valveilla painamassa record -nappulaa. Silloin tulikin kunnon videokooste. Silmät ympyröinä katsottiin sitten sitä ei leikkaamatonta versiota Girls On Filmistä… Seuraavana uutena vuonna 1983-84 tuli kooste Areena kiertueen kappaleista, eli se Sing Blue Silver. Joulun -84 ehdoton hitti oli Band Aid ja Do They Know It’s Christmas, jossa Duran Duran oli mukana. Vielä vuonna 1985 yhtenä heinäkuisena yönä piti pysyä valveilla katsella ja nauhoittaa Live Aid -konserttia. Minä en mistään muusta välittänyt kuin siitä, että Philadelphiassa soitti Duranit ja ensimmäistä kertaa kuultiin kappale A View To A Kill. Nick, Simon ja Roger lensivät sinne kolme päivää ennen live-esitystä.

Vuonna 1986 pääsin ripille ja silloin piti huone siistiä. Se tarkoitti sitä, että piti poistaa julisteet seinältä ja katosta. Juu, niitä oli katossakin. Julistekokoelma oli niin suuri. Timantti on Bravo -lehdestä keräilty juliste. Sitä ilmestyi pari sivun kokoista palaa kerralla. Siinä meni monta viikkoa ja äiti oli keskiössä taas, että projekti onnistui. Tosin kerran meinasi palat jäädä saamatta, onneksi löytyi yhdestä kioskista vielä se lehti. Taisi siinä numerossa olla jotain muuta, joka vetosi kovasti muihin kuin Duran faneihin.

Tammikuussa -89 olin aloittanut työnteon. Olin jättänyt lukion kesken. Loppupuolella tammikuuta isäni nukkui pois. Duran jäi odotetusti vähän taka-alalle. Surin isää, täytin 18 vuotta, kävin autokoulun ja talletin perintörahat viideksi vuodeksi pankkiin. Tässä välissä nostin peruskoulun numeroita ja valmistuin kauppaoppilaitoksesta myyntimerkantiksi.

Tuli kevät -93. Räntää tuli taivaalta ja tallustin lähikaupungin katua. Näin matkatoimiston ja menin sisälle. Sanoin haluavani edestakaisen lennon Englantiin. Virkailija väitti minulle, että ei muka saa pelkkiä lentoja. Sanoin, että pitäkää pakettimatkanne. Tiesin, että on toinenkin matkatoimisto ja menin sinne. Sain varattua ja maksettua varausmaksun lipuista Lontooseen Stanstedin kentälle. Lähtöpäivä 20.6. Ei varmaan tarvinne mainita kenen syntymäpäivä on kyseessä. Vielä samana iltana noin yhdeksältä olin Birminghamissa. Seuraavana päivänä löysin levykaupan, josta lähti mukaan kasetti Duran Duran (The Wedding Album).

Tuon matkan jälkeen loppu 90-luku meni opiskellessa keramiikkaa ja seurustelun merkeissä. Tuon Englannin matkan jälkeen todella jäi Duran Duran taka-alalle, muttei unohduksiin. Minulla on aina ollut se, että vaikka en kuuntelisi, niin aina joskus tulee jokin kappale soimaan päähän, niin ettei edes ole ajatellut mitään asiaan liittyvää. Tosin aina ilahduin, kun kuulin esim kaupassa DD-kappaleita.

Osa yksi loppuu tähän. Lopuksi vielä kysymyksiä; Mikä on sinun Duran Duran -voimakappale? Mikä saa puntin parhaiten vipattamaan? Mikä saa mielikuvituksen laukkaamaan?

Minun voima kappaleeni on My Own Way. Tällä hetkellä puntin saa vipattamaan Invisible ja viimeisenä, mielikuvitus lähtee lentoon El Diablon mukana (tosin se on Arcadian kappale), Duran -puolella talvella se oli Northen Lights.

Translation by Päivi:

To honour Duran Duran Appreciation Day which takes place on 10 August and the 40th anniversary of the band’s first record Maiju’s story about her DD fandom will be released. Here comes the first chapter:

How did it all start… How did I become a DD fan— By Maiju

It was the end of the year in 1981. I listened the radio in my own room. The voice in the radio said that the next single is new and the song is called Planet Earth by a new band Duran Duran. I sat on my own and just listened. After the song the voice in the radio said that the song is their first single and the band is from England.

Before that experience I was not after music magazines. This time, however, I asked my mother during the dinner if she could fetch me Suosikki magazine. Suosikki was the most common Finnish music magazine for youngsters at that time. I was not granted with any week money yet and I rarely asked for anything. Then I got the magazine and there was a a short story and a pic of the band. I saw the picture of the band and though that god the guys look good!

One day we had a little chat about the band with my friend and of course there was the urge to like one of the guys especially. Everyone had to pick up one favourite. My friend was after Nick. I picked up John but honestly I could not really decide as I though that all the boys in the band are lovely. Soon the band became the main subject of my day dream: I experienced wild adventures with the whole band and also in person. It seemed like the music videos fed my imagination and the dreams. 😍

Speaking of music videos, the first VHS recorder arrived our family house in 1982. We learned using it by recording a Finnish music program of time called Hitti Mittari. The first video I recorded was My Own Way which was shown after Nick’s and Simon’s interview in the program. The interview was related to the concerts they did here in Finland on September 1982, one in Helsinki and the other one in Turku. If I remember right, during their visit in Finland, DD received a gold album relating to their Rio album released earlier in that year.

In the New Year Eve 1982 I was ready to push the record button. In the TV they showed then many music videos. With amazed looks we watched the uncut version of the Girls On Film music video… in the next New Year Eve they showed Sing Blue Silver – the compilation of the DD’s Arena tour. Once again in the end of 1984, the biggest Christmas hit was a charity song Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid project where DD was included among many other 80s artists. Yet another recording night took place on July 1985 when the Band Aid artists gathered together and the legendary Live Aid concert happened. I did not care about anything else back then than the fact that DD played A View to A kill for the first time in their Live Aid show in Philadelphia. Nick, Simon and Roger flew there for three days before the show.

In the year 1986 it was time for my confirmation ceremony. That is why my room needed to be clean and the posters should be removed from the walls and roof. Yes, there were posters everywhere. My poster collection was enormous. The biggest treasure in the collection was a collection poster published in the German music magazine called Bravo. The poster was published in parts and my mother helped to gather all the parts of the poster – and we finally managed to do that! One of the parts was hard to find but after hard work we found it.

I started my work life on January 1989, I had left the high school without graduation. In the end of that month my father passed away. During that time DD was not anymore in the spotlight in my life. I was going though my dad’s death, turned 18-year-old and received my driving license lifting up my primary school grades and graduating from business school.

When walking in the streets on one sleeting spring day of 1993 I suddenly saw a travel agency and went in. I said I would like to have flights only to UK. The clerk claimed that they sell only travel packages, not separate flights. I knew there was another travel agency as well so I went there and got the tickets only. My destination was Stansted airport, London. The date for my departure was 20 June and I am guessing that you all know who celebrates his birthday on 20 June. In the same night I arrived at London I travelled to Duran Duran’s founding town Birmingham. The next day I stepped into a local record store where I bought Duran Duran’s Wedding Album as a cassette.

The remaining years of 90s I spent studying ceramic and dating. It was not that I had forget the band or anything but this was not really the time for DD. Not for me at least. Every now and then I might hear a song or two by DD in my head even though I have not necessarily shared any thoughts for the band. Still, it always cheers me up when I hear some Duran Duran from the radio for instance.

So, this was the first chapter of my DD fan story and now I would like to end my post with some questions I would like to ask you my dear readers! Which is you DD power song? Which one makes you move your body best? Which one enhances your imagination?

My power song by Duran Duran is My Own Way. Invisible makes me move best and El Diablo by Arcadia enhances my imagination (if it was winter time then I would choose Northern Lights for sure).

kulttuuri ajattelin-tanaan musiikki