The band was influenced by a variety of musical styles and sounds, including David Bowie, Roxy Music, Japan, Giorgio Moroder and Chic, to a sound that has been described as "space-age keyboards, post-punk guitars, disco-inspired bass lines and Le Bon's vocal croon – which was at times yelping and enthusiastic, and at other times mysterious and edgy – collided for a decidedly modern sound." The album was formally recorded in December 1980 and January 1981 at various recording studios in London with record producer Colin Thurston, shortly after Duran Duran signed their record deal with EMI. In interviews, the band has recalled the struggle to continue recording after hearing of the murder of John Lennon on 8 December. The album cover was designed by Malcolm Garrett with a photo of the band by Fin Costello. The first pressing of 30,000 copies of the Japanese version came with a colour poster. There is a notation on the obi strip that mentions this. Later issues of the album have the notation on the obi removed and contain only a lyric insert and a sheet with a bio in Japanese, some photos and some instructions on how to do the 'new romantic' dance like in the "Planet Earth" video.
US 1981 Harvest release
The original American release included the "Night Version" of "Planet Earth" instead of the original, even if it is not listed as such. "To the Shore" was dropped from the US track listing to accommodate the-now increased length of "Planet Earth". Earlier alternate titles for "Anyone Out There" and "Night Boat" are used.
US 1983 Capitol re-issue
Duran Duran was re-released in the US on 25 April 1983, after the success of their second album Rio in America gave the band another chance to market their first album there. The album had two changes to the original American track listing: Capitol Records replaced the "Night Version" of "Planet Earth" with the original single version. Most notably, the then-current Duran Duran single, "Is There Something I Should Know?" was added to the album's track listing. The album also featured updated cover art designed by Malcolm Garrett, using the newer "double D" band logo featured on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album and "Is There Something I Should Know?" single. The cover photo showed the evolution in the band's image since 1981. In contrast to the earlier artwork, the new image positioned each band member equally close to the camera, and demonstrated the variety of looks within the band, from tanned adventurers to rouged androgynes. This reflected the band's teen-focused marketing which promoted the image and personality of individual band members, recognizing that "everyone is someone's favourite".
Special editions
A remastered version of the album was released on 29 March 2010. It featured three versions :
Special edition 2-CD set: original album with the following tracks :
Limited edition 3-Disc set: above edition including a DVD of BBC footage and first album era videos
180-Gram LP with bonus 12"
Digital download only live album "BBC in Concert". Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon 17 December 1981, transmitted 13 April 1982.
Singles
The first single of the band's career was "Planet Earth", which reached No. 12 on the UK charts. The band followed up with the release of "Careless Memories" on 20 April 1981, but it only reached UK No. 37. The third single from this album was the most successful. "Girls on Film", released 13 July, went to No. 5 in the UK. The video for the single was directed by Godley & Creme and was filmed in August, just two weeks after MTV was launched in the United States, before anyone knew what an impact the music channel would have on the industry. The raunchy "soft porn" video which featured semi-naked women created an uproar and a heavily edited "day version" was aired on MTV, and the band enjoyed and capitalized on the controversy.
