Music Blog

Here Comes The Sun

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week  in his post,
“Best of the Best”, Jim Adams has asked his readers
to write about a song  that won the Brit Award for
Outstanding Contribution to Music. Here is my choice.

The category for Outstanding Contribution to Music has been around since the BRIT Awards conception, with the very first winners of the awards being The Beatles back in 1977. In 2004 the Brit Award For Outstanding Contribution to Music was won by Duran Duran for “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise”.

British music icon Duran Duran has sold over 100 million records, had 18 American hit singles, 21 UK Top 20 tunes, and continue to perform to huge concert audiences around the world since the band first formed in 1980. Consistently fusing art, technology, fashion and a signature sense of style with their unique and infectious brand of music, singer Simon Le Bon, guitarist Andy Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor have proven themselves timeless, always innovating and reinventing, to remain ahead of the curve.

In addition to their Brit Award, Duran Duran has won two Grammy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and a Video Visionary Award from the MTV Europe Music Awards. The band was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 2022.

Astronaut is the 11th studio album by Duran Duran. The album, released in 2004, peaked at #3 on the UK Albums Chart to become the band’s highest-charting album in the UK since 1983. The album also peaked at #17 on the U.S. Billboard 200  and reached the top ten in six other countries. Astronaut has been certified Gold in the UK and Italy for sales of over 100,000 copies. As of 2008, it had sold around 260,000 copies in the US. The album eventually reached double-platinum status.

The video for “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise” marked the first time the five original band members had teamed up to shoot a video since 1985’s “A View To A Kill”. To celebrate the triumphant return of the crown princes of MTV’s golden age, something grandiose was required. In total, the band filmed six different videos for “Sunrise” …. one apiece for Simon, John, Nick, Roger and Andy, plus one master video made from cutting together brief snippets of all the above. 

“(Reach Up For The) Sunrise” was released in the US in August 2004 and in the UK in October 2004. It debuted at #5 on the UK Singles Chart. In late November, it topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Awarded for their work on the album Astronaut and its award-winning lead single, this is Duran Duran with “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise”

LYRICS

Now the time has come
The music’s between us
Though the night seems young
Is at an end
Only change will bring
You out of the darkness
In this moment everything is born again

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Now the fireball burns
We go round together
As the planet turns into the light
Something more than dreams to
Watch out for each other
Coz we know what it means to be alive

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Feel the new day enter your life
Feel the new day

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day enter your life

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Andrew Taylor/John Nigel Taylor/Nick Rhodes/Roger Andrew Taylor/Simon John Le Bon
(Reach Up for the) Sunrise lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

From 2004, here’s Duran Duran performing at the Brit Awards:


Best of the Best

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024
Some info credited to ©MorganRichter

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

71 thoughts on “Here Comes The Sun”

    1. Most welcome, Grumpa Joe. I can imagine that must have been pretty aggravating.

      Since the name of the site is Song Lyric Sunday, we post the lyrics to all our songs and give credit to the composers, unless the lyrics are close captioned in the video. Even then, there are often mistakes in closed captioning so it’s always best to type the lyrics.

      Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

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  7. I recall frequently hearing Duran Duran on the radio back in Germany in the ’80s. I enjoyed a number of their songs but never felt compelled to buy or tape on music cassette any of their albums. It’s also fair to say I felt more excited about them then than I do nowadays. With all that said, you can’t deny Duran Duran had some pretty catchy songs, including your pick. Also, a group who after 45-plus years remain active must have done something right!

    I think my favorite Duran Duran song might be “A View to a Kill.” It’s probably also influenced by the fact I loved the James Bond 007 movie series. The corresponding picture was with Roger Moore, my second favorite Bond actor after Sean Connery. But perhaps it’s too much information! 🙂

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  9. you never cease to pick a winner Nancy and you always have loads of information and a neat back story too …As you often say we can all learn here on wordpress….there are so many tastes and choices of genre to choose from! .

    No room for self opinionated bias here.💜🙂

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  10. For some reason I stopped buying Duran Duran albums after the release of Duran Duran (not the debut but the one that’s often known as ‘The Wedding’ album). Maybe it was my age? Although I’m not that much older really! Good to see the original band still going strong.

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  13. You had some excellent comments on your post Nancy, making it difficult for a person like me who enjoys sleeping later and enjoying a nice breakfast to add anything pertinent. Duran Duran made really great music, and I am happy that you selected them. Oddly I never watched MTV, but I was exposed to their music on the radio. This song was new to me, but i really enjoyed it and you post was a great read.

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    1. Thanks, Jim. I’m delighted you enjoyed both my post and the video. I liked today’s song very much and it was nice to see Duran Duran after a very long time.

      Oh, I forgot! Were you able to watch the second video from the Brit Awards 2004 presentation. Only the link to the video appears.

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      Reply

      1. I am watching it now and I developed a trick for when you paste a link in, and it stays as text instead of turning into a video. You should find two tabs at the top right of your post that say Visual and Text. What you do is highlight your link that came in as text instead of a video and click those tabs till it comes in as a video. It was really nice to get to listen to HLTW, Ordinary World, Wild Boys, thanks for adding this at the end of your post.

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        1. That’s fascinating info, Jim! Thanks! I’m going to save this comment in another file for reference. I do all my work on a MacBook Air; do you think my screen will look the same as you described, especially concerning the two tabs at the top right? You know how different screens can look from one device to another.

          I’m very glad you’re watching the awards video and enjoying it. You’re welcome!

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          1. In edit mode, I get those two tabs, but I write on a Windows 11 desktop, so I can’t say that your screen will look the same, but it is easy enough to try as you can always edit posts after they have been published.

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                    2. Success! Great easy instructions from WP. Here’s what they said:

                      Use a YouTube Block: Alternatively, you can add a YouTube block. Click on the + Block Inserter icon, search for “YouTube,” and add the block to your post or page. Then, paste the YouTube URL in the box provided and click Embed.

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  14. Yes I was expecting George Harrison too Nancy and yet I was super surprised to get Duran Duran! Nice. I appreciated them in the 80s and thought they were a talented band. I enjoyed their songs very much. I liked your choice today so never mind the men’s comments!! 🤣❤️

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      1. Beg to differ, Clive. MTV exploded onto American TV in 1980 and these guys were spread as smoothly and thickly as butter and jam on a hot scone. There was no escaping Duran Duran. MTV was on incessantly in our house for a number of years, then I stopped watching but my sons kept it going. I’ve seen plenty.

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    2. Nah, I don’t really mind that much, Christine. I just don’t appreciate feeling like I need to defend my choices. Hey, that’s my problem and next time I’ll try a different stand. Thanks.

      Obviously I was intentionally sending everyone the wrong signal with my title. I’m sure many did expect me to go with the Beatles. I decided to leave that joy to someone else. I’m glad Marina made them her choice. They had to be here.

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    2. Aha! You are indeed a super sleuth, Clive. You saw through my thinly veiled plan. Curses! Foiled again! 😂

      As I responded to Kevin much earlier this morning, we can’t always write about the groups we know and love, as you evidenced in your very fine post today. I would not call myself a big fan of Duran Duran but I do know creativity and ingenuity and talent when I see it. And these guys, agree or not, had it.

      Will I ever write about them again? Probably not. Do I think they come anywhere close to the Beatles? No way! That, in my opinion, is a moot point, akin to searching for the Holy Grail. I’m just not afraid to take a chance, regardless of what the critics may say. 😊

      Diversity, my friend! If we all drank bland coffee and ate white bread, it would be a pretty boring world. And I think you know by now, I am anything but bland.😂

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  16. Three Taylors and if I recall, none of them were related to the other, or is my memory starting to go? lol
    Great band, I did not appreciate them quite as much back in the day, as I was quite the metalhead, but I do now, and I have always respected their talents. Highly underrated in that regard.

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    1. You’re memory is intact, Kevin, so rest easy. I guess Taylor is a common name; still, to have 3 unrelated guys with the same last name in the same band is pretty strange.

      I liked Duran Duran in the beginning stages of MTV; their music, their look, their cinematography were all new and very different. They were exciting and the music was good. I would not call myself a big fan but I appreciated them as I do now.

      We who write music blogs don’t always write about the groups we love; that would be too easy. I’d be writing continuously about the Beatles and Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin etc. How boring would that be?

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      1. Good to know my brain isn’t complete mush yet 😄
        Yes, it’s still a heck of a coincidence, and honestly, they do look like they could be related somehow. at least, to me lol

        Yes, as much as one might enjoy talking about their favorite bands and nothing else, it would get tough after awhile.
        Although, with multiple lineups each, one could get some real mileage out of Purple and Sabbath 😄😄
        Curious – you ever done a write up on the bogus Deep Purple from the early 80s?

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          1. That was some epic stuff right there. I love that the band behind Evans was from a bogus Steppenwolf. 😄😄
            Purple are fantastic. I saw them live once during the Steve Morse era and it was great.
            And of course, Blackmore is just insanely great. I love Rainbow too.

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              1. The Down To Earth album is probably my favorite from Rainbow, actually. Graham is an incredible singer and actually still sounds pretty good last video I saw of him.

                No, I had never actually heard it. I knew he did some stuff long before Elf, but knew nothing about it really. Thanks!

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