My Own Way

The story of this single, released on November 16, 1981, is linked to the band's strategy to capitalize on the success of their previous single, Girls On Film, and prepare the ground for their second album, Rio, which would be recorded in early 1982. Produced by Colin Thurston, the version that reached the radio had a faster tempo and "disco string" arrangements that Richard Myhill and the band themselves added. However, a slower version would appear later on the album Rio, with more of a new wave atmosphere, marked by echoing synthesizers. This latter version was remixed by David Kershenbaum for the EP Carnival and was included in some US editions of the album Rio. The music video for My Own Way, directed by Russell Mulcahy, follows the line of the band's more elaborate videos, filmed on 35mm film. It takes place in a studio with an aesthetic marked by red, white, and black, where the band performs the song while flamenco dancers move in the background and a colorful parrot accompanies on the keyboards. Although this clip did not have the same exposure as others from the Rio era, fragments of it appeared in the video for Is There Something I Should Know? and it was part of the video compilation Duran Duran (Video). Although the band has avoided including it in their best-known compilations like Decade or Greatest, the song was included as a bonus on the DVD edition of Live at Hammersmith '82! in 2009.