Perfect Day (Lou Reed Song) - Duran Duran Version

Duran Duran Version

A cover version of "Perfect Day" was the first single from the Duran Duran covers album Thank You. It reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995.

Lou Reed has been cited as an inspiration by several members of Duran Duran, and the album Thank You was intended to be a tribute to the band's influences, in the style of David Bowie's Pin Ups.

The song featured a rare appearance by Duran Duran's first drummer Roger Taylor, who left the band at the height of their fame in 1986, and had had little contact with them in the ten years afterward. He joined Duran Duran in the studio to record "Perfect Day", "Watching the Detectives" and "Jeepster" for the covers album. Taylor also appeared in the video and in a promotional appearance on Top of the Pops.

Backing vocals were provided by longtime Duran Duran collaborator Tessa Niles. The recording was produced by John Jones and David Richards, with additional programming by Mark Tinley.

The music video was filmed in February 1995 by director Nick Egan, and first aired in March. It featured the band with their instruments inside the box of a sound stage lined with vivid red walls, and the video is intensely saturated, even overexposed at times. Clips of a melancholy Simon Le Bon singing, and other band members performing or reacting to the lyrics, are interspersed with snippets of surreal images. The camera occasionally pulls back to show the entire stage structure and its supports, increasing the sense of unreality.

The single was released in several versions, including numerous different remixes of the title track and other Duran Duran songs. In addition to the single and the Thank You album, the song also appeared in Duran Duran's Singles Box Set 1986–1995, released in 2004.

On Duran Duran's episode of Behind the Music, Reed admitted that their version might be better than his original version, saying, "I think Duran Duran's version of 'Perfect Day' is possibly the best rerecording of a song of mine. I'm not sure that I sang it as well as Simon sang it. I think he sings it better than I . If I could've sung it the way he did, I would've. It wasn't from lack of trying. They recorded it the way I meant it, which is a real big thrill for me, so thank you, Duran Duran."