Duran Duran in Sri Lanka: the 1982 Rio videos

About Duran Duran in Sri Lanka: the 1982 Rio videos

By the ULTIMATE Sri Lanka Editorial Team

Site Editor: Tara de la Motte

Three of the videos for the Rio album, “Hungry Like the Wolf”, “Save a Prayer” and “Lonely in Your Nightmare”, were shot in Sri Lanka in April 1982 by Russell Mulcahy, among jungles, temples, markets and beaches.

The shoot

In spring 1982 the band were due to film videos before their Australian tour. Simon Le Bon, John Taylor and Roger Taylor flew to Sri Lanka first, while Nick Rhodes and Andy Taylor stayed in London to finish mixing the album, and then joined them. Russell Mulcahy, who had directed their first video, shot three in a few weeks.

Hungry Like the Wolf

The most famous of the three is a jungle chase in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, with rivers, elephants, a café and a busy market. The café scenes are linked by local walking guides and fans to the old Pagoda Tea Room on Chatham Street in Colombo Fort, and fan guides place the bazaar scenes in Galle.

Jungle, temples and a white linen suit: a few weeks in Sri Lanka in 1982 gave pop music some of its most famous videos.

Save a Prayer

For “Save a Prayer”, the band were filmed on top of Sigiriya, among the ruins of a Buddhist temple at Polonnaruwa and along the south coast, where many of the beach scenes are said to have been shot at Unawatuna. The video also shows the band riding elephants, as was common for visitors in 1982; today we recommend watching elephants in the wild instead of riding them.

Behind the scenes

For one scene, Le Bon and Rhodes were dropped onto an ancient monument from a helicopter that could not land there itself. Andy Taylor fell ill with a stomach virus, after accidentally swallowing lagoon water, that was serious enough to need hospital treatment.

MTV and the breakthrough

MTV had launched in the United States in August 1981, and was hungry for striking videos. Within a couple of months of the shoot it put “Hungry Like the Wolf” into heavy rotation, and the song went on to reach number three in the US charts in 1983. The Sri Lanka videos became MTV classics.

Trace the footsteps

You can follow the band in a few days: Colombo Fort and Pettah, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Galle and the beaches of Unawatuna. Before you plan a stop at the Pagoda Tea Room, check that it is open: we could not confirm its current status.

Our advice: put the Rio videos on before you go, climb Sigiriya early as the band did, and finish with a swim at Unawatuna. Watch the elephants from a safari jeep, not from their backs.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Duran Duran in Sri Lanka: the 1982 Rio videos before you go.