About The Song
“Notorious” is a song by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986 as the first single from their fourth studio album of the same name. It showcased a new direction for Duran Duran with a funk rock sound.
It was the first single released by Duran Duran as a trio as Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor had both left the band by the time it was released. “Notorious” was a commercial success worldwide, reaching number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the top ten in many other countries.
“Notorious” marked the debut of the new three-piece trio of Duran Duran, as drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor had left the band by the time the single was released. The band had enlisted the help of Nile Rodgers of Chic fame to help produce the album. The single showcased a new sound for Duran Duran reaching for light funk, heavy on bass and brass sections.
Rodgers played guitar on the song, in addition to drummer Steve Ferrone and the Borneo Horns. In a 2011 interview, lead singer Simon Le Bon said of the song’s distinctive riff, “I remember him playing some notes up the neck of his guitar and it was a riff. That was the first time that any of us had ever heard it. We just said, ‘Man, we’ve got to have that.'” The abrupt nature of Andy Taylor’s departure was reflected in the song; according to Le Bon, the lyric “Who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit” was a diss at the guitarist.
Video
Lyrics
No-no-notorious, notorious (ah)
No-no-notorious
I can’t read about it
Burns the skin from your eyes
I’ll do fine without it
Here’s one you don’t compromise
Lies come hard in disguise
They need to fight it out
Not wild about it
Lay your seedy judgments
Who says they’re part of our lives?
You own the money
You control the witness
I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business
You pay the prophets to justify your reasons
I heard your promise, but I don’t believe it
That’s why I’ve done it again
No-no-notorious
Girls will keep the secrets (uh)
So long as boys make a noise
Fools run rings to break up
Something they’ll never destroy
Grand Notorious slam (bam)
And who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit?
Don’t ask me to bleed about it
I need this blood to survive
You own the money
You control the witness
I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business
You pay the prophets to justify your reasons
I heard your promise, but I don’t believe it
That’s why I’ve done it again
No-no-notorious
Notorious
Notorious
You own the money
You control the witness
I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business
You pay the prophets to justify your reasons
I heard your promise, but I don’t believe it
You own the money
You control the witness
I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business
You pay the prophets to justify your reasons
I heard your promise, but I don’t believe it
That’s why I’ve done it again
No
No-no
That’s why I’ve done it again (no)
(Notorious) yeah, that’s why I’ve done it again (no-no-notorious)
Yeah, that’s why I’ve done it again (no-, notorious)
(No-no-notorious) yeah, that’s why I’ve done it again
No-, notorious
No-no-Notorious