Do You Believe in Shame

About the song

The song was dedicated to three of the band's dead friends: record producer Alex Sadkin, artist Andy Warhol and Simon Le Bon's childhood friend David Miles. Le Bon has since said that "Shame" is the first part of a trilogy of songs written as a tribute to Miles, the other songs being "Ordinary World" and "Out of My Mind".

There was a successful legal challenge over the close resemblance of the melody of "Do You Believe In Shame?" to that of the Dale Hawkins classic "Suzie Q" (more famously covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones). The writing credits were changed accordingly. The members of Duran Duran have always denied that they intentionally copied any other works, and that the similarity of the two songs was based on what they described as a "basic blues progression".

Single release

"Do You Believe In Shame?" was released to coincide with the band's Electric Theatre Tour which began in Newcastle on 15 April 1989. As such, the 7" triple pack issued by EMI in the UK included tour dates in the artwork.

The song's first week of release was complicated because the original CD single was discovered to have an overlong playing time that disqualified it from some of the sales charts. The CD single was recalled two days after its release, and reissued a few days later, but for several days during the song's initial promotion, the CD was unavailable in shops.

Music video

The lyrical video for "Do You Believe In Shame?" was filmed by the Chinese director Chen Kaige, who later directed acclaimed films such as Farewell My Concubine. It was set in New York City, and shows the three original members of Duran Duran in separate storylines. Nick Rhodes appears to be mourning a friend; he attends an auction and bids on a snow globe, which he later throws in the bin along with other mementos. This is most probably an allusion to Warhol, whose possessions were auctioned off after his death. John Taylor appears to be searching for faith and connection; he attends a Catholic church, and then a birthday party for a little girl. While singing, Le Bon seems to be watching the world around him, observing people on the streets, including a little girl who drops her crutches in order to hop up a flight of stairs and a blind man who confidently crosses the street in front of oncoming traffic.

The Roosevelt Island Tramway appears halfway through the video.

At the end of the video, a long line of dominoes can be seen falling in succession forming a question mark, akin to the single's sleeve.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

In lieu of a remix of the single track, EMI issued bonus material across a number of formats - triple 7" pack, 3" CD and limited edition numbered 10" single.

"Official Bootleg: The LSD Edit", a previously promo-only edit of Big Thing album tracks "The Edge Of America" and "Lake Shore Driving" finally had its commercial debut, "LSD" presumably an acronym for "Lake Shore Driving". The song was renamed "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" for release on the "Do You Believe In Shame?" single.

The original Daniel Abraham mix of "Drug (It's Just A State Of Mind)" also appeared on this single. John Taylor believed in this mix of "Drug" so vehemently, he has since said he almost left the band over the mishandling of the track.

Other items include an edit of Big Thing album track "Palomino" and a live version of "Notorious", recorded in Rotterdam, which was previously from the promo-only 12" EP Duran Goes Dutch.

Also included in the pack were two spoken word pieces by Le Bon, "God (London)" and "This Is How A Road Gets Made", recorded and produced by John Jones. They were used during the tour as intros to the band coming on stage. Le Bon swears in "God (London)" and hence it was released in two versions, censored and non-censored.

7": EMI. / Triple Pack United Kingdom

EMI. / DDA 12 (Simon Le Bon picture sleeve)

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:23
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:30 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)

EMI. / DDB 12 (Nick Rhodes picture sleeve)

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:23
2. "God" (London) – 1:36
3. "This Is How a Road Gets Made" – 0:47
4. "Palomino" (Edit) – 3:30

EMI. / DDC 12 (John Taylor picture sleeve)

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:23
2. "Drug" (It's Just A State Of Mind) (Original Version) – 4:18 ("Daniel Abraham Mix")

10": EMI. / 10 DD 12 United Kingdom

1. "Do You Believe In Shame?" – 4:23
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:30 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)
3. "Notorious" (Live) – 4:06 (Recorded live at the Ahoy, Rotterdam, 7 May 1987)

7": Capitol Records. / B-44337 United States

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:23
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:30 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)

12": Capitol Records. / V-15456 United States

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:23
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:30 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)
3. "Notorious" (Live) – 4:06 (Recorded live at the Ahoy, Rotterdam, 7 May 1987)
4. "Drug" (It's Just A State Of Mind) (Original Version) – 4:18 ("Daniel Abraham Mix")

3"CD: EMI. / CD DD 12 United Kingdom

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:25
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:30 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)
3. "Notorious" (Live) – 4:16 (Recorded live at the Ahoy, Rotterdam, 7 May 1987)
4. "God" (London) – 1:40
5. "This Is How a Road Gets Made" – 0:49

CD: part of "Singles Box Set 1986-1995" boxset

1. "Do You Believe in Shame?" – 4:25
2. "The Krush Brothers LSD Edit" – 3:32 (a.k.a. "Edge Of America" (The Krush Brothers LSD Edit)
3. "God (London)" – 1:40
4. "This Is How a Road Gets Made" – 0:49
5. "Palomino" (Edit) – 3:30
6. "Drug" (Original Version) – 4:18 ("Daniel Abraham Mix")
7. "Notorious" (Live) – 4:16 (Recorded live at the Ahoy, Rotterdam, 7 May 1987)

Covers

Allison Iraheta and her band Halo Circus recorded a cover version for the 2014 compilation album Making Patterns Rhyme: A Tribute to Duran Duran.

Chart positions

Despite the collectibility of this release, it reached no higher in the charts than #30 in the UK and #72 in the US. It also reached #14 in Italy.

Other appearances

Apart from the single, "Do You Believe in Shame?" has also appeared on:

Albums:

Personnel

with:

Also credited: