Electric Barbarella
"Electric Barbarella" is the 29th single by Duran Duran, and the first official single from the album "Medazzaland". In 1997, the single and album were released only in the United States; "Electric Barbarella" was not issued as a single in the UK until January 1999 on the back of the late 1998 release of the compilation album "Greatest". The band's previous single, "Out of My Mind", was another track from "Medazzaland", but was released as a single from "The Saint" soundtrack album instead. About the song. "Electric Barbarella" is a direct tribute to the 1968 Roger Vadim  film "Barbarella", from which the band took their name. It has been touted as the first song available for digital purchase/download on the Internet, however, this is heavily disputed as songs had been available for download and purchase on the internet since 1992. Dozens of different mixes were created from the song. A Dom T mix exclusive to the Internet was available for download in the US for 99 cents. This pioneering move annoyed many American retailers as they saw it as infringing on their retail territory and they either refused to stock the album, or provided very little , or sometimes no, promotion of the disc. Music video. The video, directed by photographer Ellen von Unwerth, involved a robot sex doll played by American model Myka Dunkle. Simon Le Bon stated during an interview with Carson Daly on Total Request Live that von Unwerth specifically requested to use Dunkle, despite the fact that the band had other models and friends, including Devon Aoki and Sophie Dahl (both of whom appear in the video's party scene), in mind due to her background as a dancer, and her ability to "do the mime that would actually make her appear to  be a robot." The video had to be mildly censored before receiving airplay on MTV or VH1; by the time the modified video was delivered, the song had already fallen off the charts. B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes. The b-side for "Electric Barbarella" was a mix of their previous single, "Out of My Mind". Numerous remixes were issued on various promo releases and on the internet. Media references. The cosmetics company Hard Candy was preparing to launch a colour of nail polish named "Electric Barbarella" at the same time the single was released, but had to halt it  because the proper permissions had not been received from the owners of the Barbarella name. Chart positions. The song was released on 16 September in the United States, and peaked at No. 52 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on 1 November and one year later reached No. 23 in UK singles charts. Due to the debacle over its download release, temporary censoring of the music video and late release to other markets the single is generally considered to have under-performed. Other appearances. Aside from the single, the song has also appeared on: Personnel. Duran Duran are: