Synopsis

In a shadowy Parisian mansion, Simon Le Bon moves through a decadent gathering of dancers, models, masked figures and mysterious guests. Nick Rhodes wanders the ornate rooms, handling crystals, carrying a candelabra and descending a grand staircase while strange rituals unfold around him. Roger Taylor appears amid the stylized spectacle, which builds toward the arrival of hulking horse-headed figures rising through smoke. With its candlelit interiors, theatrical poses and surreal imagery, the video plays less like a conventional performance clip than a Gothic dream inspired by classic French fantasy cinema.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in and around Paris in September 1985, during the recording period for Arcadia's only studio album, So Red the Rose.

• A staircase set originally built for Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight was reused for the production. The set helped give the video a more expansive, cinematic look.

• The visual design was consciously shaped as a homage to Jean Cocteau, particularly his Gothic fantasy imagery.

• The horse-headed figure is not intended as a reference to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes identified the imagery as a reference to Cocteau's 1959 film The Testament of Orpheus.

• Bruno Tonioli, later widely known in the United States as a judge on Dancing with the Stars, provided the choreography.

• The production was completed over roughly one week in Paris and ran for about eight and a half minutes in its extended form.

• A behind-the-scenes documentary titled Filming Election Day was later included among the Arcadia video materials and documents the making of the production.

• Roger Taylor appeared in only a small number of Arcadia promotional visuals, making Election Day one of the few videos to feature all three members of the project.