Synopsis

Duran Duran perform "Planet Earth" on a stark white, futuristic set that resembles a crystalline platform or inverted pyramid. Simon Le Bon sings and dances at the center while Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor appear in sharply styled New Romantic outfits. Close-ups, colored lighting, elemental imagery, and stylized poses give the performance a sleek science-fiction atmosphere. The video ends with Le Bon leaping from the platform, reinforcing the song's sense of mystery, motion, and otherworldly drama.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made to support the band's growing popularity in Australia, allowing them to reach television audiences without traveling there for promotional appearances.

• It was produced in an afternoon on a soundstage in St John's Wood, London, making its elaborate visual style especially ambitious for such a quick shoot.

• Unlike the band's later major videos, "Planet Earth" was shot on videotape rather than film.

• The band's clothes were assembled by stylist Patti Bell on a reported budget of only 500 pounds. The oversized ruffled shirts reportedly took about an hour each to iron.

• Simon Le Bon's leap from the platform was not as controlled as it looked. He later recalled landing partly on a folding catering table and partly on a production assistant.

• The video's flamboyant styling helped establish Duran Duran as one of the defining visual acts of the early New Romantic era.

• John Taylor initially viewed music videos as being at odds with punk's do-it-yourself ethic, but the band's increasingly cinematic approach soon made the medium central to its identity.