Duran Duran return in time for a big run of live shows this spring and summer with their long-awaited new single, ‘Free To Love.’
The song, left over from the Danse Macabre sessions, is co-written with longtime collaborator and friend Nile Rodgers, who also adds an infectious guitar riff.
The song gives off both Chic and Daft Punk vibes: the former with its echo in the chorus of ‘Good Times’ and the latter with its guitar riff, bass groove and (slightly) processed vocals, also musical highlights of Daft Punk’s massive hit ‘Get Lucky’ and its more chill cousin, ‘Move Yourself To Dance,’ both featuring Rodgers on guitar.
In a welcome move in recent years, Duran Duran have released a proper video at the same time as the single. The clip, directed by previous collaborator Jonas Åkerlund (‘Girl Panic!’, ‘Black Moonlight’) harks back to Top Of The Pops and Soul Train. The band are joined by an array of energetic disco dancers as well as TV presenter Clara Amfo. The video is presented by luxury perfume house Xerjoff, in a similar move to the band’s previous collaboration with Swarovski Elements on the clip for ‘Girl Panic!’
The song is by no means deep: It’s a feel-good slice of nostalgia well-timed for the spring and summer concerts. It delivers a universal (if slightly cliché) message that speaks to these divided times, with lines like ‘Chasing a dream in all the confusion.’
As singer Simon Le Bon states in the official press release accompanying the single, ‘It’s about loving the modern world instead of hating it, and that is something we need right now.’ Keyboardist Nick Rhodes goes as far as calling the song ‘an anthem for freedom.’
The single may not be what every Duranie wants from the band in 2026 (that would probably be the almost-mythical album Reportage), but it might be a track that resonates with a wider audience, or at least one nostalgic for the disco era.
Despite any fan’s opinion of the song, it’s good that Duran Duran are still moving into the future – as always – with ‘love in their hearts and an eye on the charts.’
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