Arena (Duran Duran album)

Arena is a live album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 12 November 1984 by Parlophone. In 2004, the album was reissued on CD in remastered form with two bonus tracks.

Arena
Live album by Duran Duran
Released	12 November 1984 (1984-11-12)
Recorded	"Around the world 1984"
Genre	New wave pop rock
Length	47:54
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Duran Duran Nile Rodgers
Duran Duran chronology
Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983) Arena (1984) Notorious (1986)
Singles from Arena
"The Wild Boys" Released: 22 October 1984[1]

Arena was Duran Duran's first live album, released at the peak of their commercial success in late 1984. It included one new song, the studio recorded "The Wild Boys", which as a single was a worldwide hit, reaching no. 2 in both the UK and the US.^[2]

Arena was released together with a number of corresponding releases, including the conceptual concert film Arena (An Absurd Notion), a documentary tour book and a board game. An edited version of the film with just the live performances, As the Lights Go Down, was also released. Arena marked the last album release featuring the complete original five-piece line-up of the band until the 2004 album Astronaut.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Smash Hits	7/10[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	2/10[8]

Upon its release, Smash Hits reviewer Dave Rimmer criticised the album for its lack of "any kind of live feeling", but still gave it a 7 out 10 rating for its "competent" content.^[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Duran Duran.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Is There Something I Should Know?"	4:34
2.	"Hungry Like the Wolf"	4:01
3.	"New Religion"	5:37
4.	"Save a Prayer"	6:12
5.	"The Wild Boys" (New Studio Track)	4:18

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"The Seventh Stranger"	5:05
7.	"The Chauffeur"	5:23
8.	"Union of the Snake"	4:09
9.	"Planet Earth"	4:31
10.	"Careless Memories"	4:07

2004 remastered CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Girls on Film"	5:59
12.	"Rio"	5:55

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Arena.^[9]

Duran Duran Simon Le Bon - lead vocals, ocarina on "The Chauffeur" Nick Rhodes - keyboards, synthesizers, sound effects, backing vocals Andy Taylor - guitars, backing vocals Roger Taylor - drums, percussion John Taylor - bass guitar, backing vocals Additional musicians Andy Hamilton Raphael DeJesus B.J. Nelson Charmaine Burch

Technical George Tukto – engineering (tracks 1–4, 6–10) Jason Corsaro – engineering (all tracks); mixing (tracks 1–4, 6–10) Duran Duran – production (tracks 1–4, 6–10) Nile Rodgers – production (track 5) Artwork Assorted Images – sleeve production Mike Owen – outer photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Arena Chart (1984–1985) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 8 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 7 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 10 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 5 European Albums (Music & Media)[14] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 1 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[17] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 16 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 16 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 4 UK Albums (OCC)[22] 6 US Billboard 200[23] 4

Year-end charts 1984 year-end chart performance for Arena Chart (1984) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] 75 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 63 UK Albums (Gallup)[26] 31 1985 year-end chart performance for Arena Chart (1985) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[27] 72 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 33 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 25 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 32 UK Albums (Gallup)[31] 73 US Billboard 200[32] 61

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Arena

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina	—	60,000[33]
Canada (Music Canada)[34]	2× Platinum	200,000^
Germany (BVMI)[35]	Gold	250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[36]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[37]	Platinum	15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[38]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[40]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.