“Mine, immaculate dream made breath and skin I've been waiting for you Signed with a home tattoo "Happy birthday to you" was created for you”
August 3, 1993, this is the first time we celebrated my birthday together. We celebrated by attending our first concert together, Duran Duran at the Blossom Music center in Cleveland, Ohio. We attended with Larry’s older sister and her husband (at the time) and also a bunch of their friends that we did not know. I only bring this up because Larry’s sister had won some tickets to a meet and greet before Duran Duran took the stage and she took Larry with her so I got stuck with a bunch of people I did not know for a few hours. At least I got to see Terence Trent D’arby, of Wishing Well fame, as the opening act. When Larry made it back to our seats and the show started, we did have a really good time and I’m glad we got to spend my 22nd birthday together.
P.S. Larry and his sister did not get to meet anyone from Duran Duran but even then, he was thinking of me first. He wanted to take my driver’s license to the meet and greet to prove that it was my birthday in hopes that when they did this song, they would give me a shout out because of the above lyrics.
Larry’s Perspective:
So the real question is this: Would I ever attend a Duran Duran concert by my own design? The answer is no, no I would not.
I'll revisit a little bit of my youth for this one. It's 1982 and some band named Duran Duran releases an album called Rio. While that's important, what's more important is the sudden creation of what's known as the "Music Video".
My family was not well off, so we didn't get to watch the "MTV" - this is how we got our Friday Night Videos - watch it - you won't be disappointed.
Duran Duran owned the television with their videos. They were creative, elaborate and it was a brand new thing - the world had never been exposed to this amount of this medium. And my older sister ATE. IT. UP. Having lived through the 80's, it's not a stretch to say they were the second coming of The Beatles - it was that crazy. What was also crazy was the fact that you literally could not see one inch of my sisters bedroom walls - she cut out every magazine picture / poster / button / patch / etc, etc. and created her shrine to Simon, Nick, John, Roger and Andy.
Of course they toured the states, but my mom and dad absolutely forbid her to go to a concert. So from the years 1982 to 1993, which honestly was their prime years, my sister never saw them.
But then this concert came around to Cleveland, which is where my sister lived at the time. Somehow they got some tickets and invited Shannon and I to come up and go.
So we went - and full disclosure - the only reason I know every lyric to every early Duran Duran song is because my sister played them obsessively. I'll own my Ordinary World knowledge. My sister had a full on meltdown multiple times because she was finally seeing them and at the prospect we might meet them.
It was cool that it was on Shannon's birthday and we had only been dating 10 months. And yes, I must have thought I was in love because I was going to ask them to give her a shout out. It's the thought that counts!
Ghost of a Chance 