On August 9, 1982 Duran Duran released their single "Save a Prayer" in the UK. It was the sixth single by the English band, and the third single taken from their second album Rio. It became Duran Duran's biggest hit (at the time) on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number two.
The song was not originally issued as a single in the US, although the music video was very popular on MTV. An edited concert single version from "Arena" was finally released in the States in January 1985.
Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon wrote the lyric to "Save A Prayer" while the band was on tour. The song revolves around a chance meeting between two people that evolves into a one-off sexual encounter. Le Bon described the lyric as "realistic, and not romantic."
According to Le Bon, the song's chorus structure is based on Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind."
The video was filmed by Australian director Russell Mulcahy, in Sri Lanka.
