"Come Undone" is a song by English rock band Duran Duran, released in March 1993, by Parlophone, as the second single from their seventh studio album, Duran Duran (1993). With their commercial and critical success reestablished by the previous single "Ordinary World", "Come Undone" continued to showcase more of the band's entry into the adult contemporary radio format.

The single became the group's second consecutive US top-10 hit from Duran Duran, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming their last top-40 hit on that chart. It was also popular in the United Kingdom and other international markets, reaching number two in Canada, number eight in Italy, number nine in Ireland, and number 13 in the UK. As of October 2021, "Come Undone" is the eighth-most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK. The accompanying music video was directed by Julien Temple.

Development and recording

"Come Undone" originated during sessions at the guitarist Warren Cuccurullo's home studio, "Privacy" Studios, in Battersea, London. According to the producer John Jones, the song was developed from a reworking of "First Impression", a track from Duran Duran's Liberty (1990) album. Cuccurullo proposed the idea, and the new track was built around a drum loop and bass line from Jones' own song "Face to Face". Jones emphasised the track's simplicity, noting, "all it is is a loop", and described the writing process as unusually fast. This denial is supported by the keyboardist Nick Rhodes, who directly addressed the rumor in a fan Q&A, stating that the song "most certainly" did not sample the track and describing the claim as "untrue". He added that the story is simply a rumor, noting, "No wonder you can't hear it — it isn't there."

After completing the initial instrumental, Jones and Cuccurullo played the track over the phone to Capitol Records' A&R department in Los Angeles, and then to Rhodes and the lead vocalist Simon Le Bon. Rhodes arrived within hours to contribute, and the music was finalised that same afternoon. The track also had origins in a slowed-down version of "Too Much Information", initially created as an experiment by Cuccurullo and Rhodes. He recorded his vocals the following night. She recalled working under the direction of Cuccurullo and Rhodes, who produced the session. Initially singing in a soft, breathy tone, Niles was encouraged by Rhodes to "unleash the diva". At that stage, Taylor had completed his parts for all the other songs and had left for Los Angeles to spend time with his wife. In an interview with the BBC, Taylor remarked, "Maybe I wished I'd played on 'Come Undone'. I'd gone back to Los Angeles. We'd put that album to bed. I'm not coming back for one more song. Maybe it would have been a different song if I'd been there, maybe it wouldn't have been such a great song. But I'm not one for regrets."

Music video

The music video for "Come Undone" was directed by British film, documentary and music video director Julien Temple, who shot the video inside of an aquarium. Produced by Kirstyn Symes for Nitrate Films, it was released on 29 March 1993. The bulk of the video was filmed on location in Los Angeles, but a pivotal section was shot overnight in the aquarium at London Zoo. It features multiple, unrelated clips of people in different areas. These include a little girl seeing her parents together, an older couple who have survived a flood, a little girl hiding under the bed while placing her head on top of her white teddy bear, an alcoholic, and a man who is revealed to be a cross-dresser. Also seen in the video is the backing singer Tessa Niles, struggling underwater to break free of the chains that bind her, where she sings her backup line in the song.

:A. "Come Undone" (edit) – 4:15

:B. "Ordinary World" (acoustic version)

  • UK CD1 and Japanese CD single
  1. "Come Undone" (edit) – 4:15
  2. "Ordinary World" (acoustic version)
  3. "Come Undone" (FGI Phumpin' 12-inch) – 8:14
  4. "Come Undone" (La Fin De Siecle) – 5:25
  • UK CD2
  1. "Come Undone" (album version)
  2. "Rio"
  3. "Is There Something I Should Know?"
  4. "A View to a Kill"
  • US CD single
  1. "Come Undone" (LP version)
  2. "Come Undone" (Mix 1 Master)
  3. "Skin Trade" (Parisian mix)
  4. "Stop Dead"
  • US and Canadian cassette single
  1. "Come Undone" (album version)
  2. "Come Undone" (Mix 2 Master)
  3. "Time for Temptation"
  • Australian CD single
  1. "Come Undone" (edit)
  2. "Come Undone" (FGI Phumpin' 12-inch)
  3. "Come Undone" (La Fin De Siecle)
  • The Singles 1986–1995 box set
  1. "Come Undone" (edit) – 4:15
  2. "Ordinary World" (acoustic version) – 5:05
  3. "Come Undone" (FGI Phumpin' 12-inch) – 8:14
  4. "Come Undone" (La Fin De Siecle) – 5:25
  5. "Come Undone" (album version) – 4:31
  6. "Rio" – 5:33
  7. "Is There Something I Should Know?" – 4:05
  8. "A View to a Kill" – 3:33

Personnel

Duran Duran

  • Simon Le Bon – vocals
  • Nick Rhodes – keyboards, synth bass
  • Warren Cuccurullo – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

  • John Jones – drums, bass, keyboards, vocals
  • Tessa Niles – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Weekly chart performance for "Come Undone"

!Chart (1993)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Canada Retail Singles (The Record)

| 2

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

| 34

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (European Hit Radio)

| 5

|-

!scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)

| 48

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

| 13

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi)

| 8

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)

| 16

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|UK Airplay (Music Week)

| 2

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100

| 4

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2024 weekly chart performance for "Come Undone"

!scope="col"|Chart (2024)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)

| 50

|}

Monthly charts

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2024 monthly chart performance for "Come Undone"

!scope="col"|Chart (2024)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)

| 91

|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+1993 year-end chart performance for "Come Undone"

!Chart (1993)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

| 96

|-

!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (RPM)

| 11

|-

!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100

| 41

|-

!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100

| 45

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2024 year-end chart performance for "Come Undone"

!Chart (2024)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)

| 195

|}

Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Release dates and formats for "Come Undone"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

|-

!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United Kingdom

|29 March 1993

|

|rowspan="2"|Parlophone

|

|-

|5 April 1993

|CD2

|

|-

!scope="row"|Australia

|10 May 1993

|

|

|

|-

!scope="row"|Japan

|30 June 1993

|CD

|EMI

|

|-

!scope="row"|Australia

|19 July 1993

|CD digipak

|

|

|}

References