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Posted on 05/04/2026 7:52:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The album artwork for Duran Duran’s Rio is an iconic part of ‘80s history. But despite its status as one of the era’s most recognizable covers, the band never got to meet its creator.
It was Patrick Nagel who came up with the distinctive image. Duran Duran was introduced to his work by their manager, and Nagel's vivid pop art style immediately caught their attention.
“[Our manager] was an avid reader of Playboy magazine,” Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes recalled during a recent appearance on the Rockonteurs podcast. “Because Nagel used to do all the early illustrations around then, the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, for Playboy.”
READ MORE: Revisiting Duran Duran's Buoyant Single 'Rio'
Impressed by the illustrations, the band reached out to Nagel to see if he’d be interested in doing the cover for their sophomore LP.
“We weren't that known in America at the time,” Rhodes noted. "But he said, 'Yeah, I'm up for it.'"
Patrick Nagel Gives 'Rio' Its Distinctive Artwork
Nagel sent the band two images. Duran Duran would use one of them for a single in Japan. The other – an alluring portrait of a smiling woman – would become Rio’s iconic cover.
Released in May 1982, the LP became a multi-platinum triumph. Hit singles "Hungry Like the Wolf,” "Save a Prayer" and "Rio" helped launch the band to superstardom. Meanwhile, Rio's cover art became one of the decade's most distinctive images.
“He was amazing,” Rhodes recalled while sharing his appreciation of Nagel’s art. “We never met him, very sadly.”
Less than two years after Rio’s release, Nagel died of a heart attack while participating in a celebrity aerobathon to raise funds for the American Heart Association. He was 38 years old.
Since his death, Nagel has been hailed as one of the defining visual artists of the '80s, and Rio remains one of his most recognizable achievements.
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I wondered if the Robert Palmer videos were inspired by Nagel.
They look like they were all designed in Corel Draw, from that time.
Duran Duran Rio - 1982
Corel Draw release - 1989
Patrick Nagel: Vietnam veteran with the 101st Airborne Division. Established the iconic “Nagel Woman” look of the 80s. (A bit like the Gibson Girl of the early 1900s) Established a graphic style that was often imitated in the 80’s to the point where it became a bit cliche.
I’d really like to see Duran Duran live one of these days.
When I was looking him up, he did draw men, too.
Iconic? Just another 80s album cover. Meh.
His work was all done before computers. Acrylics on artboard. But it could be imitated with computer graphics programs, sure. The flat, muted colors; hard shadows; clean lines used sparingly…
I actually have his book somewhere. He passed away too soon but did a lot of work in the time he had.
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand....
If I have ever heard a Duran Duran song I don’t of it.
I don’t of it, either.
It looks somewhat pedestrian now, but it captured the zeitgest of the early 80s. Album art as... art. The shallowness of his art married perfectly with the shallowness of the group.
Interesting! It seems his stark style was unique and minimalist, without what were later computer programs that could have helped.
Saw them open for Blondie back in the day. They were so good they intimidated Blondie somewhat but both shows were quite good and the crowd was appreciative.
Awesome bass playing in that song as well.
Nagels style was iconic.
Go out and watch “Moonbeam City” if you want to see what the world would look like if it all people looked like a Nagel living in a 1980s neon city. Only one season but a mindlessly funny show if you need to decompress.
Vargas had to draw the black sheer suit on her for the cover.
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