"Duchess" | ||||||||||||||||
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Single by Genesis | ||||||||||||||||
from the album Duke | ||||||||||||||||
B-side | "Open Door" | |||||||||||||||
Released | 9 May 1980 | |||||||||||||||
Recorded | October–December 1979 | |||||||||||||||
Genre | Art rock, progressive rock | |||||||||||||||
Length | 6:40 (album version) 4:21 (single version) 3:57 (music video) |
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Label |
Charisma/Virgin (UK) Atlantic (US) |
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Writer(s) | Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford | |||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | David Hentschel and Genesis | |||||||||||||||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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"Duchess" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, appearing as the second track on their 1980 album, Duke. It peaked at number 46 in the UK Singles Chart.
Part of the album's "hidden suite" which also included "Behind the Lines", "Guide Vocal", "Turn It On Again", "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's End," the lyrics tell the story of the rise and fall of a diva, a "female rock star" from the beginning of her career, to her superstardom, to her decline in public opinion. It is the first Genesis song to use a drum machine.
The video for the song shows Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford playing at various points around the Liverpool Empire Theatre and watching the Duchess perform her songs, Collins nodding his head in approval. The drum machine used in the song (Roland CR-78) is shown at the beginning of the video.