Though it’s past midnight in the Midwest (where I’ve arrived for the holidays), it’s just after 10:00 pm West Coast time, which means if I was back at home, technically I wouldn’t be late in delivering today’s Friday Flashback.

It really would have been a shame not to share, because it was back on December 24, 1988, that Duran Duran delivered “All She Wants Is,” the second single from Big Thing, to the Billboard Hot 100. Duran Duran’s fifth studio album, released that October, was definitely top of mind for me as Christmas came closer. The first single, “I Don’t Want Your Love,” introduced Duran Duran’s new house-influenced sound (a bid to keep up with current musical shifts), and “All She Wants Is” continued that sonic direction, a shift that had me hooked (as did the album’s pop-art cover).

If Santa Claus had been checking my Christmas list in 1988 (if I’d written one), he surely would have remarked, “All he wants is Duran Duran’s Big Thing.” (On cassette, of course.) Would the jolly man in the red suit deliver on Christmas Eve what my ears so feverishly desired?

No, but someone in my family did, as my musical wish came true the next morning, something of a rarity for the holiday. I was a very happy kid as I popped Big Thing into my portable cassette player that afternoon, and remained so for days and weeks afterward, often rewinding and fast-forwarding to hear Duran Duran do “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” over and over again. I’m surprised the tape didn’t break.

Though Duran Duran spent two weeks at #4 in December 1988 with “I Don’t Want Your Love,” the then-trio was less successful with “All She Wants Is,” which topped out at #22 the following February. However, both tracks did hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, evidence that Duran Duran had at least hit their club-sound target.

Twenty two years later, Big Thing has once again made my Christmas list. This fall, a remastered edition of Big Thing hit shelves, a deluxe package that includes the original album, a second disc of remixes and bonus tracks, and a DVD of a live Duran Duran show from around that time. But unless Santa really does exist, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fulfillling my musical wish this time around.

Purchase Duran Duran – “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.