#Duran duran music series

Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran were among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. Nick Rhodes has since said, in a 1998 interview with Deluxe magazine, that the band was 'appallingly ripped off'. 'A certain patriotism' toward the label of The Beatles led them to sign with EMI in December. Touring in late 1980 with Hazel O'Connor, the band attracted critical attention that escalated into a bidding war between EMI and PolyGram.

Over the course of 1980, they recorded two demo tapes and performed tirelessly in clubs around Birmingham and London. The up-and-coming group were considered part of the New Romantic scene, along with other style-and-dance bands like Spandau Ballet and ABC. The owners of the club, brothers Paul and Michael Berrow, became the band's management, and paid them to work as doormen, disc jockeys and glass collectors when they weren't rehearsing. Guitarist Andy Taylor came south from Newcastle to audition after responding to a magazine advertisement, and London vocalist Simon Le Bon was recommended to the band by ex-girlfriend Fiona Kemp who worked at the Rum Runner nightclub, where the band rehearsed. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979.įinally, drummer Roger Taylor fell in with them at a party (after which John Taylor, originally on lead guitar, switched to bass).

Their first singer was Stephen Duffy, who went on to lead Tin Tin, The Lilac Time, write songs for Barenaked Ladies and Steven Page, more recently has been co-authoring songs with Robbie Williams. Durand Durand', played by Milo O'Shea in Roger Vadim's sexy science-fiction cult film Barbarella. The band took their name from the evil character 'Dr. Other influences the band have mentioned include Mick Ronson, The Clash, Kraftwerk, Japan, New York Dolls, Velvet Underground, Blondie and Visage. John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed the band in Birmingham, England in 1978, envisioning a group with the raw do-it-yourself energy of the Sex Pistols, the dance grooves of CHIC, and the elegant style of David Bowie and Roxy Music. The next new Duran Duran album is expected to be released in mid-2007. He has filled in for Andy Taylor on the road in '04 and another occassion in '05, other than filling in from '06 and beyond since Andy left Duran Duran. Dom Brown, a session guitarist and songwriter from South London, is currently filling in for session work and tours. Duran Duran released Astronaut from the reunited line-up in 2004.Īndy Taylor dropped out of the band in October 2006 during work on a new album, but the band has since continued recording.

The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991.Īlthough the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years. The band has sold well over 70 million records worldwide, and has had eighteen singles in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and thirty in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including 'Rio', 'Hungry Like the Wolf', 'Is There Something I Should Know?', 'The Reflex' and the James Bond theme 'A View to a Kill' in the 1980s, 'Ordinary World' and 'Come Undone' in the early- 1990s, and 'Sunrise' and 'What Happens Tomorrow' in the 2000s.ĭuran Duran was created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass), with the later addition of Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals) none of the Taylors are related. They are still often identified as an ' Eighties band' despite continuous recording and chart success over their twenty-eight year history. They were a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the United States, and the most commercially successful of the New Romantic bands.

#Duran duran music series

Duran Duran Official Website Duran Duran Official Fan Communityĭuran Duran are an English New Wave band notable for a long series of catchy, synthesizer-driven hit singles and vivid music videos.