Duran Duran

High school, maybe. College, no. They were a little too popular to be truly cool. If you watch the video for The Reflex, you'll see their kind of crowd.

Their lyrics were sort of interesting, though.

They were definitely in a different league from the boy bands, although they had that whiff of bubblegum around them they became extremely popular and mainstream. Kind of like the Beatles, to whom they were endlessly compared.

Early DD, yes - but The Reflex pushed them completely over to teeny bopper boy band unfortunately. They were hated for looking like male models in Armani suits - their 3 videos in Sri Lanka really changed music videos and images of bands.

I love their music up until 1985 or so.

It was very cool in 83-84. Then again, I was in elementary school. I don't know if they were respected by the professional critics. But video clips were in their heydays and Duran Duran invested money in them. Theirs looked better than anybody else. We thought back then it looked gorgeous.

Simon leBon Bon was dreamy, til he got fat.

Warren in G magazine sure was cool.

To listen to? No. They were definitely an MTV band and being aware of their videos was all that was required.

Yes.

I enjoyed John Taylor's autobiography. Honest and fun. It reveals that Duran Duran were real musicians who loved writing songs together and had cool influences.

[quote]It was very cool in 83-84

I was in high school then and most every girl there loved them

I loved Duran Duran when they were big. I was a preteen girl.

I cried the day Simon Lebon got married.

The girls all loved them. I didn't like them until there later stuff. Notorious is one of the coolest songs ever.

They had a bit of an edgier vibe going for their mid-90s comeback (which I still think is one of the great, unexpected second acts in pop music).

Their music was catchy and dancey. I would never want to listen to Bieber or NKOTB, but D2 was great to listen to in a lightweight kind of way.

I remember Princess Diana was allegedly a big fan back in the day.

I loved Simon Le Bon the best as well, r12. Wham became big in 84, and then I also loved George Michael. But within a year or two I grew out of it.

They were HUGE in 83-84, then almost completely overnight became uncool.

I always thought that GM was influenced in his videos by DD.

Simon? You've got to be fucking kidding. John Taylor was the hottest thing. Oh. Shit. I'm flashbacking to 9th grade.

My favorite Solid Gold moment was watching the dancers writhe to Union of the Snake.

I still get excited when 'Girls On Film' comes on the radio.

I loved them and still do. They got me into new wave, goth and industrial. Plus, their first album was fabulous.

I alternated between a crush on Simon, on John and on Roger, but wanted all their clothes.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Does Simon smell like he sounds?

Yes!! I was in high school from '82-'86 and I was a DD freak!! I have such fond memories of high school because of Duran Duran. The last time I saw them live was 2003 and it was awesome. Haven't really kept up with them since. They were considered alternative/new wave until 1984 when they broke big here in the states, then they were main stream.

Now that years have passed and their music can be evaluated without the MTV hype or model looks it turns out that their music really has stood the test of time. A lot of their stuff could be released today without sounding dated. Skin Trade is a really good example of that.

They were one of the first of the New Romantic bands to go mainstream and start raking in the cash and usher in the New Wave.

They got some extra exposure when they did the theme song to the James Bond "A View To A Kill" movie in 85.

As a little kid I thought the video of Girls on Film was the most weirdest thing ever with the almost naked woman getting into the ring with the Sumo wrestler.

[quote] The song fared well on the radio and the charts before the video was filmed, but the controversy that ensued helped to keep the band in the public eye and the song on the charts for many weeks.

[quote] The video was made with directing duo Godley & Creme at Shepperton Studios in July 1981. It was filmed just weeks before MTV was launched in the United States and before anyone knew what an impact the music channel would have on the industry. The band expected the "Girls on Film" video to be played exclusively at nightclubs that had video screens. The raunchy video created an uproar, and it was consequently banned by the BBC and heavily edited for its original run on MTV; the band unabashedly enjoyed and capitalised on the controversy.

[quote] Summary of the uncensored full-length music video

[quote] The band performs on an elevated stage behind a models' catwalk, which resembles a boxing ring, as various scantily clad women act out a series of erotic vignettes. A number of these scenarios feature mild depictions of BDSM, sexual fetishism and fantasy and recurring themes of seduction and abandonment:

[quote] Two models in lacy black teddies mount the catwalk carrying pillows. They straddle a shaving cream-covered post at either end and move toward the centre, sliding their crotches along the horizontal candy-striped shaft in a slow and suggestive manner. The models proceed to have a pillow fight, which causes their breasts to become partially exposed. Upon finishing, they kiss and return to their dressing room and pour champagne on each other's cleavage.

[quote] A petite female Sumo wrestler with her hair flared up in a tall tophawk ponytail mounts the catwalk to confront a lumbering, heavyset male Sumo wrestler. The woman is wearing a sheer top and a mawashi loincloth; the camera follows her as she enters, offering a generous, fetishistic view of her partially exposed buttocks. In the confrontational tachi-ai stance, she seizes her opponent by the shoulder and flips him forward head-over-heels. He somersaults and lands on his backside with a thud and she gives the ceremonial rei salutation (i.e., a bow) and walks away victorious.

[quote] A masseuse in a white nurse's uniform with white garter suspenders and sheer white stockings administers a full-body hot-oil massage to a man (the sumo wrestler) on a steam-bath table. She later walks away leaving the man unconscious.

[quote] A woman in a cowgirl costume rides on the back of a muscular, G-string-wearing, black male model who is fetishistically costumed as an equine. She later soaps his semi-nude body with a wet sponge and then leads him on a leash while he cavorts behind her.

[quote] A model wearing a one-piece swimsuit and high-heels struts and poses on the catwalk before falling backwards into a child's inflatable plastic wading pool and collapsing. She is "rescued" and revived by a male lifeguard. She responds by embracing and kissing the lifeguard so intensely that he becomes unconscious from exhaustion and is left in the pool while she walks away. The model is later seen reclining on a chair, nude, drying herself with an electric blow dryer before rubbing ice cubes on her nipples in closeup.

[quote] A brunette model removes her fur coat to reveal her breasts and skintight see-through plastic knickers underneath. She mud-wrestles with a blonde woman wearing a one-piece swimsuit. The blonde woman loses and is left behind in the mud, while the brunette woman is attended by a clothed male assistant who sprays the mud off her body with a water hose.

john taylor is a really tasteful rhythm musician. simon's lyrics.... yuck.

Roger Taylor was absolutely the best looking but he lacked all sex appeal. John Taylor was a fave that I never understood - kinda cross-eyed, no body and average looks. Nick Rhodes was very good looking - and his deep voice was a mindfuck because he wore more makeup than my mother.

Interestingly there were many spin-off bands/collaborations. Power Station's "Bang-a-Gong," a reinvention of a T-Rex song, really showcased Andy and John's guitar skills. There was Arcadia. TV mania. The Devils. Did I miss any?

Belinda Carlisle

Unlike so many other popular bands who kept re-writing the same song over and over, DD switched up their sound. Hungry Like the Wolf, Notorious, Ordinary World sounds like 3 totally different bands.

The first album was played on college radio and even some cuts from Rio but they were already becoming more pop than New Wave or New Romantic.

Not a spin off but John Taylor made a solo album and made a “supergroup” album with Steve Jones from Sex Pistols.

What was the drama level in the band? Any good stories?

Nick Rhodes is a slave-driver and perfectionist. Simon and John roll their eyes but Andy and Roger got fed up and left.

The OP asked some specific questions, could we stick to them please?

R37 Looks like they were called the Neurotic Outsiders.

In Behind the Music, Nick addresses their bad reviews. Paraphrasing: “Critics like music made for boys. But Duran Duran makes music for girls and boys and everyone in between.”

They had some great catchy songs and were one of the first big bands to really do something interesting with the still-new video music format. But they were never really cool, although wildly popular. They were definitely a step above boy bands and pop acts, but were a more pop, user-friendly and prettier version of new wave and modern rock. Kind of like what Bush or Stone Temple Pilots were to grunge a decade later.

I thought Duran Duran and Howard Jones were the same people. But I was in college 1981 to 1985, so they weren't what I was listening to at the time.

LOVED THEM! They were definitely COOL during my middle school & high school years,1981-1985! They put out great, stylish videos. The videos of their lesser-known songs were better than the big hits .

They did have one of the better Bond themes. In the great tradition of Bond themes, the lyrics don't make much sense, but it's catchy and you can actually dance to it.

Ha! I remember seeing VIEW TO A KILL at AVCO theater in Westwood. We took those little airline bottles of booze into the theater & mixed them with Pepsi. We were smashed....and the we lost control of the bottles, which rolled down the incline, noisily.

Their Bond theme is the best selling one.

I recently finished reading the JT autobiography. I wanted more details from Nigel.

He said there were some points of contention within the band but because of privacy or something, he didn't articulate. He did say there were "differences" between Andy and the rest of the band but again, nothing specific. Maybe Andy wanted more hard-rocking sounds and the rest didn't.

I love all their albums.

They were never hip. They are the kind of top 40 band no one over the age of 17 listens to.

I read Andy’s book. He doesn’t dish too much dirt. He was having extreme family issues (dying dad?) during the band’s mid-80s hey day. He writes a lot about that (guilt, resentment) and his own partying. He got married and had a kid very young. He’s a working class lad from a working class town, yada yada.

He makes it clear that he often butted heads with Nick but doesn’t go into gory detail.

Much cooler was the short-lived supergroup The Power Station that Andy and John formed with Tony Thompson of Chic and Robert Palmer. Tony and Robert were the coolest parts of it though.

I had forgotten most of their songs, but watched a few videos that were posted on here. Were they contemporaries of NXS? or did they come before or after? I never noticed how similar their music is, what with the steady beat and staccato guitar licks. Who influenced whom?

INXS were first, but they weren't big enough to be too influential when Duran Duran came along. Both bands were derivatives of the late 70s into early 80s New Wave/New Romantics/Modern Rock sound that was huge at the time.

INXS started out as a bluesy bar band. Chicks like to dance so they made music for chicks to dance to.

Simon heard the INXS song Original Sin and became obsessed with it. The band tracked down that song’s producer —Nile Rogers— and begged to work with him. Nile reminded a DD song called “The Reflex.”

The record label didn’t want to release it because it sounded “too black.” The song was a global smash and DD’s first US #1.

Simon and Michael Hutchence (INXS lead singer/songwriter) were very close friends. Simon wrote a song about MH after his death.

I'm of that generation and INXS definitely had more cool factor.

That Simon LeBon song written for Hutchence makes me think they were screwing.

Simon recently got caught up in #metoo, but it sounded pretty weak. I think he's a lifelong ho, but not a rapist.

I graduated in 85. Guys did not consider them cool. I secretly loved Duran Duran but only girls admitted to it. I looked like Simon LeBon and some Duranie (as they were called) kept leaving love noted in my locker. I crushed hard on Roger and waited for MTV to show the Planet Earth or Rio videos where he appeared shirtless. I went with some girls to one of their concerts. Girls just screamed so you couldn't really hear. It was The Union of the Snake/Reflex tour.

DD was on par with Spandaux Ballet, Kajagoogoo, INXS, Haircut 100, Bananarama, Simple Minds, Culture Club, Thompson Twins. All varying degrees of quality in that group. I also loved Eurythmics at that he time. Also Cocteau Twins, Missing Persons and Berlin.

I dreamt that I would marry Simon LeBon, he was just the perfect man to me. I was in high school and me and my HS bff just loved DD. We saw them in concert in 1983. It literally was a dream come true. I think I still have the concert souvenir book!

INXS was Duran Duran for straight boys.

Nothing was a better cultural shift in the 80s than the combination of Thriller being released and the second British Invasion that Duran Duran helped usher in. Everything was suddenly different and colorful.

The visuals that their videos pioneered were fresh.

And they were the first and only act to have a James Bond theme go to #1 on the hot 100.

I loved Duran Duran back when they were a relatively obscure "New Wave" band that got a lot of airplay on KROQ, and I thought their videos to Planet Earth and Girls on Film were the coolest and their fashion were inspirational. But the "Rio" album and accompanying Russell Mulcahy videos pushed them to mainstream success, and the minute my sisters started hanging D2 posters on their walls and swooning over John and Roger was when they stopped being cool.

I thought they made good music. Not virtuoso musicians or anything, but it had such flavor.

I still listen to it.

Loved them when I was a kid. They came to Sydney to record Seven and the Ragged Tiger and stayed at a house in Vaucluse next door to my friend. We used to look into their garden from her upstairs bedroom window. Lots of pool parties, models etc. but unfortunately no orgies or other naughty activities. They used to source their coke from the local dealer who worked out of a laundromat in nearby Rose Bay!

One afternoon, we spotted Roger Taylor going for a walk alone and followed him to a local park. I am ashamed to admit that we disturbed his solitude by asking for a photo. He was very sweet and invited us to sit down and we chatted for a bit. We didn’t have the guts to tell him we were spying on the band from the house next door. He was a cool guy but over the whole sexual symbol thing.

What else? Oh, Simon Le Bon used to catch the bus down to Rose Bay. He had the misfortune to catch the bus one day when our school was just out so he he and his girlfriend Claire had to share the bus with a bunch of Kambala girls freaking out all over the place. He was so pissed off and sat furiously looking out the window while we perved away. He was not that attractive in real life. He was the living personification of a carb face.

Good times.

Now THAT is some good gossip! Thanks, R64!

I actually liked their version of Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)"tfrom the "Thank You" covers album. Kind of tongue in cheek of them to do it, considering the tremendous amounts of cocaine they did in the '80s

Love them

Still crush on Roger, 30 years later.

John Taylor was my first celebrity crush, I was more into Depeche Mode and all but I couldn't get enough of him.

They got way too much pay, in a short period of time they went from hot to not in a matter of months it seemed.

I was at the Reflex video filming. I was 12. By the time you hit junior high unless you were female. Duran Duran wasn't cool.

I was in college when Rio first hit and they were considered New Wave enough to be cool. Then they jumped the shark.

Wasn't one of the O.G. Degrassi Jnr. High characters a big fan of Duran Duran? I want to say it was Spike, but they don't seem edgy or punk enough for her taste and I honestly don't remember enough Degrassi to be sure.

bump

I always appreciated their use of the horn section.

Thought they did a great bond theme with "View to a Kill" but can't say i liked a lot of their 80s music

Think they got a lot respect with 1993's Duran Duran (the Wedding) album, and the singles "Come Undone" and "Ordinary World" have lasted

Thanks to Warren Cuccurullo for his big input into the album and for letting the brazilian magazine photograph his other big imput

Thanks, r76.

A friend of mine who was "of age" in England at the time insists that Duran Duran took a lot from the work of David Sylvian. Sylvian did it first and did it better, just didn't become as popular.

Well John said that they used to listen to Japan and liked their sound. Don't know how that would translate to them "taking" anything of that group.

And if he did it better, why wouldn't he or his band have become just as big as DD??

Duran Duran is one of my favorite bands of all time, and they're still making great music. Paper Gods and All You Need Is Now are fantastic albums.

Japan is also one of my favorite bands, but they broke up in the early 80s, and David Sylvian put out a few fantastic albums after that, but then went off in a direction I apparently couldn't follow... Secrets of the Beehive is one of my favorite albums ever, but after Gone To Earth, I just wasn't feeling it anymore.

I still listen to Duran Duran, and I own all the albums. And b-sides. And I'm not even remotely ashamed to say that.

yes, i loved them, own their CDs. Even hung out with Simon in NYC wayyyy back when.

Really, R81???

Do tell!!

"The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is one of the best songs ever written.

Well, after "Ordinary World" maybe.

At the time, they were dismissed as a haircut/synth band who lost credibility because they appealed to teenage girls. From about 1983-85 they were the biggest band in the world. In hindsight they had some great songs but never a classic album. And they could cut it live, although Simon leBon was - and remains - the worst singer and he wrote some really bad lyrics. I think he thought they were arty.

Simon is now a grandfather. #weareold

Many critics and fans consider “Rio” to be a classic album and one of the 80s’ best

Indeed. Both "Rio" and "Seven & The Ragged Tiger" are classic 80s albums.

Notorious was excellent too.

Big Thing... it was okay.

Liberty... poor, but with a few highlights nobody ever heard ("My Antarctica" is really good)

The Wedding Album is a classic for the 90s, and probably their best album.

I thought “Skin Trade”would have charted higher. Love Nile Rogers 80s output.

“I Don't Want Your Love” is a great pop song.

Their 90s return was great and garnered a lot of respect from people that thought they were done.

It was great pop fun.

I really love the song “Violence of Summer.” I don’t understand why it was a flop single.

I liked DD. I bought the debut album and "Rio." I liked the synth-rock new wave with a disco vibe. They lost me at "Union of the Snake."

But I LOVED the "Power Station" LP. Loud and funky. I still listen to it today, my favorites are "Communication" and "Lonely Tonight." Tony Thompson was the world's best drummer.

The drummer was hot as hell too. He bailed early, too much rock star pressure.

I loved "My own way". Great 12" versions as well.

Get angry at the weekend then go back to school So big deal, it's what rules

We were too busy dancing and having fun to scrutinize the lyrics for deep meanings

R92, but he's back with the band now and has been for the last couple of albums.

"Violence of Summer" was terrible. The "Liberty" album really killed their momentum (much like the 'Thank You" album destroyed it again after the Wedding Album).

R55, I disagree with the assertion that INXS started out as a "bluesy bar band". If you listen to their earliest songs, like Simple Simon, We are the Vegetables, Just Keep Walking, etc., it's pure 2nd Wave Ska.

INXS is to Duran Duran what the Bangles are to the Go-Go's.

Here's Warren Cuccurullo's massive schlong in a porno.

Japan is under-rated. It's interesting how they started out as a sort of Velvet Underground knock-off, and then went full art-rock/new-wave, and then grew into their name with two very Asian themed albums, ending with the superb "Tin Drum". I was very sad when they broke up. David sylvian then did three excellent solo albums before falling into his own navel and becoming so niche that his music became very hard for most people to even grasp let alone appreciate. No hooks, very self-indulgent. Though his one album with Robert Fripp was pretty damn good. He worked best with Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Warren getting stroked by a hot gay guy:

Wow, that video of Warren in the shower is hot as fuck. Did he do more vids, are they out there?

This 80s teen boy was a Durannie from the moment I saw their early videos. They were my first concert experience, at age 13, and I'll never forget it. I was right in the front, and the smell of dry ice, weed, and sweat I remember too.

Reach Up For The Sunrise... such a great song.

Both Pop Trash and Astronaut are under-rated, under-appreciated pop albums.

Why did Warren do all that porn stuff?

No idea. But it was likely because of that, that he was booted from Duran Duran.

It was really weird though.

I grew up during peak Duran Duran. A couple of things - they were, obviously, mega popular. You couldn't escape them as they were on the radio, on TV, played at dances.

In the VERY beginning, they were briefly (at least at my school) sort of alternative cool and the arty kids adopted them, but that ended very quickly and they were just sort of a generalist pop band. That said, I don't remember a lot of backlash, like you were uncool for liking them. On the flip side, once they were huge, it wasn't particularly cool to listen to them. Boys enjoyed them, but often wouldn't admit it. A lot of girls thought Lebon and Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes were cute (why not Roger?) so they were seen more as a chick band. But, again, I don't remember boys being chastised for liking their songs. Maybe the ones who adopted the look got come flack, but those new wave/alt kids would have got flack no matter who they listened to. But, that's just my school.

Critical acclaim? I don't remember. No one said they were awful (I think). I guess it would matter if the critic was viewing them through a pop lense or, as is often the case, holding them up to the standard which essentially devalues everything other than straight forward rock.

The Notorious album got a lot of critical acclaim.

They did get some critical acclaim, but using the low bar of a pop act. I don't think critics saw them as a Modern Rock band at all.

John is an incredible bass player.

Saw them at Seattle's Show Box Theatre July 1982; it was their "Rio" tour. Great show. Simon and John were so hawt!

If you were alive at the time amd enjoying pop music and MTV it was hugely thrilling to enjoy the videos for “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Rio” upon their release. It was colorful and exciting. And then to delve into their back catalogue and discover “Girls on Film” and “Planet Earth” it was great fun.

When I first saw "Planet Earth" on MTV, I ran out and bought the Duran Duran album. Well before "Rio".

It was awesome. I listened to it forever. Lots of great tracks, and not a single bad one. Then Rio … and again, the best tracks weren't the singles ("New Religion" is still one of my favorites).

I remember Duran Duran as a new wave/androgynous group-blending the lines between male and female. They stirred emotions and feelings that were difficult for me to face.

Music for me during those years was definitely an escape.

A pretty view always means so much to me.

I was 21 when they hit it big in the U.S. Absolutely despised their pretty-boy looks and their pop sound, but changed my mind with their '90s comeback. "Come Undone" was one of my favorite songs from that era.

Ordinary World, and Come Undone are fantastic songs.

That entire album was amazing.

Whenever I watch the “Save a Prayer” video I want to go back to Sri Lanka again to see those places, I skipped most of the interior of the country in order to spend time at the beaches, which I regret all these years later.

Simon’s lyric writing is almost Yoko Ono esque, just putting weird words and phrases in just to match the music. He admits that most of it is just BS.

I just started high school when they came onto the scene, and they were on MTV, and MTV was just about to become very cool. As I recall they received critical acclaim, for both their music and their innovative videos. They brought about the second British invasion, and amped MTV's presence in popular culture.

This is how I recall it, but who knows, I'm an old.

Desert island DD song: The Reflex

The Reflex is about Masturbation. The Union of the Snake is about Tantric Sex. Ordinary World is about Navigating Grief. Etc.

The lyrics aren’t gobbledygook if you care enough to listen to them.

The lyrics for "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" are amazing and heart-breaking.

I always loved the songs "The Seventh Stranger" and "Land" (off Seven and the Ragged Tiger, and Big Thing, respectively)…. great music, great lyrics, and definitely not "singles".

Honestly, I love their instrumentals too... they don't do many, but they're good. Tel Aviv is amazing and still stands up today all these decades later (from their first album). Tiger Tiger is good too.

My favorite Duran Duran. Hard to explain how exciting this music sounded to a 21 year old gay guy who'd just landed in L.A. Perfect soundtrack.

All. She. Wants. Is. … More.

This song and video was the first time I started to hear those who dismissed them before start to admit they liked them... I think this song found them a new audience and marked the pivot from their teeny-bopper years to more mature music and audiences.

Electric Barbarella … almost mocking their beginnings, from the graffiti on the Rio cover, to the mention of 'Barbarella", the movie that they got their name from.

Also the first real influence of Warren into their music. He was an official member on their previous album, but he really started contributing with this one, and you could hear his influence.

An arbitrary top ten Duran Duran songs video:

It's a nice trip down memory lane.

The people in Duran Duran were the only people good-looking enough to pull off being in Duran Duran.

When did male musicians in makeup go out of style? It seems like it was something that everyone did back in the day.

There’s something deliciously Euro kinky about their music from the around 1989 on.

Nick was the guy I liked in the band but so sad to see him doing the comb over now!

The video at R126 was filmed during the height of John Taylor’s drug daze. He looks gaunt and sick from all the coke and heroin. I’m glad that he got clean.

Too Much Information

Loved a lot of their songs, but my favorite is probably this:

Went into a beautiful rabbit hole after I clicked on R134's link.

My god, they were beautiful!! I even saw a video I dint think I had ever seen!! 😳😳. Or at least not in a very long time. They want you to sign in for The Chauffer and the Girls On Film videos 🙄🙄

I even watched the 20 minute Queen set from Live Aid. Freddy certainly ruled that stadium.

I was too yong in the 80s to weigh in on the OP’s questions, but others have summed it up well. Back then, I was really into them, and it was cool for a kid to have MTV in my small town, and DD signified the MTV generation. Elaborate videos, Antony Price suits (sleeves rolled up!), catchy songs. Simon was my first crush, and then it didn’t take long to shift to John and Nick.

I prefer their earlier albums, back when they were striving for “Chic meets Sex Pistols.” You can hear that influence in the baselines and drums of the first album. Many years later looking back, I had wished their late 80s music had taken them more in a direction like The Cure and Depeche Mode 1986-1990.

While never broken up, I loved that all five got back together in the early 2000s. (I thought that was more why Warren left, as he also went back to Missing Persons. Didn’t know about those adult videos though!) The Wedding Album was the last album I paid attention to. Really good. But short-lived.I felt they got a little bland. Wish Andy would spill more about his second departure in 08 (was it?). Apparently he and Roger did not feel the album was ready and also did not feel Timbaland’s influence was a good fit, but the others overrode them. I always wonder if Nick (then Simon) have more of a say because they have been there the longest. That’sthe vibe I used to get. Could be completely off.

These guys are all pushing 60, and from what I last saw, still look great. I don’t listen to their newest anymore, but it’s nice they still are together.

Once reunited, they had an album ready for release (“Reportage”) which was scrapped entirely once Timberlake and Timbaland became available. This decision was what forced Andy out the door for the second (final?) time.

They’ve teased that Reportage, on which all 5 original members perform, may one day be released.

I think their last two albums have been among their best.

This isn’t bad, still like it as an Eldergay.

Duran Duran - Last Night in the City featuring Kiesza (Official Music Video)

Duran Duran - Pressure Off (feat. Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers) [Official Music Video]

Duran Duran (Reach Up For The) Sunrise (Official Music Video)

Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now (Official Music Video)

Simon le Bon has had a pretty charmed life. Not too much anguish there. Lucky guy.

Well, except for that almost dying in the boating accident thing, R144...

Duran Duran may have been cool in the early days of "Girls on Film."

But they became a huge pop band, and I loathed - LOATHED - the Durannies. They were awful fraus in training.

One of the great surprises of my life.....is that apparently, Nick Rhodes is straight

I never cared for them and they absolutely dominated at the end of my HS years and into early College. It seemed as if Hungry like a Wolf was in absolute constant rotation on MTV. From that timeframe, this style - I preferred The Cure. Recently I was paining a room with the radio on and Ordinary World came on and I was enjoying it so much that when I looked it up after to hear it again I was actually surprised it was by DD - a band I remember not being fond of.

the beautiful John Taylor today

John T looks good but he's HAD to have had some work (or airbrushing) done.

ROFL, R47

That reminds me of the night me, my buds, and seemingly every other stoner teenager in SF were packed onto the same bus, off to catch "The Song Remains The Same" at the Geary Theater. As the coach rolled into the gutter by the curb stop, dozens of empties began making their way down the aisle toward the driver (a youngish, cool dude I knew well). He announced, "OK! Clean up crew, or I'm locking you in here and no Led Zep for anyone". We laughed, and complied.

Duran Duran were alright in my book..beach music with teeth, as a friend once described them. I was a college radio snob back then-and hated it when bands I liked got onto commercial radio. Still, when MTV came to the West Coast I taped five hours worth of it to see what the fuss was all about. First song..Elvis Costello's cover of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding". Next up.."Rio" Hehe.

From Ab Fab's Fashion episode:

[quote] BUBBLE: Well, her husband's just phoned and said "Simon Le Bon", which I thought was really amusing.

[quote] EDINA: Amusing, darling? Yeah.

[quote] BUBBLE: Very modern of him to take his wife's name.

Wasn’t Princess Diana a big fan?

Surprised how much I like "Paper Gods" including the cover. You can get the deluxe version for really cheap on ebay, by the way.

John mentioned that his parents had gotten Roger Moore's autograph when they went to the movie premiere.

Of course Charles and Diana were there as well.

He didn't detail the times the group met with Diana for various charity functions.

The more I think about it, the more I think his autobiography was seriously lacking in details.

Andy's book was much more detailed than John's. It was a good read.

R147, surprisingly I always thought he was straight. He was just an arty, fey, mannered straight boy. I can understand the urge to consider him gay and wouldn't be surprised at all if he was. But, not all straight guys follow the square jaw macho script.

"It seemed as if Hungry like a Wolf was in absolute constant rotation on MTV. From that timeframe, this style - I preferred The Cure. "

See, in my HS world, that's a comparison that would never be made. Duran Duran was a pop band. A respected pop band, but a pop band nonetheless. The Cure, even thought they had some great poppy singles, was viewed as a different thing entirely (representing Goth, Alt Rock, indie rock, and to some degree musical sophistication). No Cure fan in my youth would ever feel the need to say that they like The Cure better than DD - even if they were exposed to and listened to both. "I prefer The Cure to the Smiths" or "I prefer The Cure to New Order" would have been a comparison that was articulated. But, again, that's just my HS.

I need to find it then, R156.

So nick married a midwestern department store heiress seemingly out of the blue at the height of his fame and young femme-ness I always wondered what her parents thought when she brought him home. She was also about a foot taller than him if you google their wedding pix.

They haven't done many videos for their latest several albums, and in many cases, it seems like obvious singles have gone unreleased (with no associated videos of course). Strange.

Not enough love for Arcadia. I love that album, those videos. More than one critic described it as “the best record DD never made.”

R137 That’s right! I forgot an actual album was completed and scrapped to produce with Timbaland (who had his hand in everything during that time, ugh). I now remember reading that was also a big part of Andy’s reason for departing. Thanks for the remind.

I always wondered if Andy could have had a better solo career starting in the late 80s if he had better management (or whatever else kept him from it). By 2004, I had completely forgotten of his solo work until VH1 Classic played a video. He fit right in with Bon Jovi and the like of the time.

Talented but did Andy have that kind of star power? He was always the DD member I could recognize the least.

Hungry Like The Wolf is one of the catchiest songs ever, but still has a big failing imo, gibberish lyrics.

Andy was on fire in the mid 80s with his work with Robert Palmer, Belinda Carlisle, and that huge Rod Stewart album.

There’s a funny clip on YouTube that isolates all of the Andy scenes in DD music videos. It’s a very short clip.

R164 Maybe not as a solo rock artist, but being in a legitimate rock band would have been a good fit following Powerstation.

Hungry Like The Wolf is a great song, for sure. I always thought Simon Le Bon couldn't sing for shit, though. Too screachy for my tastes.

Saw them live last year. Great show.

They were a dirty little secret band where it was not cool to like them, but you secretly buy all their albums.

Compared to today's bands who don't even write their own material, they would be considered very talented for doing that themselves, but in the 80s that was no big deal. How things have changed!

I realize it was a big hit but Notorious is a fantastic song.

The whole Notorious album is fantastic. Might be my favorite of them all.

My favorite varies... Rio, Ragged Tiger, Notorious, Wedding Album, Paper Gods, the first album (self titled), and All You Need Is Now.

They were one of the cool bands of the British MTV invasion.......I can still remember being in the club SPIT in Orlando during summer 1982 and seeing their GIRLS ON FILM (uncut) video played.....the big dance clubs had giant video screens (square box projection)...Human League DON'T YOU WANT ME and The Go-Go's VACATION were big that summer.....also remember seeing Missing Person's MENTAL HOPSCOTCH video then as well........the whole time and scene was a lot of fun....but REFLEX really did take them out of the cool clubs and turn them over to the teenage girls......

The Reflex sounded like nothing else on the radio at the time.

Same was true of "Wild Boys"

I don't think any other band could have pulled off making THAT song a hit.

R174 I liked “The Reflex,” but comparing that music video to the video for “Girls on Film” (and those from “Rio”) really did symbolize the unfavorable change.

The Red Carpet Massacre only had one video produced, and it was an overly-extended 'mini-movie' that was dull, and not one of the better songs on the album.

I'll never understand why "Skin Divers" wasn't released, and/or wasn't a big dance club hit.