06/2015
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Duran Duran's forthcoming album has officially been given a name.

It will be called Paper Gods, the group tweeted. The album is slated for release in September, although no specific release date has been confirmed.

Back in March, drummer Roger Taylor told ABC Radio that fans should expect something grand from Paper Gods. "We've been working on it for two years and it's a real epic, actually: it's going to be an epic record," he said. "It's a real broad sound that we have on this record."

The band worked on the album with the likes of hit maker Mark Ronson; singer Janelle Monae, who appears on the album's lead single "Pressure Off"; and Chic mastermind Nile Rodgers.

Tickets for Duran Duran's U.S. tour dates go on sale to the general public on June 20 with the exception of tickets for the Hollywood Bowl and Greek Theatre shows which go on sale June 27.

U.S. tour dates:

08/05 -- Riverhead, NY, FOLD Festival, Martha Clara Vineyard
08/06 -- Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks
09/20 -- Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheater
09/23 -- Puyallup, WA, Washington State Fair
09/25 -- Reno, NV, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
09/27 -- San Diego, CA, Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
10/01 -- Los Angeles, CA, Hollywood Bowl
10/02 -- Berkeley, CA, The Greek Theater
10/03 -- Rancho Mirage, CA, Agua Caliente Casino

Can't wait!

With the news of the new a-ha single "Under the Make - Up " coming July 3rd and the "cast in steel" album on September 4th, Duran Duran is lining up around the same time interesting summer to fall coming.

"Pressure Off" is on Google Play & Spotify now. Not on itunes as of yet.

Incredibly catchy!

[Edited 6/25/15 8:29am]

Bitchin .. saw them in concert a few yrs ago it'll be good to see them again.

I really like the new song but I'm not keen on how Simon's voice sounds. It seems like they've put something over it? I dunno, it's a really good song asides from that.

I hope I can see them live in Manchester in November, John went into one of the record shops I frequent when they played there last and I actually gave the shop owners a drawing I did that in case he ever came in again they'd get him to sign omfg

It's a good song, catchy etc...good for a leadoff to get some attention, I think the thing that is weird with the vocal is it is a very BUSY mix of sounds and things going around that almost drown the vocal out, or seem like his vocal has alot of effects on it.

I like it. It's cool. I do agree though the vocal seems quite processed.

The problem is this is kind of hard to find to buy. It's not on amazon or itunes. You have to go to juno or google play.

Just watched that Unstaged thing a couple of weeks ago--I don't know that I'd heard anything since that covers album back in the mid-90s, so I was pleasantly surprised by the more recent things the played in that show. I'm more than a little intrigued.

Are any of you going watching them on their tour? I've never seen them live so I'm really excited lol

Angelsoncrack said:

Are any of you going watching them on their tour? I've never seen them live so I'm really excited lol

I've never seen them either, but I want to. So far their tour isn't coming near me. The US dates so far are mostly festivals at least on the East Coast.

it's an OK song,but it just makes me more excited fot that new Chic album,which is due this fall

they should just release the single to iTunes, dont get the whole letting a single get streams for a band that has 30 years under their belt. It's not like they are gonna have a HIT single with this, they are too old, and I'm not saying that to put down, to me its great. If that is how the business is now and has been, then it deserves to be bankrupt of artists with longevity.

lastdecember said:

they should just release the single to iTunes, dont get the whole letting a single get streams for a band that has 30 years under their belt. It's not like they are gonna have a HIT single with this, they are too old, and I'm not saying that to put down, to me its great. If that is how the business is now and has been, then it deserves to be bankrupt of artists with longevity.

You bring up a good point.I'm beginning to think that it might be best for veteran artists to stop releasing singles altogether.Just put the album out and focus on strong worldwide sales of the album.Radio is not gonna play new singles from veteran groups and artists who have been around 30 years or more.The new Chic single,"I'll Be There" (which is excellent) didn't go anywhere,so why bother playing that game? Radio is just gonna ignore their new singles.

It is finally available on itunes and amazon now. Yes, older artists won't have a hit, but I guess they use singles for promotion purposes.

They want a song they can make a video for and then perform on various tv shows. It gets people excited about the album rather than trying to be a stand alone hit.

^With the new Billboard rules regarding streaming and video views, I'm hoping this can break the Top 40.

Nick715 said:

^With the new Billboard rules regarding streaming and video views, I'm hoping this can break the Top 40.

Seriously doubt it. If Madonna can't break the Top 40 with her much talked about BIM video, I doubt DD is going to. Face it, the hit making days of these people past 50 are over. Just enjoy the music and them live.

lastdecember said:

Glindathegood said:

Nick715 said:

^With the new Billboard rules regarding streaming and video views, I'm hoping this can break the Top 40.

Seriously doubt it. If Madonna can't break the Top 40 with her much talked about BIM video, I doubt DD is going to. Face it, the hit making days of these people past 50 are over. Just enjoy the music and them live.

Yeah, but the industry has always been kinder to older males than females.

peppeken said:

lastdecember said:

With the news of the new a-ha single "Under the Make - Up " coming July 3rd and the "cast in steel" album on September 4th, Duran Duran is lining up around the same time interesting summer to fall coming.

Did aha not split up for good a couple of years back with the " butterfly" single and tour ?

Well in this case the ONE who voted to not split up, won out and since he is the one controlling and getting the bigger cut in $$$ publishing and "Take On Me" turning 30, and they were asked to play one show in RIO, that has turned into a new album in September and tour all through 2016, they have a 2 year deal only so technically they really arent together and seeing how the promo is going so far, the 3 are doing it very seperately. I dont look at this like when Duran reformed with all members or a "reunion" tour, as aha members said if you are going to these shows they are going to be VERY different than "hits laundry list" tour they did to close out.

That new song is ridiculously catchy, great single I have to say.

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/BxKMl0u.png?1[/img:$uid]

Take the 'Pressure Off': Behind-the-Scenes Video

DURAN DURAN RECLAIM THEIR EIGHTIES THRONE WITH NEW ALBUM 'PAPER GODS'

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Duran Duran circa 2015: Boys on Film Photo by Stephanie Pistel

Back in September of 1981, Simon John Charles Le Bon, 23, along with his band of sharp-dressed music-makers, hit American shores for the first time as Duran Duran.

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Though the British quintet had only two club shows booked in the NYC area — one at the Spit in Long Island, the other at the Peppermint Lounge on West 45th in Manhattan — the group’s 1981 self-titled debut featured “Girls on Film" and “Planet Earth" as its first and second songs. So, reminisces Le Bon fondly, “By club standards, we arrived to a massive following; it was brilliant.”

Also brilliant? Their debauched adventures in the pre–Rudolph Giuliani–ized Big Apple. “Drugs, mostly. Sex. Booze. You know, that sort of thing,” Le Bon says, cheekily. “[A] normal Eighties rock 'n' roll lifestyle.”

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If Duran Duran’s cheekbones-and-hair-gel presence and oeuvre seem omnipresent today, historical context sets the stage for the band’s first stateside foray: In 1981, their genre was “New Romantic.” There was no internet. Then-president Ronald Reagan was shot in March of that year. “Bette Davis Eyes” was topping the charts. The first recognized cases of AIDS were discovered. It was the year Amy Schumer was born.

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Yes, it was that long ago that the Duranies — in their original core lineup of keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor, and guitarist Andy Taylor (now joined, since 2006, by touring guitarist Dom Brown) — set hearts and radios aflame. Nearly 35 years later, Duran Duran are back with the captivating and contemporary fourteen-cut gem Paper Gods, out September 11, rife with a sound that mines and expands on their infectious early pop-dance style to fine effect.

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The road from Rio to Paper Gods began with 2010’s All You Need Is Now, as Le Bon explains. “[Producer] Mark Ronson’s brief to Duran Duran for that was, ‘I want Duran Duran to reclaim the Eighties.’ That was how he felt.” The boys in the band didn’t disagree. “We were listening to this stuff like the Killers and Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand, who kind of have an Eighties sound, and Mark said, ‘You’re one of the originals of this sound; you should have it. It should be yours.' "

They figured why not, and gave it a go. Following the poorly received “urban” outing Red Carpet Massacre, All You Need “worked a treat,” the frontman says. “It was really great for us. We won a lot of fans back; we connected very much with our following with that record.”

That sort of throwback experiment can be easier said than done (successfully), but it worked, so when it came time to do a follow-up, Ronson was back on board. But a few weeks into the album, Ronson had to leave to make Uptown Special, his record that would spawn the massive hit “Uptown Funk.”

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But a boost came from an unlikely source: Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. “John Taylor got a message from John Frusciante, and the message was this: ‘I heard Duran Duran are back in the studio making a new album. I would love to play on the album.’ We were like, ‘YES PLEASE.’ He’s one of the most individual-sounding and iconic guitarists who has ever lived,” Le Bon raves. “He’s right up there with Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, all the Jimmys,” he laughs. “Nile Rodgers and Dave Gilmour, these absolute gods of guitar. He’s in the top ten as far as I’m concerned…AND John Lee Hooker must go in there.”

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Frusciante was the catalyst that sped up Paper Gods, another fortuitous collaboration being Ronson’s suggestion of Rodgers, the Chic co-founder and in-demand guitarist and producer. Then came U.K. singer/songwriter/producer Mr. (Benjamin) Hudson. There was a geographical kinship with the latter, as he was a “Brummie as well; you know, the band is a Brummie [from Birmingham] band,” explains Le Bon. Yet they tested him. "Ben comes down, we don’t play him anything, we just felt, ‘Put your money where your mouth is.' And we bang out three songs in a row — ‘You Kill Me With Silence,’ his first offering, within half an hour," says Le Bon, still sounding incredulous. "Then we do ‘Paper Gods,’ then ‘Sunset Garages.' The songs had so much freshness and power. Ben just went, ‘OK, I think the album is finished.’ He was the big gel that pulled the whole album together. He was massively, massively important.”

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'The paper gods are ephemeral. Maybe it’s fashion, maybe it’s money: all this stuff that really doesn’t matter that we seem to get so crazy about.'

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The title track is arguably the album’s strongest, though initially Le Bon, in a snit, ignored the tune. “The band had done the song without me in the studio, and presented it to me. I’m always like, ‘I don’t like it, you did it without me.' And I kinda walked away and went to the toilet. So while I was in the loo having a piss, I started singing the melody, the main chorus melody,” he says, launching into the song. “Because the chords were still going round in my head. I came back and said, ‘OK guys, let me try something before we throw it in the bin. I started singing it on the microphone and it turned into what it is: the best song on the album.”

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Lyrically, it’s pure Duran Duran, high-society social commentary you can easily rock at karaoke. Lyrics include: “Find peace with matching bag…So hang it out online, confess and you’ll feel fine...And if you got the time to spare, we want to know which name you’re wearing.” Le Bon, who has been married to former model Yasmin since 1985, calls it “very Duran Duran because there’s a little kind of play, a vagueness.”

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Actually, it’s more New York Fashion Week than vague — more Vogue than vague, even — but as Le Bon notes, “It just looks at different aspects of modern life, things that maybe distract us from more important things. The paper gods are ephemeral. Maybe it’s fashion, maybe it’s money: all this stuff that really doesn’t matter that we seem to get so crazy about.” In Brit-speak: a piss-take. “It’s not a criticism; it’s a commentary, a snapshot,” he affirms.

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The architects of “Girls on Film” know their snapshots. And when asked to look back at those early days — especially as they play their 30-year-old hits in concert — Le Bon turns thoughtful, and speaks in the third person. “If I was a Duran Duran fan, I’d feel ripped off if they didn’t play ‘Rio’ and ‘Hungry Like the Wolf,’ because they’d be two of my favorite songs. And we’re all mindful of that,” he says, returning to himself. “There was a time when [past hits] felt like millstones around our necks. But the beauty of them and the resilience of them is something to be proud of. You play them now and think, ‘We fucking wrote this song, this is us.’ There’s a lot to be said for that. I’d rather it was Duran Duran who wrote songs than anybody else.”

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Duran Duran play August 1 and 2 at the Capitol Theatre, August 4 at the South Street Seaport, and August 5 at Nile Rodgers's FOLD Festival. For ticket information, click here.

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Duran Duran - 2015 Tour Dates
08/01 Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
08/02 Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
08/04 NYC @ South Street Seaport
08/05 Riverhead, NY @ FOLD Festival
08/06 Bethlehem, PA @ Musikfest - ArtsQuest Center
09/01 Ibiza @ Ibiza Gran Hotel
09/05 Gibraltar @ Gibraltar Music Festival
09/11 Isle Of Wight, UK @ Bestival
09/20 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre ***
09/23 Puyallup, WA @ Washington State Fair *
09/25 Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre - Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
09/26 Las Vegas, NV @ Life Is Beautiful Festival
09/27 San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Union Open Air Theatre **
10/01 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl ***
10/02 San Francisco, CA @ The Greek Theatre, Berkeley ***
10/03 Rancho Mirage, CA @ The Show Agua Caliente Casino **
11/27 Manchester, UK @ Manchester Arena
11/28 Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
11/30 Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
12/02 Brighton, UK @ Brighton Centre
12/04 Birmingham, UK @ Genting Arena
12/05 Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena
12/06 Glasgow, Scotland @ The SSE Hydro
12/08 London, UK @ O2 Arena
12/09 Bournemouth, UK @ Bournemouth International Centre
12/11 Nottingham, UK @ Capital FM Arena
12/12 Liverpool, UK @ Echo Arena
* w/ CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers
** w/ Clean Bandit
*** w/ Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Clean Bandit

[Edited 7/30/15 8:26am]

TheGoldStandard said:

DURAN DURAN RECLAIM THEIR EIGHTIES THRONE WITH NEW ALBUM 'PAPER GODS'

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/duran-duran-reclaim-their-eighties-throne-with-new-album-paper-gods-7427028

Thanks for posting this article!

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