Riding new wave of pop success, Duran Duran
might finally get respect it deserves!
BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
TIMES-DISPATCH (VA)
Oct 14, 2004

Duran Duran
• Title: "Astronaut"
• Label: Epic Records
• Highlights: "Want You More," "Astronaut," "Nice," "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise"







Forget the late, great Rodney Dangerfield. If you want to talk about no respect, look no further than the quintet from Birmingham, England, that created a New Wave revolution in the'80s yet is still reviled by many simply because, well, they wear makeup and look great in suits.

It's been 21 years since the original lineup of Duran Duran entered a studio, and its return isn't of interest merely to now-thirtysomething females who spent their adolescence drooling over John Taylor's frosted bangs and Simon LeBon's hip thrusts. Witness this week's spate of high-profile press, from the New York Times to Entertainment Weekly, heaped on Duran since its heralded return.

It would have been easy to ride the'80s pop-culture resurgence that has been bubbling the past couple of years, but what most Duran detractors tend to forget is that this was never a prefabricated song-and-dance troupe. This is a band, with one of pop's meatiest rhythm sections in bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor. Rounded out by stylish keyboard wizard Nick Rhodes, guitarist Andy Taylor (none of the Taylors are related) and charismatic singer LeBon, Duran Duran clearly isn't interested in nostalgia.

By seeking production assistance from knob-twiddlers as diverse as Dallas Austin (Janet Jackson, Pink) and Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte), the band ensured itself a fresh sound. Some of it, like the flitting guitar and buzzing keyboards of "Want You More," is as contemporary as anything No Doubt has tossed to radio in recent years, yet its chorus will sit comfortably with longtime fans.

John Taylor's sprightly bass line anchors the album's first single, "(Reach Up For the) Sunrise," as well as the title track both which sport a giddy, danceable chorus. One of the most surprising elements of the album, particularly on the slinky, Euro-trash "Nice," is the unusual smoothness of LeBon's voice. When a version of Duran Duran returned to the charts in the early'90s with "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone," his vocals were uncharacteristically unwhiny then, too. But those were ballads, on which LeBon has always soared (see "Save a Prayer" for reference). These aren't.

Don't know what we're talking about? Then you'll probably never understand Duran Duran's impact on pop culture, which more than deserves a little respect.

JediMaster said:

YES!!!! I REST MY CASE!!!!

this was never a prefabricated song-and-dance troupe. This is a band, with one of pop's meatiest rhythm sections in bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor. Rounded out by stylish keyboard wizard Nick Rhodes, guitarist Andy Taylor and charismatic singer LeBon, Duran Duran clearly isn't interested in nostalgia.

VinaBlue said:

by the way, got Astronaut today! Need to listen to it a few times to really get a feel for it.

This is a good article...

Duran Duran comes back for more
11:07 pm 10/14/04
Rebecca Louie New York Daily News


They're back: Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran have a new single, "(Reach Up for The ) Sunrise."
(Yui Mok � Associated Press)
There's nothing like releasing a rotten record to fuel nostalgia for a band at its bygone peak.

In 2000, Duran Duran unleashed the critical and commercial flop "Pop Trash."

"It was a complete disaster. I was thinking, 'How do I get out of this?' " singer Simon LeBon recalls. He and keyboardist Nick Rhodes were the only members of the hitmaking early '80s edition of the British group to collaborate on the record.

Three years ago, LeBon, in a fit of depression, consulted former Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, who quit the band as it began recording 1997's "Medazzaland."

"John came up with the rather ingenious brainwave that we get the band together," LeBon says. "It was something I had been thinking about, at least once a day, since 1988."


LeBon, Rhodes, Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor (who are unrelated) first reconvened in an office in London.

"We sat around a table and started talking," Rhodes says. "Within 10 minutes, it was as if all the space between us, over all these years, had melted away. We were arguing about the same things, like where are we going to do the album, when, how, who is going to take care of what? Everybody's character was still intact, for better or for worse."

Though they had not all recorded together since 1983's "Seven and the Ragged Tiger," they composed more than 30 tracks, 13 of which made it onto "Astronaut," the first in a four-album deal with Sony. It was released this week.

"It was really quite joyous to be back together," Rhodes says of the first recording session in the south of France in June 2001. "We all had time to play with other people, and I think we realized the power and chemistry of this lineup."

That energy was tested when the group reunited for a second recording session in September 2001. The group wrote several somber pieces in response to the 9/11 attacks.

"The attacks had a profound affect on us," LeBon says. "But there is no point on the album where there is hopelessness. We never give up hope as a band. For us, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel."

Named after a character in Roger Vadim's 1968 psychedelic sci-fi movie "Barbarella," Duran Duran formed in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Initially a leading light of the flamboyant New Romantics movement that emerged from the New Wave, the group, adored by teenage girls, swiftly became a pop phenomenon. This was thanks to the guys' pinup looks and their clever pop videos for such catchy hits as "Girls on Film," "Rio," and "The Reflex."

Exhausted after a series of sold-out tours, Duran Duran went on hiatus in 1985. LeBon, Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor formed Arcadia; John and Andy Taylor had a brief run with singer Robert Palmer in Power Station in 1985 and a less successful one in 1996. Duran Duran also had a mid- 1990s comeback with the hits "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone."

"Other acts were never able to get past the 1980s," says Rick Krim, executive vice president of music and talent at VH1. "Madonna survived by being a chameleon, changing with the times. AC/DC hasn't done a single thing different in 30 years and they may be as big now as they ever were. Duran Duran managed to do a little bit of both. The guys still look great and manage to make contemporary music that sounds like Duran Duran but is not necessarily nostalgic or retro."

"We've finally gotten to the stage where everybody is acting like they did when they were in their 20s," LeBon says. "Not in the way that we were up all night taking drugs and chasing women around, but where we just go and do what we have to do to get the job done. It used to be that everyone tried to inspire the other four people as much as they could. That's still there. And (knowing that) makes us a lot more aware of each other and what we can do, making us more tolerant and appreciative as well."

I would have to say that I am excited about the new album

I finally watched the dvd last night and the performances were AMAZING!!! And to see all those joyous fans brought a tear to my eye. I'm TRULY happy for them. Yeah, Andy was a bit off-key but Simon was ON! And Nick... Roger looked GREAT! How about those close ups? John was grooving out... I really liked seeing the jam sessions. They should do more of that on stage.

POP QUIZ: JOHN TAYLOR OF DURAN DURAN
Aidin Vaziri

Sunday, October 17, 2004


When we called bassist John Taylor, 44, to talk about Duran Duran's reunion album, "Astronaut," he was sound asleep. So we woke him up. Having already made us wait 17 years for the original lineup to get back together, another five minutes was just too much to bear. During his time away from the yacht-loving British group, Taylor moved to Los Angeles, got a divorce, completed rehab, played the Viper Room and got married. Roughly in that order. But that's all on hold as Duran Duran's latest single, "(Reach Up for the) Sunrise" climbs the charts and the band plots a spring arena tour.

Q: I'm sorry I interrupted your nap.

A: I don't know what I thought I was doing having a nap. I'll rest when I'm dead.

Q: Today you're in Germany, tomorrow it's Sweden, the next day Italy. I guess it's back on for Duran Duran.

A: We're not even staying here tonight. We're flying to Stockholm. We really are back on whatever we were on and haven't been on in a long time.

Q: I hope you, personally, are not on anything you used to be on.

A: Oh, right. No. It's all good, clean fun.

Q: Is it hard doing all this work without a platter of cocaine in your face?

A: Oh, no. It's perfectly fine. It's more fun, actually. I'm definitely a lot more present, just really getting a kick out of it. It's like old friends reunited, traveling the world and making music. How bad can that be?

Q: What made getting back together with people you used to hate seem like a good idea?

A: I don't know. The music is leading us. Nothing's changed. Nobody had discovered Jesus or anything. We've all come back essentially being the same raw material that we were before. But we didn't have to think too much about it, really. It happened naturally.

Q: And you all lived together?

A: We did in the beginning.

Q: Please tell me that was like an episode of "The Monkees."

A: It was quite interesting. The basic characteristics were all there. If you know anything about family dynamics, there's a lot of that in the band. We had to work through some stuff, but we're all very passionate about music and we all believe in the band and what we can do together. And nobody quit.

Q: Who's the worst roommate in Duran Duran?

A: Well, there are a lot of different dynamics between all of us, and it's quite complicated. There are plenty of complex relationships.

Q: That's a good diplomatic yet meaningless answer. What about how singer Simon LeBon won't drink anything that has ice cubes made from tap water?

A: You got that out of the New York Times? Anybody traveling as much as we do avoids tap water. It just sounds so f -- pretentious when you see it written down.

Q: What about guitarist Andy Taylor -- did you ask him why he sued you?

A: I'm not very confrontational. I think that everybody came to play, and that was clear. Everything else can be worked out along the way.

Q: And you, do you miss your macrobiotic oatmeal, neurotic Chihuahuas and Juicy Couture tracksuits back in L.A.?

A: Yeah, I do, actually. But I had a few years of that. I needed to reinvigorate myself and lay down some roots. I needed to get some perspective. Whatever it is I learned while I was in L.A. helped me a lot. It's helping me now.