I know he left the DD tour temporarily last week to be with his father (the Web site says he passed away Tuesday) RIP
Has DD announced when Andy will be back?
[Edited 3/25/05 17:43pm]

Andy returned to the tour yesterday for the Detroit show. I was thinking maybe he would return late March or early April, but yeah he's back. Then he's leaving again for his dad's funeral late next week, and then coming back that following day. Did you read his message about his dad? It was really touching. I was holding back tears after I read it.

Actually I am surprised that the other 2 Taylor guys in the band are not with Andy and his family!! I thought all the Taylor guys were related, maybe even brothers!!! ????

Gold319 said:

Same last name, but no relation. I can't believe it still comes up after 20 years. I read that all the time in articles, and even in interviews, they have to say that they aren't related. If you line them up, and didn't know their last names, I wouldn't be able to see any resemblance between them.

funkyslsistah said:

"
Oh my goodness. Thanks for letting me know I just read it on his website. Wow.

www.andytaylor.com

"Ron Taylor 1937-2005

Sadly my father passed away yesterday morning, peacefully and painlessly. He had been very ill for some time, so eventually he did not have the strength to keep fighting. He was the kind of father you would have wanted and the kind of father you would like to be yourself, unconditional and selfless with his affection & love.

Without his support & encouragement I don't think I would have had quite the same luck in life. It wasn't easy dreaming of being a pop star in 1974, but he allowed me to believe it was possible to make those dreams come true. He was very proud, as you can imagine, of all five of us. We are a big family of 25 years, so you can imagine his joy when we recently played in Newcastle to 10,000 mad geordies - I think it was one of the proudest days of his life...to see us back together, better than ever and all of us so happy to be there.

So I would simply like to thank a few people...

Firstly the hospital team, Ward 7, North Tyneside General, lead by the exceptional Mr Liam Horgan, one of the finest individuals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His staff and the nurses on the ward are a truly motivated set of people: they do this day-in day-out - a vocational devotion And those lovely geordie girls that were with him till the end, all I can say is thank you to each and every one of you for all the care that you gave him.

To all the other Doctors and nurses, specialists and surgeons, you did all you could and through that you gave us five more cherished years.

My brother for being stronger than I ever realised, and keeping me in touch throughout this emotional roller-coaster.

And finally my mother, Sandra, who cared for my dad everyday, whatever the weather, she never gave up right till the bitter end.

Rest in peace dad.

Andy Taylor, March 23, 2005"

Ow this is sad.....

I mean.... having the time of his life probably with this reunion, and strugggle with all kinds off trouble, and now this....

I hope he will have the strength to carry on!!!

Here's a new article on DD - talks about Andy's father, and also the fate of DD ever playing Power Station or Arcadia stuff on this tour.

Duran Duran Not Giving Up on 'Astronaut'

1 hour, 4 minutes ago Entertainment - Reuters


By John Benson

CLEVELAND (Billboard) - Despite lukewarm sales for highly anticipated reunion album "Astronaut," the members of Duran Duran aren't about to give up on the Epic disc.



Released late last year, the set has sold 219,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


"I don't think any of us are satisfied with how that record has done, and that's really why we're planning on staying on the road for most of this year," bassist John Taylor (news) told Billboard. "Because I think it's an album that is deserved of a bigger audience than what it already has, our job in part is to turn people on to the new music. And that's what the touring is about."


Currently finishing up an American tour that runs through April before going to the United Kingdom and Europe in May, Duran Duran is planning a late July stateside return aimed mainly at amphitheaters and markets in which the band didn't play on its first leg. Also in the works is a concert DVD, which was recorded last spring at London's Wembley Arena and is due out this summer.


As for guitarist Andy Taylor (news)'s unexpected departure from the tour last week to be at his ailing father's bedside, the band decided to continue touring with Dominic Brown replacing him in the interim. John Taylor said the band agonized over how to handle the situation.

"Yeah, (there were) some very heavy discussions, actually, and tables were thrown," Taylor said. "The decision was made to continue with the tour and we felt that we had a momentum because it's not just about the shows, it's about the station tie-ins. And you have people who have made plans to travel from all over the country. We all knew that we were sacrificing something and Andy wanted us to go on, and I'm fairly sure he'll be back with us by Cleveland (March 29)."

Included in the band's current set are new tracks "(Reach Up for the) Sunrise," "Nice" and "Bedroom Toys," along with past hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio" and "Ordinary World." Taylor says the band is also digging into its treasure chest for instrumental "Tiger Tiger," "Hold Back the Rain" and even "Wild Boys," which was never properly toured before Duran Duran's original members began their exodus to various side projects.


But fans hoping to hear a song or two from Power Station (John Taylor and Andy Taylor) or Arcadia (Simon LeBon, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes) shouldn't hold their breath.


"I don't think so," Taylor said. "I can't speak for Arcadia, but I think with the death of (singer) Robert (Palmer), (drummer) Tony (Thompson) and (producer) Bernard (Edwards), that book is really closed. The (Power Station) project was never represented better than it was on record. In fact, there is a DVD coming out. And it has the only performance that we did with the original lineup, which was on 'Saturday Night Live.' So if you missed that, it's worth seeing because it's quite a laugh, actually."

That self-titled Power Station CD/DVD set features seven bonus tracks and remixes and is scheduled for an April 26 release via Capitol.
Reuters/Billboard