The famous British band with the mysterious name Duran Duran has been around for 41 years. The team still leads an active creative life, releases albums and travels the world with tours.
Recently, the musicians visited several European countries, and then went to America to perform at an art festival and organize several concerts.
The history of the group
The band's founders, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes, began their careers playing at the Birmingham nightclub Rum Runner.
Gradually, their compositions were very popular, they began to be invited to other places in the city, then the young people decided to try their luck in London.
One of the concert venues was named after Roger Vadim's film Barbarella's. The picture was filmed based on science fiction comics, where one of the most striking characters was the villainous doctor Duran Duran. In honor of this colorful character, the group got its name.
Gradually, the composition of the group expanded. Stephen Duffy was invited as the vocalist, and Simon Colley was invited to play the bass guitar. The band did not have a drummer, so the musicians used an electronic synthesizer tuned for percussion and drums to create the rhythm.
Everyone understood that no electronics can replace a real musician. So John's namesake, Roger Taylor, appeared on the team. For some reason, the vocalist and bassist were dissatisfied with the appearance of the drummer in the group and left the band.
The vacant seats began to look for new musicians. One month was dedicated to auditioning candidates, and as a result, vocalist Andy Wickett and guitarist Alan Curtis were accepted into the team.
Duran Duran is looking for a vocalist
For some time the group existed in this composition and recorded several songs. But the performance in public turned out to be unsuccessful, as a result of which problems arose again in the team.
The place of the vocalist was again free. This time, the founders of the group simply put an ad in the newspaper.
So another musician Taylor appeared in the team. After rehearsing with the newcomer, John and Nick decided that the guitar would suit him better. Simon Le Bon, who was invited through acquaintances, was assigned to the vocals.
Thanks to this distribution of roles, the group had a calm and normal working environment. By that time, the Duran Duran group had found good sponsors who gave the team a sense of reliability and stability.
Of course, then there was a significant amount of disputes, disagreements and conflicts, but the group overcame everything, coped, survived and basically retained its composition.
Simon Le Bon is the main vocalist and author of many lyrics. John Taylor plays bass and lead guitars. Roger Taylor is on drums and Nick Rhodes is on keyboards.
Creation
The musical career of Duran Duran began rather modestly. There were small performances in nightclubs in his hometown and the British capital, recording several songs on equipment owned by sponsors.
But two years later, an event occurred that changed the situation for the better. The group was invited to participate in a concert by the famous singer Hazel O'Connor.
By playing to warm up the audience, the artists were able to make it attract attention. After this concert, the musicians managed to sign several significant contracts.
Photos of young interesting musicians began to appear on the pages of popular glossy publications. Their first album was released in 1981. Their songs Girls on Film, Planet Earth and Careless Memories, which sounded on the waves of famous radio stations, brought them huge popularity.
The format of speeches has also changed. Now the concert performances of the group began to be accompanied by video clips. The video for the song Girls on Film, containing a significant amount of erotic footage, accompanied the group on many tours in the UK, Germany and America.
Later, the censorship edited the video a little, and after that he held a leading position on music channels for a long time.
Increasing popularity inspired musicians to new creative achievements. In 1982, the group released their second album Rio, songs from which took the lead in the UK charts and opened up a new style in music - new romantic.
In the US, Duran Duran was introduced to the dancefloor remixes. Thus, lyrical-romantic things gained a second life and became incredibly popular. So the group became a world star.
Among the fans of talented musicians were members of the royal family and Princess Diana. The favor of the crowned persons influenced the fact that the group constantly performed at the largest concert venues in the country.
The work on the third album was very difficult. Due to high taxes, the artists had to move to France. The audience was very demanding, and influenced the team psychologically. Nevertheless, the album came out and was very successful.
Release of the band's fourth album
In 1986, the premiere of the album Notorious took place. Recall that this is the fourth studio album of the band's discography. The album was mixed without the participation of a guitarist and drummer. With the release of the fourth LP, the artists lost their unofficial status of "sweet-voiced idols of the youth." Not all "fans" were ready for the new sound. The rating of the group fell. Only the most devoted fans remained with the musicians.
The release of Big Thing and Liberty compilations leveled the current situation a bit. The albums made it to the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. This period of time can be characterized by a decline in the popularity of the new wave, pop rock and art house. The producers of the team understood all the "weakness" of their wards, so they refused to release singles and the tour planned for the beginning of the 90s of the last century.
The artists, in turn, did not support the idea of the producers. They dropped some new pieces. At this time, thanks to the support of a session musician, the premiere of the track Come Undone took place. The composition marked the beginning of the recording of the full-length album The Wedding Album. During the world tour, the presented work was performed most often.
Then came a small creative crisis, the musicians decided to part for a while and recover. The group gathered again already in a truncated composition.
By changing their style, the musicians lost most of their fans and lost their leading positions. It was possible to return to its former popularity only after many years in 2000, when the group completely reunited.
The activities of the Duran Duran team in the "zero"
"Zero" marked by a partial revival of the team. John Taylor and Simon Le Bon shared with fans information about the resuscitation of the "golden line-up".
By the way, not everyone was touched by the return of Duran Duran to the hard scene. Recording studios did not seek to sign artists to a contract. But the tour, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the group, showed how the "fans" were waiting for the return of their favorite group.
Fans turned on the "standby" mode. Trushy "fans" were looking forward to the release of new albums, and the media attributed honorary titles to the artists. The musicians heard the plea of music lovers and presented the single What Happens Tomorrow. Later, the LP Astronaut was released. At the same time, the band members were awarded the composer Ivor Novello Prize.
Over the next 3 years, the artists toured a lot. But it seems that even in between performances, they created. During this period of time, their discography was replenished with two worthy collections. We are talking about the LPs Red Carpet Massacre and All You Need is Now.
In 2014, it was revealed that the team had expelled Andy Taylor from the roster. Also, the media leaked information that the guys are working on the album Paper Gods. In support of the LP, the musicians released the singles Pressure Off and Last Night in the City. The collection was released in 2015. In support of the record, the artists went on tour.
After a chic tour, the team's activity began to decline. Only sometimes they delighted fans with concerts in America and Europe. True, in 2019 they staged an enchanting show in support of the last of the released LPs.
Duran Duran band now
The group still continues to perform live and tour.
In early February 2022, the musicians released a new single. The composition was called Laughing Boy. The song is one of three bonus tracks that will be featured on the deluxe edition of the band's latest LP, Future Past, which will be released on February 11.
The original compilation was released in October 2021 and peaked at number 3 on the Official UK Albums Chart, Duran Duran's highest position in their home country in 17 years.
