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Pop's dynamic Duran Duran
Teen Magazine, April 1984
It wasn't so long ago that this new group of young Englishmen emerged, wearing frilly shirts and playing a totally new sound.
Only three years after they began tuning their instruments together, they reached amazing success here in the United States.
However, any member of the band will tell you that finding fans in America wasn't easy; it took a lot of hard work, faith and
persistence.
Duran Duran came into existence at the hands of Nick Rhodes and John Taylor in the town of birmingham, England, but the
group still didn't have a name. And there still was the matter of selecting all the members. After a two-year search for the right
drummer, guitarist and vocalist, Nick and John discovered Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and Simon le Bon.
THE MEMBERS
Nick Rhodes
Besides helping Duran Duran get its start, keyboardist Nick Rhodes has been responsible for many other aspects involved in
ensuring the groups' success. At age 21, this musical whiz is also a media expert and a wise businessman. If he's not working
to promote his own band, he can probably be found lending his expertise to other groups. Last summer's hit, "Too Shy," was
part of KajaGooGoo's debut album co-produced by none other than Nick himself. As if achieving success wasn't difficult
enough, Nick was actually out creating competition, and he readily admitted, "I must be mad." Nevertheless, the other band
members are quick to agree that it was Nick's eternal optimism that kept Duran Duran on its feet when times got tough.
John Taylor
Nick's partner, John Taylor, is often the band's most controversial spokesman. Like Nick, he's an optimist, not just about the
band's ability to succeed, but also about the themes the band wishes to express in its songs. He says, "The last thing in the
world we're ever going to sing about is bad times. We want to be the band that's playing when the Titanic goes down."
Though he dropped out of school at age 16 to study art, this 23-year-old has proven to be quite an impressive spokesman.
Nick and John spent their early band days at an English nightclub called Barbarellas. Because of this, they decided to name
their band after a character named Duran in the '60s film called Barbarella. A close second was the name Raf, but they
agreed that Duran was more pleasing to the ear.
Roger Taylor
Soon to follow the naming of the band was the choosing of its other talented musicians. A drum roll brought in Roger Taylor
(no relation to John) who began his career with a punk band in England. Claiming that Roger was too good for that group,
Nick and John quickly offered him a place in Duran.
Now, at 24, Roger is sometimes considered the "odd one" in the group. Not intentionally a man of mystery, Roger claims
he's "always been the quiet one. The kid who sat at the back of the class and said nothing. I'm not a natural extrovert and I
have to admit that the fans get the best of me at times. Roger keeps a very low profile and simply doesn't like interviews. He
seems to be perfectly content letting the rest of the band speak for him.
Andy Taylor
Once Roger was aboard, Nick and John placed an ad in an English music magazine calling for a guitarist. This brought them
their next recruit, Andy Taylor (no relation to either of the first two Taylors).
Andy grew up in a town where fishing had long been big business for the people there. But when he was 11, the industry
started to decline and his father became concerned. He encouraged Andy to learn to play the guitar as a possible alternate
occupation. And, by age 13, Andy was playing professionally. He worked in nightclubs and air bases and subsequently,
brought a great deal of talent to Duran Duran. By far Duran's most experienced musician, Andy has been a stabilizing force in
the band.
At 23, Andy is the only married member of the group. Last August, Andy found time in his overloaded schedule to exchange
vows with an English-woman who runs a charity home for animals. Since Andy was in Los Angeles and couldn't make it
back to England at the time, he flew his bride-to-be to California for the ceremony. What has married life done for him?
Andy claims it's mellowed him. And he's become a vegetarian.
Simon le Bon
And who was the final recruit? He was Simon le Bon, the group's vocalist. He definitely adds to the group both in terms of
his singing and his good looks. Now 25, Simon's drawing a great deal of attention and praise for his vocal abilities. During his
school years, however, there may have been those who couldn't imagine he'd become so successful. He drifted through art
school and quit a printing apprenticeship after a brief period. However, he did keep up a long-term study of the stage. At age
5, Simon began taking acting lessons which led him into commercials. He later studied drama at an English university before
becoming a member of Duran Duran.
This enrollment, however, followed countless auditions until a barmaid at the Rum Runner, the club owned by Duran's
manager, introduced Simon to the rest of the band, suggesting that he might be right for the part of the lead. They offered
Simon an audition but at first, weren't impressed with what they heard, "He sounded awful," Nick says, "like a choirboy. But
then, I wasn't much of a keybard player myself at the time." Besides, says Nick, "he had on a great pair of pink leopard-skin
trousers."
The fact is that Simon was a choirboy. His musical credentials came from his participation in his local parish church.
Today, Simon is thrilled with Duran's popularity, but it's his parents' opinion of his music that matters most to him. He says
that one major factor contributing to his interest in music and desire to succeed was to get respect from his father. Simon feels
strongly that he's entitled to whatever he's earned and "encourages enterprise and initiative in young people."
Being the group's philosopher, Simon also encourages people to believe in themselves. He feels if you do that and think
positively, you won't get knocked down. "Apathy is the most destructive thing. A positive attitude is much more beneficial."
With this in mind, Simon pens out most of Duran's lyrics. His positive thinking is sometimes expressed through what some
consider childish, yet adventurous, words. And often the words are confusing. Why would he write songs which are difficult
to understand? "I think it's because I like to write things which I don't completely understand myself," he says.
THE RISE OF DURAN DURAN
Fans of Duran's early days saw the members clad in frilly shirts, charactenstic of the "New Romantic" era which was
beginning to evolve. Their frills were not at all well received by the pop press and lead to inaccurate interpretation of the new
sound the group was trying to create. Nick explains that ever since the members realized they didn't have to wear things that
didn't really suit them, Duran's image began to improve.
Once the dress code changed, the press insults seemed to lessen, but certainly not end. There were those who called Duran
Duran "shallow, simplistic, and even artistically worthless." John Taylor feels that perhaps part of the problem may have come
from the fact that Duran's style is unique to the music world. He feels that perhaps such originality has confused reporters,
causing them to be unable to define the essence of this young group.
But Duran's members clearly define their sound as dance music. They combine the rhythms of disco with the energy and
vitality of classic rock and roll.
By 1982, Duran Duran had become an established sensation in most parts of the world, except America. Its first album,
Duran Duran, was a flop in the United States and the second release, Rio, barely did better--until MTV began playing the
group's video, "Hungry Like a Wolf."
From the band's very beginning, the group invested a great deal of its own money and time into making videos. And those
efforts paid off. The "Hungry Like a Wolf" video was such a smash with MTV viewers that AMerican radio picked up the
tune. It became a radiowave hit and gave Duran Duran its big break in the United States.
The group's next hit single was entitled "Is There Something I Should Know?" which was added to its first album and
re-released in America. This new version of Duran Duran has now sold over a million copies.
Not content with simply one successful album, the group went on to spend three months, over 1,000 hours and an outlandish
amount of money to create its latest album, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, with the hit single "Union Of The Snake." The
band feels "it's more than just another pop album; it's more sophisticated."
When this group started out, four of the five members couldn't play a note, and all of them were struggling financially. It's hard
to believe that in a very short time Duran Duran have become polished musicians and rich young men with a beat that's
definitely stealing the show!
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