


Duran
Duran has a fantastic summer ahead, including tours in the
U.S. and Europe and a
concert in Hyde Park for the opening of the Olympic Games.
John's
autobiography and Nick & Warren's TV Mania project will
be released in the fall.
In
February 2013 the band will reconvene into the studio to start
writing new material with Mark Ronson; according to this
interview the band hadn't really talked about the new direction
the album might take but Nick thinks "it would have to
be a logical continuation of All You Need Is Now, maybe, Rhodes
says, something a little more funk... something with one's
eye on Notorious actually..."
|
|

|
July
9, 2012 | All the Duran Duran fans are ready for this
new chapter of the Duran Duran history! Methaphorically speaking
this is the conclusive chapter of the 'All You Need Is Now'
book, a project that has seen the band returning live on stage
for over a year with a massive world tour and an album that
has been on top of the charts simultaneously in 15 countries
[when the album was digitally released back in December 2010].
Two
years filled with great music and cool collaborations starting
with Lynch and ending with Steve Aoki. After almost two years
since its release All You Need Is Now is still a fresh album
and fans seems still so excited about the current round shows...
it's an album that will stands the test of time.
The
band is celebrating the conclusion of the 'All You Need Is Now'
tour with a new release, the dvd/blue ray A Diamon In The Mind.
The
dvd has been launched yesterday on facebook with a special digital
premiere. We were among the thousand of fans who took part at
the event and we really enjoyed it, especially the exclusive
question and answer part with the band live o all the way from
Istanbul.
A
Diamond In The Mind, will be released on DVD, Blu-Ray and CD
on July 10. Check
out a cool and technical review of the dvd on blu-raydefinition.com
Left
and below pics: the band photographed during their recent
successful South American tour, below the guys in Greece some
days ago.
|
"The
set, as Nick Rhodes described it, is “Pixel Punk,”
a pure visual feast that could go toe to toe with U2 at their
most elaborate. Multiple hi-tech screens flash an array of
visual effects from CG animation to psychedelic patterns."
"Asymmetrical
lighting rigs flash multi-colored lights while numerous film
cameras capture images from every angle. That doesn’t
even take into account the post-production effects added for
the home viewers’ benefit to add a sense of energy and
“being there.”
"That,
of course, is all fine, but ultimately a musical concert has
to deliver – on the music. A Diamond in the Mind does,
without a doubt. The band is on form, the musicianship is
at a very high level and no one misses a beat."
|
 |

 |
I think when you make a concert film what
you're always trying to do is capture the energy of the performance,
Rhodes explains, and the atmosphere and the spirit that was
in the room when you actually played the show. And, obviously,
that's very hard to capture on film. But with this one, I think
we definitely got as close as we ever have because you can see
the intimacy and the interaction on stage.
It
seems like the further north [in England] you get, the crazier
the audiences get, Taylor said about the band's choice to film
the show in Manchester. And on this night, it was Mad Friday,
which is the last drinking night before Christmas, so the crowd
was good and rowdy.
|
A Diamond Premiere
Duran
fans joined the band on facebook for an exclusive live Q&A
from Istanbul
|
|

Dvd
Review
highdefdigest.com
| Filmed
at the MEN Arena in Manchester on December 16th, 2011, this
stunning Duran Duran live show is the perfect combination of
great music, amazing visuals and iconic style which has been
the band s trademark throughout their career. Following the
release of their acclaimed All You Need Is Now album, this concert
combines new songs from that release with their classic hits.
Whether in the studio or the live arena, Duran Duran are masters
of their craft and this latest concert bursts with energy and
oozes class in the way that only they can.
The
digital premiere of "A Diamond In The Mind" | The
band will be streaming the concert at 2 p.m. EST on July 8 on
facebook, with the added bonus of audio commentary and a live
question and answer session with band members.
Le
Bon said in comments at duranduran.com: “We really hope
the fans will enjoy this experience. The Manchester show was
a special one for us – and we’re very proud of the
film. It has a different feel from anything we’ve done
before, but we think it completely captures the spirit of the
performance that night.”
On
the right the japanese edition of ADITM |

|

In
support of A Diamond In The Mind the band in June did some great
promotion in New York, they made an appearance on the Good Morning
America Tv show and some other online and printed media.
They also made a special guest appareance for Trident
which hosted a private concert on June 20, on John's birthday!
[check out some pics below]
The
show, called "See What Unfolds Live," with renowned
DJ Steve Aoki. 3,000 lucky fans were treated to an evening of
unexpected surprises thanks to world renowned DJ Steve Aoki,
who hosted a performance that included an appearance by the
guys.
The
defining moment of the night was a Steve Aoki produced remixed
performance of the band's classic hit, Hungry Like The
Wolf, aptly named, "Hungry Like The Wolf: Steve
Aoki vs. Duran Duran - The New York Werewolf Mix" that
brought the house down. The remix was the joint vision of electronic
dance music master DJ Steve Aoki, and Duran Duran, who collaborated
for weeks on the reinvention of the song. You can download the
song for free right here
An
official video of the collaboration, complete with live footage
from the performance set to the studio track, premiered on Vevo.com
on June 29. Check it out here.
So
this new chapter of the Duran history marks the end of the world
tour with new European and US legs. Is going to be a hot summer
for the fans with more #Duranlive entertainment with more live
shows and new dvd!
Duran
Duran have started up the Euro tour in Poland on June 25th and
they will conclude it with their peak appearance in Hyde Park
- London for the BT London Live Olympic Opening Ceremony on
July 27th. The band never fail to surprise their fans, the other
night in Thessaloniki the band toasted David Bowie by playing
'Starman' fourty since the song debuted on Top of the Pops...
John Taylor said that after that "life for us was never
the same again". Check out the video here.
|

Aoki
says "Me and John Taylor of Duran Duran, was lots of fun
collaborating with the legends!”
|

|
More
news and tidbits
-
That's
not all, as we already said, the band will reconvene in
the studio next year to start works on a new album... some
little news have started to surface thanks to John [read
the cool interview that John did last mont for a South American
newspaper] and more recently by Nick who during the press
conference in Wroclaw confirmed that the band will be
starting writing the new album in February 2013 and they
will be working with Mark Ronson again.
- John
is looking forward to September... From September on our
bass player will be busy promoting his upcoming autobiography
"In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran".
In a recent chat he had with the fans on twitter [june 2]
he said "I've been absent, I apologize. The book is
FINI. Done and dusted. Audiobook in the can too. The audio
is me myself and I. Get ready! Below a video clip of John
recording the audio
book.
- According
to this
blog post by John Jones he's writing/publishing [?] a book
about Duran Duran. As you notice he ended his post writing
"Buy my upcoming book about Duran Duran for more photos
of Nick Rhodes!
|

John
Taylor in Prague July 2012
|
Pictures from See
What Unfolds Live event
|


|
"We
could not pass up the opportunity to work with Steve Aoki on
a remix of one of our songs. It's always really exciting to
collaborate with someone whose work you admire, especially when
what you are creating together is something that ultimately
you're going to perform live.
Unlike
so many remixes, where a DJ takes just a few elements from the
original to create a new track, the challenge for Steve and
all of us was to come up with something that every member of
the band was well represented on, and that could be performed
live on stage for the fans," said Simon LeBon, lead singer
Duran Duran.
"This
event is the beginning of a really exciting summer for us including
tours in both the States and Europe, where we end up with a
concert back home in Hyde Park for the opening of the Summer
Games." |



Special
thanks to Trident and Christopher & Rebecca @ citizenrelations
for the great pictures and info.

*
Click on the thumbnails to get the larger version of the pics*
Singular Italian Best Of including early b-sides and Burning
The Ground
|
 |
On
July 10th 2012 a 'Best Of' will be available in all the italian
newsstand with the magazines Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni and Donna
Moderna for only 12,90. The double cd set has an unusual tracklist
for the general public, in fact it includes some beautiful b-sides.
A clever move from EMI Italia since the release will coincide
with the tour... A cool collector item but also a chance for
the general italian audience to know more about the band's catalogue.
mondadoriperte.it
TRACK
LIST CD1
1.
Rio
2. The Reflex
3. Hungry Like The Wolf
4. Save A Prayer
5. is There Something i Should Know
6. New Moon on Monday
7. Girls on Film
8. i don’t Want Your Love
9. Secret oktober
10. Planet Earth (Single Version)
11. My own Way
12. Fame
13. careless Memories
14. Faster Than Light
15. Faith in This colour
|

TRACK
LIST CD2
1.
The Wild Boys
2. Notorious
3. Skin Trade
4. do You Believe in Shame?
5. The chauffeur
6. Union of The Snake
7. Burning The Ground
8. Meet El Presidente
(2010 digital Remaster)
9. Like An Angel
10. Late Bar
11. All She Wants is
12. American Science (2010 digital Remaster)
13. Tiger Tiger 14. Khanada
|
Pictures from Good
Morning America show and rehearsal
|






Tour dates: Euro and Us tour, final leg of the AYNIN tour
|
June
June
25 Duran Duran: Music Pool GMBH, Wroclaw, Poland.
June 27 Duran Duran: O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
June 28 Duran Duran: Papp László Budapest Sport
Arena, Budapest, Hungary.
July
July
6 Duran Duran: Earth Open Air, Thessaloniki, Greece.
July 7 Duran Duran: Skopsko Kale, Skopje, Macedonia.
July 9 Duran Duran: Küçük Çiftlik Park,
Istanbul, Turkey.
July
12 Duran Duran: Exit Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia.
July 14 Duran Duran: Gospodarsko Razstavišce, Ljubljana,
Slovenia.
July 16 Duran Duran: Verona Arena, Verona, Italy.
Jul 18 Duran Duran: Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.
July 20 Duran Duran: Arena Della Regina, Cattolica, Italy.
July 21 Duran Duran: Piazza Napoleone, Lucca, Italy.
July 23 Duran Duran: Théâtre Jean Deschamps, Carcassonne,
France.
July 25 Duran Duran: Sporting Club Summer Festival, Monte Carlo,
Monaco.
July 27 Duran Duran: BT London Live - Opening Ceremony Celebration
Concert, Hyde Park, London, UK.
August
August
8 Duran Duran: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA, USA.
August 9 Duran Duran: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA, USA.
August 11 Duran Duran: OC Fair, Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa
Mesa, CA, USA.
August 15 Duran Duran: The Joint, Tulsa, OK, USA.
August 17 Duran Duran: Memphis Botanical Gardens, Memphis, TN,
USA.
August 18 Duran Duran: Biloxi, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino,
MS, USA.
August 19 Duran Duran: Chastain Park, Atlanta, GA, USA.
August 21 Duran Duran: Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham,
NC, USA.
August 22 Duran Duran: nTelos Wireless Pavilion, Portsmouth,
VA, USA.
August 24 Duran Duran: MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods, Mashantucket,
CT, USA.
August 25 Duran Duran: Revel Ovation, Atlantic City, NJ, USA.
August 26 Duran Duran: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
August 28 Duran Duran: Fraze Pavilion, Kettering, OH, USA.
August 29 Duran Duran: Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL,
USA.
August 31 Duran Duran: Casino Rama Entertainment Centre, Orilla,
ON, Canada.
September 1 Duran Duran: Casino Rama Entertainment Centre, Orilla,
ON, Canada.
|

|
|
A
Wedding show
Duran
Duran in Monopoli - Bari
On
the right the article from La Gazzetta di Mezzoggiorno from
july 2, 2012 that reports about the show that the band played
in Monopoli [Bari - Italy] on June 30, 2012 at the wedding of
the young wealthy Italo-Canadian businessman Julius Gaudio and
his beautiful young wife Melba.
Here
is a summary translation of the article. The celebrations of
the wedding took place in different locations, the Masseria
Pettolecchia and the Castle of St. Stephen in Monopoli where
the couple held the party. When the news of the Duran Duran
concert began to spread, the agency that organized the event,
had to announce that the show was going to be canceled or moved
to another location for public order reasons. Instead the show
took place where it was expected, with a stage on the sea.
The only way local people could follow the show was by sea,
some people even tried to get closer by boat but it was almost
impossible to get to the place given the enormous deployment
of police and security guards around the castle. The British
band of Simon Le Bon has performed for about an hour with the
guests into raptures.
|
John
Taylor interview to Globo [translation]
|


|
Translation
[by Salvo] from this
interview | During a telephone interviewed with G1, bassist
John Taylor, says that playing "Rio" in Rio is "exactly
the same thing" that playing it somewhere else and comments
about his upcoming autobiography, his relationship with fans
and the '80s. "I had some terrifying moments. We have been
very lucky, nothing has happened in those crazy years, a catastrophe
could have happened. It seemed dangerous" he recalls.
Will the concert be similar compared to the stage and structure
seen in the dvd concert 'Diamond in the Mind'?
John Taylor - This isn´t my problem... I don´t know
how it goes when I get there. These decisions have nothing to
do with me. Nick, who is into technology, looks out how the
technology will be like in every show. I know he will always
strive to do something special. The rest of the band concentrates
on the musical side. We just think to play the songs. We want
to make the best show that Duran Duran has ever done in Brazil.
How did the idea of calling your book 'In the Pleasure Groove:
Love, Death and Duran Duran' ?
John Taylor - I took a while, it was the fourth title option.
When I was writing I noticed that my story is about someone
who became addicted to the pleasure. The book is about the ups
and downs, it's about the pain and pleasure. We also wanted
something that was related to playing bass, then came the word
of "groove". You get stuck in the groove, no matter
if it´s good or bad. So the idea is kind of stuck in the
groove of pleasure.
What did you write in the book that you had never told anyone?
John Taylor - There is much that I only said to people very
close to me. It´s an opportunity to talk about growing
up during the 70s. Nobody played music at my home. I had achieved
all that through my own efforts. I met Nick [Rhodes], we formed
the band and everything worked out, mainly in the 80s. Then
I had to learn to deal with fame. If I hadn´t learned
to be a real person, I would have become one of these decadent
ex- popstars. I learned to be a thirty years old man, I lost
my parents ... The book talks about this experiences.
Did
you experience some moments with fans that lead you to think
everything could get out of control? Have you ever been afraid
of fans?
John Taylor - I experienced terrifying moments. In the United
States in 1984 the situation was insane. A catastrophe could
have happened, luckily enough we didn't have any major problems.
There was a high level of madness and popularity. The Arena
were so full, so much people, thousands and thousands of people...
And they were all crazy. It seemed dangerous.
Duran Duran´s hair have already been copied a
lot. Is there a lack of good visuals in pop rock nowadays?
John Taylor - Today isn´t so easy to invent fashion, so
much has happened in pop music. The 70s were good times to come
up with a haircut... It´s hard to mention a rock artist
who really had an innovative look. Today new acts only want
to wear white shirt and black jacket. They are very "clean".
The music is all going in the same direction, isn´t as
interesting as it was before.
You said that your daughter doesn´t like Duran
Duran, does she still think so?
John Taylor – Isn´t exactly that way. She isn´t
a big fan, but she´s proud of her father. She came to
Coachella [U.S. festival] twice and she prefers songs of people
of the same age as her [she has 20 years]. Sometimes I like
what she listen to, sometimes gives me a headache.
What would make you leave the band?
John Taylor - Good question. My God, I don´t know. I'm
not ready to leave them again [he left the band in 1997 and
returned in 2001]. Let's do another album of new songs soon,
we care a lot of each other. We enjoy making music together
and we enjoy each other's company. We'll be touring until September
and then we'll begin to think to the new album. It may be with
Mark [Ronson, producer] again. He is available.
|

The
book cover has been unveiled by play.com
some days ago.

|
Roger
and Nick about working with Ronson again
Source Vh1.com
| The great
thing about Mark is that he came with a vision, Taylor explained.
It's good to have somebody, just slightly outside of the band,
with that vision.
Rhodes weighed
in next. We wanted to work with Mark because we'd done a show
with him in Paris. We had such a good time with him, generally.
He's a lovely person to be around. He's funny, he's sharp.
He wears
nice suits,Taylor chimed in.
He wears
nice suits, Rhodes admitted with a chuckle. He fits in on many
levels. He was an obvious one for us and for him, because he
knows our music so intimately. He's a professors level of knowledge
about Duran Duran.
|
More
about Rio and Antigua: Rolling Stone interview translation
|
The
lyrics to Rio were inspired by a waitress
in a Birmingham pub
-- -
 |
In the June
issue of Rolling Stone Italy there was a fantastic interview to
the guys in Antigua. Below you can find scans and translation
of the most interesting parts.
- "I
remember a lot of things about Italy, it’s a very important
country for Duran Duran. Not long a go we even attended a
party at Berlusconi’s in Sardinia. When we arrived everybody
was singing that song“ We are lucky that Silvio exists”.
Nick
- The
interviewer [Marco Drago, pictured on the right with Simon
in Antigua] is obviously a Duran Duran fan and asks if they
ever thought about working with Brian Eno. “When we
recorded A View to a Kill” we asked Eno to produce
the song, but he was too busy so we didn’t manage
to work together". Nick.
- "The
first sessions for the Rio album were recorded at Bob Lamb’s
studio in King’s Heath. I recently listened to them
and they sound exactly as the final songs on the record.
All the tracks existed already when we went into the studio
to record the album, they were all written during the recording
sessions of the first album. We actually didn’t suffer
of the second record crisis... maybe of the third... Rio
has been made with the energy and with the band's first
wave of creativity". Nick.
- Simon
recalls that Rio was born from a John Taylor idea, he just
wanted a longer song to open the shows. "We decided
the title Rio later: for us it meant something like ‘the
mother of all the parties’ just because of the Rio
Carnival...
So
we thought it was a good title for the album. The lyrics
were still missing... words came in cafe in Birmingham.
There was this waitress who was moving around the tables,
she was aware that everybody was looking at her, she was
beautiful and elegant, “like a bird of paradise”.
I wrote opening verses on a napkin and then I finished the
rest of lyrics at home attributing to the misterious waitress
caratteristics of other girls that I had met at the parties
in the States. Unfortunately I never met that girl again".
|
-
"Back
in 1982, I were at my parent’s home, we were eating
fish and peas and the telephone rang... my mother answers
and says "It’s Michael", nothing strange
since our manager’s name was Michael. My mother that
said it wasn’t his voice. So I asked her to ask the
person to tell his surname, since I was staring to get famous
and I didn’t want to be distrurbed when I was at my
parent’s. She returned saying “it’s Michael
Jackson”. I rushed to the telephone overthrowing the
dish of fish and peas... it wasn’t a joke, it was
that Michalel Jackson who was calling to just say how much
he loved Rio and that he wanted to do a record with us".
Nick.
- "It
was nice to go back to Birmingham in those early years of
the band becaause we could actually look in the face all
the people that treated us badly and made fun of us just
because we liked to dress up, use make-up and listen to
glam rather than rock". Simon.
|

 |
Source Vh1 | Duran Duran's 1982 album Rio
is a modern classic. The record, which produced the megahits
Hungry Like The Wolf, Rio, and Save A Prayer, just celebrated
its 30th anniversary last month. We knew we had something really
great with the finished album,Roger confessed. I remember listening
to it from start to finish on my Sony Walkman on an aeroplane
and i thought, F*ck, this is REALLY good.
I
remember we recorded it in Air Studios in London, Rhodes regaled.
We were in Studio 1, and in Studio 2, at the end of the corridor,
Paul McCartney was working on something with [legendary Beatles
producer] George Martin. So each night, around 7 o'clock same
time every night Paul and Linda would come and bang on the door,
stick their head in and say, Good luck, fellas! It was so bizarre,
so abstract for us. He was so sweet and down to earth, and for
us, it was a big deal. It was inspirational.
Speaking
of inspirations, we asked them if they had ever seen Noah Baumbach's
2010 film Greenberg, a movie in which their Rio album plays
a major role. Specifically, Ben Stiller's title character describes
the album and the song The Chauffeur, specifically as great
coke music. So we asked them point blank: What sort of a role
did cocaine play in the writing and recording of Rio?
It
was part of the general background of our life, Taylor told
us. You can't say that there wasn't quite a bit of cocaine around.
So, I guess that was a backdrop, and maybe somehow that did
influence some of the songs on the record.
Definitely
not with "The Chauffeur", Rhodes cut in.
Maybe
some of the faster songs were more coke-induced, Taylor continued.
Because some of them were F*CKING fast. Bang!
|
Fan
Report from the road, Faby shares her diaries
|
The Band Designed To Make Us Partyyy!

Brasilia,
April 28th, 2012.
It was the band´s first time in Brasilia, and may I say,
also mine. This young 50 year old Brazilian city is like no
other I have ever been to. So different from Sao Paulo and Rio
de Janeiro. The work of Architect Oscar Niemeyer in Brasilia
is stunning; he designed a large number of residential, commercial
and government buildings in a city designed in the shape of
a bird [or an airplane], which was the perfect setting for the
first Duran Duran concert of the 2012 South American tour leg.
We arrived in Brasilia the same day of the concert and after
landing, went straight to Centro de Convenções
Ulysses Guimaraes. The show was moved from Nilson Nelson Gymnasium
the previous week and the new venue was smaller and had seats
all over it. We waited for the doors to open with our Brazilian
friends. Being with friends makes things much more fun, so time
went by fast. The doors opened at 8:00 PM and we entered the
venue where a great surprise was awaiting for us: a Meet &
Greet with the band members! It was lovely to meet them on the
very first day we started "touring", all of them smiling
and being warm and friendly with their South American fan base.
Minutes after the M&G was over, the show started and, as
every Duran Duran show, it was amazing! The crowd enjoyed Duran
Duran´s first perfomance in town from beginning to end,
singing and dancing through the whole set of songs.
The
next day, we visited a few lovely places in the city like Catedral
Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida, the National Congress
and the Museu Nacional that John had visited the day before
enjoying Ziraldo´s work; in the afternoon we were off
to Rio for the next stop ot the tour. To our great surprise,
the band was flying the same time we were, so it was a very
nice experience to be "boarding" together. One of
the things I had brought with me from home was a poster that
I had printed of a photograph taken by a dear friend, Carla
Magrin, in Sydney, Australia, when the AYNIN hit OZ.
The picture was taken while the band were playing "Rio"
and as we all know, pictures of fans are shown on the screens
during this song on every concert. I was lucky enough to get
my picture chosen and even luckier to have someone from so far
away take such a great shot of Simon Le Bon with open arms on
stage while my picture was shown above him, and then send it
to me. The band members loved the shot and they all signed the
poster for me. It was a magical moment [so thank you once more,
Carla]. |
|

Rio de Janeiro, April 29th May 1st.
Once in Rio, a city I had never been to before and was very
excited to get to know, rain did not stop for 3 whole days!
I had a lovely local friend who lives in Niteroi, Paula, who
was willing to show me around, but due to the weather, I could
see very little of Rio de Janeiro. The Oscar Niemeyer MAC
Museum was a lovely place to visit and the view of Rio from
Parque Da Cidade was absolutely wonderful.
On April 30th we were ready for our second Duran Duran show
at Citibank Hall, and the evening was a memorable one. The
audience was much larger and louder than the one in Brasilia,
making the concert a great one, and for me, my favourite Brazilian
show of this tour.
There
were lots of colourful neon sticks and balloons in pink and
black to welcome the band on stage. While playing Notorious,
the crowd held up signs saying "NO", something very
original done by Brazilian fans and the band loved it!
Save a
Prayer was the song the audience was waiting for, not only
in Rio but in all 3 Brazilian concerts, since it is one of
their greatest hits in that country.
Rio was just great....I mean, how many times can you listen
to Rio being played live in Rio?
|
|

Sao
Paulo, May 2nd.
On this day, we arrived in Sao Paulo to enjoy the final show
of the band in Brazil. This was the best selling one in that
country, the venue was bigger than the others where they had
played before and great number of fans were expected to attend
the show at Credicard Hall.
The doors opened at 7:00 PM, we all went inside and got our
sports in the front row like in all other shows, and the night
was marvelous! The neon sticks, balloons and "NO"
signs were all there again. The energy was great and the audience
loved the show.
By the end of "Is There Something I Should Know",
Simon started to cough, almost without stopping until the end
of the song. Once it ended, the band paused for a couple of
minutes before playing "Girl Panic". Once GP started,
Simon kept on coughing during the song and for a moment there,
I was really worried something was wrong with him [do I need
to tell you all what fear popped into my head at that moment?],
but after Tiger Tiger, he was good to go again and gave a spectacular
performance to all fans in Sao Paulo!
Cricard Hall was a great ending for the Brazilian shows, with
an audience that enjoyed Duran Duran to the fullest making it
a performance to remember.
The next day, we saw the band off, having lovely moments and
chats with them. It is a delight to be a fan of such great musicians
that are also so willing to take the time to talk and enjoy
moments with the people who admire them, they way Duran Duran
do.
Having
just completed tours in Asia, South America and parts of Europe,
Taylor says the band “can always find an audience,”
even though “we might have 6,000 people at a show instead
of 60,000.”
John
Taylor
|
|

Buenos
Aires, May 3rd. Getting ready for the BIG ONES!
I arrived in Buenos Aires late at night and could barely sleep,
even though I was really exhausted, knowing I had to go in line
early the next day. Buenos Aires was going to be a very different
kind of thing, since there are so many Duranies in my homeland
who adore the band. So the excitement did not let me rest and
I was up very early and off to Luna Park to join my friends
in the queue.
To spice things up even more, I was told I had a spot in the
M&G for the next day [well...sleeping was off the agenda
for good!], so after all the good news and the friendly company,
time flew by in the queue until the doors opened at 7:00 PM.
They divided the crowd in 4 lines at gate 8, and I was the first
one to run inside [talk about excitement!]. I was thrilled to
be there, front row with all my friends, ready to enjoy #DuranLive
in my hometown!
Luna Park was SOLD OUT, about 10.000 fans were expecting to
see DD after 4 years since their last show in Argentina and
for the first time, the band played in an indoor arena in Buenos
AIres. To put it in JT´s words: "First time indoors
in BA. Finally a roof to tear off". And man, did we tear
it off! It was one the greatest shows I have ever been to in
my whole life! The crownd was so loud, chanting, screaming,
singing and dancing to every single song like there was no tomorrow.
You could hear from the outside of the venue our very own "Olé,
olé olé ole Duran Duran!" over and over again,
and the band loved it to pieces.
For the first time ever in South America, Simon Le Bon dived
into the crowd (and on my head!) and stayed there enjoying all
our loving for a good 2 minutes. I felt I was inside a tornado
or something! Everyone wanted to reach out and touch him so
it got a bit messy, but sooo good! Keep on doing it, Mr. Le
Bon! |
 |
“We
are going through a renaissance with those songs that we had
gotten tired of playing, maybe that just comes with age. They
are all quite different tunes, and they are actually really
great fucking songs.”
John
Taylor
|

Simon
speaks enthusiastically of Argentina: "I have many wonderful
memories, the last time we were there was in 2008 (before it
was in '93, 2005 and 2007)."
The
lead singer of Duran Duran still remembers a special moment
he lived in the early '90s: "When we recorded the video
for Breath After Breath with Milton Nascimento in Iguazu, near
waterfalls, six butterflies suddenly fell upon me at the same
time. "
On
May 5th, I went to the M&G which was very nice and relaxed.
They were all so happy with the first show in Argentina you
could see it in their eyes. The show was a different, since
this time there was not a standing audience in front of the
stage. There were seats all over Luna Park, which made it a
bit less crowded but with more space to dance all night. And
so we did!
Another night with a venue at full capacity and with a longer
and different set list. This time around "Blame the Machines",
"The Man Who Stole a Leopard" and "Careless Memories"
were added. The audience loved them all, specially Careless
Memories that had never been played in Argentina or in South
America, for that matter.
My
friends and I were lucky enough to get front row centre seats,
and during The Reflex, as we all know, Simon picked someone
in the crowd to sing along. To give it a twist, this time around
he picked a group of 3 girls to sing, but only one girl approached
the stage and sang the intro with him. After this, Simon still
wanted to look for some "fellas", because as he says,
"it´s such a guy thing". And to our surprise,
he came straight to us, the crazy, jumpy, loud, front rowers
and made Gerardo, Daniel, Ariel, Victor and Pablo sing along,
and by the end, all of them, Cecilia and myself were in a "roundabout"
singing and jumping all together and being shown on the screens
with our beloved front man. Is this Heaven or what? Thank you,
Simon!
At both shows, the audience displayed a lot of Argentine banners
with logos and Duran related phrases. We sang our hearts out
and showed our deep love for the band. Argentina adores Duran
Duran and the band adores us back. They gave us everything,
they was nothing left to be given. This love affair between
Argentina and Duran Duran will never end.
On May 6th, they flew to Chile and I was able to see them off
along with many other fans. They were all so happy with the
shows and audience in Argentina. Lovely words were said by the
band to the fans before they left. It was very touching to hear
such appreciation from the band you love. |
|

“They
say that gratitude is a prayer”
“Everyone
always wants more. But I have found that it’s important
to really love what you are doing at the moment, and we love
playing right now. That kind of pleasure is what maintains
the vivaciousness of our performances.”
John
Taylor
|

Santiago
de Chile, May 7th
The four of us, Gerardo, Victor Pablo and myself, took a flight
to Chile to see the show at Tearo Caupolicán on May 8th,
in Santiago de Chile. On the day of our arrival, we walked through
the beautiful city and met some cool Chilean fans wh were thrilled
to have the band back in their country.
The next day, the show at Caupolicán was fantastic. It
was a sold out show with a capacity of 5.000 people who loved
Duran Duran´s performance. Songs like "Planet Earth",
"Come Undonde" and "Ordinary World" were
high points of the night.
The
Reflex in Santiago: FUNNIEST REFLEX EVA!
Simon picked a guy from the audience to sing, as usual, but
the guy was so absolutey starstruck with him that all he kept
saying was "Te amo" [Spanish for "I love you"].
Simon kept on asking his name, and in the end he thought "Tiamo"
was the fan´s name. By the end of the intro, Simon shouted
to the crowd: "Let´s hear it for TE AMO!".
It was so absolutely funny! You can also check the video for
this one on YouTube.
|
|

Last
night’s show at Lunar Park indoor arena, in Buenos Aires,
was one such occasion.
In
the bus back to the hotel from the venue, as we sat in our soaked
stage clothing, we all agreed it was possibly the best show
that we’d ever played, and it certainly was the best audience
we’ve played to in our career.
Simon
Le Bon |
|

The band
has such a loyal audience in Chile, it was lovely to be part
of that show. I have many dear friends there, it was great
to meet them all again.
We were lucky enough to see the band after the show and also
leaving Chile, ready to get back to their homes. For one of
my friends, it was his first time meeting the band in a calm
situation, since in Argentina it is almost impossible to see
them quietly.
He was
so happy to talk to them and he even gave demos of his tribute
band, "Night Boat" to John and Nick. They were so
nice to him and to us all, it was the perfect way to say goodbye
to them.
They took pictures with us all and signed our records; even
leaving in the early hours of the morning did not matter to
them.
All I can say over and over again is huge THANK YOU to all
the band members, Nick, Simon, Roger and John, for every single
moment and detail shared with us all in South America. We
cannot wait for your next visit and hope that it won´t
be very long until you tour South America again.
Thanks to all my friends who joined me and helped me throughout
this tour and thank to you, dear Salvo, for everything you
do and share with us.
Duran Duran not only gives us the best music in the universe
and the greatest shows on Planet Earth, they also fill our
lives with friends all over the world ready to enjoy the band
designed to make us party!
|
|

Faby
reports | Fernanda Barbosa Takai (born August 25, 1971) is a
Brazilian singer, better known as the lead vocalist ofthe rock
band Pato Fu. She has also been working on a solo career since
2007 and recorded 2 solo albums, one of them, Luz Negra, featuring
a cover of Ordinary World. Fernanda was invited to sing this
song with Duran Duran at all three Brazilian shows giving a
great performance, being so touched by sharing the stage with
the band, since she is known to be a great Duran Duran fan.
She attended the Meet and Greet in Brasilia on April 28th and
was very excited about seeing the band, just like any other
fan would be. She was also seen in Rio and Sao Paulo having
dinner with the band members. Could we expect a new colaboration
with another great Brazilian artist? In case you want to find
out more about Feranda Takai´s musical career, you can
find out more here fernandatakai.com.br |
|
Translation
from the areavip.com.br interview
Relationship
with Brazil
Simon Le
Bon: Brazil is the future. You have an economy that really works,
that is growing. There is still room to grow here. And, musically,
is a place of great music producers. You have a very musicality
and export it. So it's important for us to come here and experience
Brazilian music
Nick Rhodes: I do not know much about modern Brazilian music,
but obviously we like Caetano Veloso and other
artists. We would like to know more. The business is the energy
of people around here. Many people say that the South American
public is the best. And it's true. More animated, louder singing,
they dance a lot and has more pace.
Roger Taylor: It was amazing. I have not touched so many times
here in Brazil, but for me it was the best night so far. It
was awesome. The public was interacting. It seems he knew all
the lyrics.
Social
projects and sustainability
Roger Taylor:
We're not a band to preach to people, be it political or environmental
issues. But today, if it has any significance for the festival
[ the band took part part in the festival that supports the
sustainability debate] and the audience is even more attractive
to us. We can help with publicity, but depends on the individual
to do something with the information.
Simon Le Bon: It is more urgent for the young people, because
honestly, we'll be dead in 50 years. But they will be alive.
So, what happens depends on them.
Simon is Ambassador of the Air Ambulance Service
Picture
on the left: Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon praised
the work of the Air Ambulance Service during a visit to
its headquarters in Coventry. He met staff at Bagington
Airport as part of his new role as an ambassador for the
charity. The 53-year-old singer said it was vital the
service was maintained. He added that he was keen to help
the charity after he was rescued from a capsized yacht
during the Fastnet Yacht Race 27 years ago.
The
charity provides emergency medical services for Warwickshire,
Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland
and Milton Keynes.
- In
the scans section at the end of this page you'll find
some press articles about this new role of Simon.
|
|
Simon
arriving at ITV Studios in London on June 13, 2012

PreDDhistory:
Simon talks about Dog Days and the song 'Permissive Society'
|
 |
On
may 12, 2012 Simon tweeted this very interesting piece of pre-duran
history!
Bending
to put dWog bowls into respective crates, a single thought rolled
down my inverted spine and landed in my head - Eddie
& The Ho Rods! They were my favorite band for two
weeks in 1977 until I heard John Peel play Fan Club by The Damned.
- I
auditioned for a band called Bolleaux [as
in Gateaux] Alan St Clare, ex-Spear Of Destiny,
on guitar. Sang Rory Gallagher's Open Up and... it was way
out of my range. I screeched the whole thing... and got the
gig. The
only song of Bolleaux's which I liked sounded like Eddie &
The Hot Rods.
- We
did one rehearsal together before disbanding. Alan St Clare
& myself along with Pete Johns - bass,
Oly Bezhadi - drums and Carol Isaacs
- keyboards, formed Dog Days.
- Eddie
& The Hot Rods video
| Simon says: "Dog Days song Permissive Society
was E&THR inspired"
On
the left a picture of Alan St. Clair playing with Spear Of Destiny.
The British guitarist played with several prominent punk and
new wave musicians in the 1970s and 1980s, including Dog Days. |


Get all these scans [and more!] from international mags and
newspapers |
 |
The
only aim of this webzine is to celebrate Duran Duran and their
members. This is a non-profit activity and there are not commercial
purposes behind the existence of the site. This webzine is
just a positive place to share love, passion, stories, news
and pics among Duran Duran fans. Any Duran Duran fan is welcomed
to submit reports, news, pics, etc.
www.duranasty.com
is a fan-site made with passion from a fan to all the fans
of Duran Duran on Planet Earth.
contact
the editor and webmaster salvo@duranasty.com | the life and
times of D u r a n a s t y ® All rights reserved
Thank
you Duran Duran for being a daily source of inspiration with
your art
|
Special
thanks to all the people who helped to build up this installment:
the fantastic Faby Torras, Evelyn Wade, Michelle Riding, Christian,
Marco Drago, Adriane Dalmaso and Diana da Cruz, Trident and
citizenrelations, Barbara and all of you duranasty's facebook
friends!
|
Share
|