January
31: Yesterday Simon and Dom played another acoustic live set on DC's
radio Mix 107.3. Simon Le Bon has been interviewed by J. Diamond for The
Jack Diamond Morning Show [main pic on the right]. You can listen
to some bits of what has been defined "an extremely honest interview
and a very unique acoustic performance" by clicking here
and here
. In the pics [courtesy of radio Mix 107.3] you can see Simon and Dom performing
Jack's request of "Ordinary World." The guys usually play 3/4 songs
on these radio gigs, but this time they played six! [including The
Chauffeur!].
January 31: More on the Big Brother Big Sister soiree from BostonGlobe: Still hungry like wolves? Once known for their outlandish dress and hairstyles, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon and John Taylor were the most conservatively dressed people in the room as they rocked their way through an hour-and-half set at the fund-raiser for Big Brother Big Sister of Massachusetts Bay. More than $1.8 million was raised at the gala Saturday night at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center where most of the several hundred guests turned out wearing their finest 1980s garb. "We were quite normally dressed," Taylor quipped yesterday morning while he was at the Charles Hotel for a Mix Lounge hosted by radio station 98.5 FM. Duran Duran hit town on Friday and filmed a segment at WGBH's studios for the BBC. Although the band packed a lot into their three-day stay, including a couple of late nights of socializing at the Boston Harbor Hotel, Le Bon and Company came for the Big Brother Big Sister swanky soiree. Word is that organizers ponied up more than a quarter of a million to get Duran Duran and the 12 other members of their posse to Boston. [Many thanks to Duranie365 for the 4 pics on the right]
January 30: Simon, John and Dom played another acoustic gig on January 28th for Hatford's 96.5 TIC radio. They did exactly the same type of show as Boston and some Q&A too. They played Falling Down, Save A Prayer, Box Full of Honey and the short version of Ordinary World. MoheganGlowGirl on ddm says: "John and Simon were very funny last night. They called the radio station (aka 96.5 TIC FM), "TIC" as in "tick". They also said something about noticing us New Englanders naming alot of our towns after towns in England...but that we put the word "new" in front of it." The above photos are taken by Carla Ten Eyck, you can read her hilarious Duran experience at the acoustic gig and see all the other beautifull photos she took on her blog here
January 29: All the above photos are taken by our Us friend Bobbi Ruggiero-Hickey who wants to share them with duranasty.com, so check out the gallery with 12 nice pictures about this special acoustic gig played by Simon, John and Dom for Boston's Mix 98.5 and enjoy! Here is also a quick flash report by Bobbi: "They played Falling Down first, and then went into Save A Prayer, Box Full of Honey and then a very revised short version of Ordinary World. There was only one audience question, and it was "What songs do you like to play the best and least, and which song never makes into to the set list but that you would like to play." They looked to poor Dom for the answer for the first question, who stumbled a bit and said Ordinary World. They were really giving him a ribbing and it was adorable. They said the song they liked least to play was "True" and everyone cracked up, and John said he still hasn't convinced Simon yet that they didn't write it. The song Simon liked to do most life was Still Breathing, yet he thought it was too slow to always add to the set list.The DJ asked where Roger, Nick and Andy were! They ignored the Andy bit, but said that Roger and Nick were waiting tables because they were told if they didn't learn how to play the guitar for an acoustic set, than they could go wait tables..." thanks Bobbi for sharing your great experience!
January 29: Check out the last duranduran.com postcard written by Roger in Boston, there are some good news about the world tour [they will reach Italy during the summer] and some special words have been used to define Italian's passion for the band. Read the full writing here
January 28: from bostonherald.com | Duran Duran of “Hungry Like The Wolf” fame [yesterday were in Boston] taping five songs for “Classic Albums,” a documentary series that airs on VH1, in Wgbh's’s Fraser Performance Studio | Simon, John and Dom also played a little acoustic live set [Falling Down, Save A Prayer, Box Full of Honey, and a short version of Ordinary World] at the Mix Lounge.
Classic
album; Duran Duran "Rio" 1982
Classic Albums is a high profile, internationally established, ongoing music
documentary series focusing in a unique way on the great albums which have
influenced the course of music and touched generations. Each title explores
the making of a landmark album through archive footage and new interviews.
January
25: Duran
Duran are about to start a second round of Us promotion, they are concentrating
their efforts to the radio circuit doing a round of live performances, interviews
and meet&greet with the fans who can win trough contests. Let's make the
point of the busy schedule the guys have next week in Usa.
January 27th: Mix 98-5 Boston Regatta Bar in the Charles Hotel [live performance: Mix Lounge with DD]
January 28th: 96.5 TIC at 6 pm Up on the Rock in Hatford [live performance Hartford Acoustic Café]
January 29th: Mix 106.5’s WPLJ NY Tuesday morning [live performance Off The Record]
You can also win a chance to see more radio exclusive performances by Duran Duran and/or meet&greet with the guys with the following american radios: Mix 105, Mix 106.5’s, WPTE The Point, Mix 100.7 and more... Check those radios websites and good luck if you are in the Us!
January 25: The rumor started during the italian promo day and now the news has made its appareance in the media, infact in this week's Novella 2000 magazine [a gossip mag actually] there's a funny photo fiction article about this year's Sanremo Festival and the bit reports about Pippo Baudo, the legendary Sanremo Festival tv presenter, wanting Duran Duran as special guest, among some other recently reunited bands. You can see the bit from the mag in the above visual [other flashback pictures are from the 1985 Sanremo Festival, when Simon broke his leg]. True or not, confirmed or not from the official sources, the media are now starting to talk about the possible presence of the guys at the Festival. So, let's just wait and see what happens tomorrow... for sure Sanremo would be a great opportunity for them to promote RCM, hope they don't miss it.
*Updated* on january 27: In today's edition of "Il Giornale" newspaper there's an article about Sanremo and it refers to Duran Duran as a possible presence to this year's Festival. Of course, the journalist don't confirm and he actually uses the the words "if they come", but it sounds like the offer to the band has been actually made. The article [in italian] is here
*Updated* on january 29: two more articles about the possible presence of DD at Sanremo Festival, one is below and the other is here > digital-sat.it
*Updated* on February 8: one more article from newsic.it announces Duran Duran and Alicia Keys as international rockstar added to the list of presences at this year's Festival!
January 25: John's interview to the Bangkog Post has just been published [on the january 23, 2008 issue]. To dowload the scan and read what john has to say click here. Enjoy!
January 22: musicians at an opening. while Simon and Roger were about to leave for Italy John and his wife Gela attended the Hysteric Glamour Party at Tracey Ross in Los Angeles [on january 17, 2008]. In the pics John, his wife, Courtney Love and Tracey Ross
January 21: *Updated | scroll down* Milan promo day flash report [above pictures taken by Salvo. Click here to see more in the Gallery]: The guys were supposed to arrive in Milan on the 17 of january but due to the British Airways/Heathrow airport accident they had to fly the next day, just the same day the promotion was taking place... Simon comically moaned during the Radio Deejay interview that he had to wake up very early in the morning [at 5 am] to get his flight... Nick wasn't there as supposed and when i asked why to Roger he told me "Nick is not well". The promo day started with an interview on Radio Deejay on the Deejay Chiama Italia show [you can see picture taken from the radio crew on the radio website here]. The guys were delighted with a box full of... chocolate that a fan kindly gave them and Simon apreciated the choccolate so much that the fan was invited to join the guys in the studio [see Simon eating a chocolate in the very small pics - above left]. The interview wasn't one of their best in my opinion as the translator wasn't that good and he missed a lot of what the guys were saying. The live chat was also broadcasted on All Mucic Tv channel. After the interview the band joined the fans and posed for pics and autographs. I asked Simon if this was just the beginning of a new promo tour, and if they were doing more promotion in Europe, he said "I really don't know". That left me a bit confused as at this stage i supposed that a short plan of european promotion was already made, especially with with the lack of promo they did on this side of the globe. Roger was more informative... he said that the band is now starting to plan a 18 months tour and Italy is gonna have a big part of the tour schedule... then he added that they might come back in Italy very soon for some more big promotion. Simon said [during the Trl interview] that Italy is a country that allows them to play the full new album as they did in the recent broadway show 'cos they have a strong fan base here. He also confirmed that Skin Divers is the choice for the second single off from RCM [as duransty.com anticipated on january 11], at least here in Italy! He said that he's not sure if this will be the same choice for other countries but [refering to a proper single release] for sure this is going to happen in Italy . At 3.00 pm the guys were in Piazza Duomo at the Mtv studios where they were interviewed from the teen agers oriented tv show Trl. They tryed to fit into the show dinamics and i think they had fun in the end, especially commenting with the tv presenter some old Duran photos.
Pictures
above: the guys watching the adoring fans outside Radio Montecarlo. On the
right Simon and Roger with the deejays from both radios.
At 4.15 pm the guys head up to Radio Montecarlo where they were interviewed by Patrizia for the Star System show, you can hear the interview here [you can also listen Simon and Roger answers to a couple of questions i sent to the radio]. You can see picture of the guys on Radio Montercarlo here. After that Simon and Roger did one more interview for Radio Dimensione Suono. [The interview is going to be broadcasted tonight - january 21- at 8.00 pm local time]. They guys left Milan the next day, Simon once again very early in the morning and Roger early in the afternoon. Duran Duran, represented by Simon and Roger, had some press coverage from newspapers and free press, they also appeared on the national Rai 3 Tv news and Sky Tg24. [click on the picture below to have a readable - bigger size scan of the clippings, if you can read italian of course!]
*Updade jan. 22* Check out the Sky Tg24 clip here, below some stills from the interview the guys did at their Hotel in Milan on january 18.
*Update
jan. 22* Have a look also at Mtv's Overdrive,
it's a nice backstage clip on the guys including images of Simon and Roger
arriving at Trl studios in Piazza Duomo in Milan. Click here
to see the video in streaming. Click on the visual below to get a bigger printable
version of it.
January 10: The pics in the above visual are just a flashback to the 2004 Milan promo day when the guys came to TRL and did also some radio interviews and a press conference. It's now time for them to repet the experience with their new album so Duran are now expected on january 18, 2008 at the Mtv studios in Milan as they will be special guest on Total Request Live [live from 3.00 pm]. They are also supposed to do some more promotion with few others italian media [not yet announced from any of the official sources]. Keep on checking the site for updates.
Updated January 11: the news is now official as www.duranduran.com reports: Duran Duran will be visiting TRL in Italy on January 18th. Tune in!
 |
 |
 |
January 15: Biography channel has just released a full special on Duran Duran and their 30 years carrear. Simon, Nick, John and Roger and some more people [Mr. Berrow, A. Hamilton...] from the long life of duranasty tell us all about the Duran Duran's manifesto from the early years till RCM. Pictures from Paul Edmond's and Denis O' Regan's archives are shown during the special. You can watch a teaser on the biography channel site here and see the full special on 6 YouTube uploads here [thanks very much to NewReligion83 for the uploads] |
January 13: Duran Duran are featured on the high fashion magazine Qvest [Germany december/january, issue 29], there's an exclusive and stylish photo-reportage on the set of Falling Down video, I scanned the 2 main unseen pics here and here, enjoy! if you want to order a copy or just visit the site go to www.qvest.de
January 11: Good interview with John on Kork.co.uk: Duran Duran killed in the ‘80s electric pop scene, and their newly released Red Carpet Massacre shows that they still have the razor-sharp sensibility for combining catchy, danceable hits with artful songwriting. With over 70 million records sold, 18 American hit singles, 30 top 30 songs in the UK, and an arena-filling international presence, Duran Duran has endured a longevity that is rarely associated with its contemporaries. Bassist John Taylor explains why this is by saying, “I think it’s just not quitting. I see groups and individuals just hang up their guitars, their drumsticks – whatever it is, and often times people don’t want to work out the issues that arise with their band mates. We just keep moving forward. We love what we do, we’re very passionate about it, and we feel very honored to still be doing it.” While Duran Duran did experience additional commercial and critical success in the ‘90s with its second self-titled album, it had its share of member changes and breaks. John says, “I left the band for a while and I tried making music with others. Through that experience, I appreciated the particular chemistry I have with these guys…and I’ve got to say that we may not be virtuosos, but there’s a chemistry we have and it works.” Now it’s 2007, and not only are we approaching the 30th anniversary of Duran Duran, but the beginning of the next era for the band. They’ve collaborated with the stellar production team of Timbaland and Nate 'Danja' Hills, as well as long-time Duran fan Justin Timberlake on Red Carpet Massacre. John describes the experience as, “Pretty damn intense. Timberlake was in the first day on the New York session, and then we did five days with Timbaland and Danja…we kind of felt a flow. Then Danja came to London and he produced a bunch of tracks with us there. He picked up from the New York sessions and got the band’s vibe. We then worked with Justin one more time right at the very end and cut a track with him.” He adds, “They’re very exciting guys to work with. Since I’ve got back into the band, we’ve worked with producers but nobody that was really on their game the way these guys were. They were very inspiring to work with. It just really pushed you to up your game.” The result is a collection of powerful, club-ready cuts like “Nite Runner,” that displays Duran’s versatility and ability to keep up with the changing times. John realized right away when working with this production team that he’d be playing some keyboard bass. He says, “There was no way that I was going to be able to make all this work with a regular bass, and I had to find new ways of saying things with my bass.” For his amazing synth bass sounds, John relies on the Korg RADIAS Synthesizer/Vocoder. He loves how it combines the old school, hands-on feel of a real analog unit with modern voicing, user ease and capabilities. “It has everything I could possibly want to use it for,” he notes, adding, “I’ve only touched the surface of what that machine is capable of. I didn’t pick up my RADIAS until we went on tour, but I have to say it has been able to adapt to everything that I did in the studio with Timbaland and Nate.” When John showed the RADIAS to Duran Duran keyboardist, Nick Rhodes, it blew him away. That led to what they call the “electro set,” a collection of their hits that they perform on tour where the whole band is playing synths. John explains, “We’d sort of been talking about how a lot of bands today have what they call the “acoustic portion” of the set. It’s become sort of an industry standard...and we’ve done that but it never felt really genuine because we’re not that kind of a band. When we go back to our roots, we go back to synthesizers and early sequencers and that sort of thing. So we thought instead of going back to an acoustic guitar type of presentation, why don’t we go electro?” In addition to the RADIAS, they’ve equipped the stage setup with a Korg M3 Music Workstation/Sampler and microKORG Synthesizer/Vocoder. They can’t get enough of all three instruments and are looking forward to utilizing them on future recordings. John says, “Basically, we’re all playing keyboards in the electro set so there was a bit of a learning curve. I was already into them so I thought this is going to be great for me, because I have to play a bit of keyboard in the presentation of the new album. I suggested to Simon (Le Bon, lead singer,) ‘How would you feel about just playing a couple of lines here and there?’ and he was willing to try it. Of course, once he started working with the vocoder on the microKORG, he was like a kid in a candy store! We’re all interfacing with technology in a way certainly Simon, Roger (Taylor, drummer,) and I are not used to, and we’re having a lot of fun. We’re really loving it.” from korg.co.uk
January 8: Check out the last issue of Modern Drummer magazine and the online edition here for a great interview to our favourite drummer.
January 8: in the new issue of Future Music magazine [Uk - issue n°196 January 08] there's a 5 pages article with a new Duran interview and brand new studio pics. There's also a free dvd with the Duran interview. Thanks to keithwillis who posted scans of the article on the duranboard: page1, page2, page3, page 4, page 5.
January 8: Grab a copy of the new issue of the prestigious Q magazine [Uk january 08] with a 10 pages [!] article about the the bands career. Wish they were finally on the front cover... but hey, it's a 10 pages feature on Q magazine!! Who would have imagined it back in 1997 when they released Undergoing Treatment?! ...We are undergoing treatment till our record fits the scene layed out in Q magazine. Huge thanks to keithwillis for posting the scans on the duranboard. To read the article just follow the links: page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7, page 8, page 9, page 10