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Last update march 10, 2010 |
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March 10: Exclusive! Roger Taylor speaks to duranasty.com | On the eve of the launch of his new deejay set across Europe, Roger has been kind enough to stop for a quick ten question interview with duranasty.com's editor. Thanks very much Roger for taking the time and a special thanks goes also to his manager, Media Promotion and Red Passion Club.
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March 9: More from Japan! Simon took one week longer stay in Japan than the rest of the band. Just after the CLSA corporate gig Simon and Nick Wood finished all their shooting for the Save a Prayer videoclip with Sylvio Anastasio [pic on the left] and they left Tokio for three days with Noriko [the author of these wonderful pics] to go to Oirase, a wonderful town located in the Kamikita, District of eastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan. This post is just about sharing these cool pics of Simon relaxing and having fun with his two friends. Enjoy and have fun! |
Some meditation in a real kimono, walks in the white snow, wonderful landscapes, typical food, and two very good friends... will all this bring some inspiration for some new Duran Duran lyrics?)
Hungry like the wolf: Simon Le Bon and his big fish.
Below good friends Simon, Nick and Noriko.
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March 4: Simon Le Bon joined his old friend Sylvio Anastacio and co-founder of Syn production Nick Wood at Saigo Yama Park in Tokyo to film a video for their version of “Save a Prayer” [enclosed in the 2002 “From the Heart” Starbucks compilation]. Below some pics taken by Noriko [Private Secretary to Nick Wood] at Aomori railway station. On the left Simon and Nick Wood at the Concorde Hotel in Tokyo where Mr Le Bon sang at the bar with Sylvio Anastacio their rendition of “Save a Prayer” |
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February 28: While Duran Duran were in Barcelona to play a corporate show at the Global Mobile Awards some spanish fans were lucky enough to meet the guys at the Palau Nacional. When fellow duranie Imma met John she promptly asked when the new album will be out, at first he said he didn't know, then he said September... Thelsus also reports that the guys did a pro-photoshoot in Barcelona. Simon and Roger shoots were done outside and in the park in front the Palau, Nick's posed inside sat on the floor. [in the small pic, taken by Thelsus, Simon during the photoshoot, main pic the band in Barcelona on feb 16] According to this fan-report published on duranplanet.com Nick told fans who met him at the studio that a new tour might kick-off from the U.S.A presumably in August, but it all depends on the album. Finger crossed guys! |
February 28: From the thesun.co.uk: Mark Ronson has been working on his next album the 'Record Collection', which is being recorded under the name Mark Ronson And The Business. Veterans including Simon Le Bon, Sir Elton John and Boy George are collaborating with Ronson on his new disc. The record is slated for release in July. Read more here.
February 28: Roger and Jake will be showcasing a brand new set for the coming spring at The Red Passion Club in Campobasso [Italy] on March 6th. Roger says: "We have more dates coming up soon..."
Download scans of Red Passion magazine with our favourite drummer on the cover and a three pages article!
February 28: Duran Duran have just played a couple of corporate gigs, one at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards party in Barcelona [as we previously reported] and one at the CLSA 7th annual Japan Forum at the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Tokyo. Have a look at this great collection of 178 [!] professional pics of the guys playing in Barcellona [courtesy of Howard Sayer]. Some more quality pics from Barcelona can be seen here. Not as good as these but they are the only ones I could find online from the Tokio gig... so here some from CLSA show pictures [click on the pics to get a larger version].
February 17: *Updated with a pic of Nick at the event [below]* | Duran Duran were headliners at last night’s GSMA Global Mobile Awards party in Barcelona. Nick Rhodes also made an appearance at this morning’s Mobile Entertainment & Lifestyle session [‘The Future of Media on Mobile’]. Show Daily magazine caught up with him to pose a variety of questions [some of which were contributed via social networks]. Below the most interesting and informative question [made by tof075 via Twitter]
Do you plan to promote your new album with special iPhone apps, like Robbie Williams?
"We are currently in discussions with several phone companies about what type of experience we can provide for our audience when we release the new album later this year. We are always looking for interesting and innovative opportunities and there's undoubtedly some exciting technology out there to both deliver music and engage our fans.
Download
a scan of the article and read the full interview here |
February 10: I'm glad to announce the real [and hopefully final] release dates for Duran Duran and Seven And The Ragged Tiger. I just spoke to my contact at Emi Catalogue who also sent us in advance the official press releases with tracklist and special contents of all the upcoming products. A real treat for the collectors out there 'cos the special packaging of both releases will be made with a clamshell box, an 8 pages booklet, postcards and also a poster. Great to hear that the Air Studios versions, The Manchester Square Demos and the BBC Radio 1 Peter Powell session will be included in Duran Duran and the wonderful live show 'As The Lights Go Down' will see the light of day as official release on dvd! Below the final and official release dates and info:
Duran Duran - Duran Duran Release Date: 28/03/2010
Format
Cat.No. ICPN Packaging
CD Album + Bonus DVD (3) EMCX 3372 5099960960320 Clamshell box
CD Album (2) EMCS 3372 5099960959720 Digi-pack
Digital (2) 609 6005 5099960960054 2Component digital download
Vinyl Album (2) EMCD 3372 5099960960610 Heavyweight 2LP
Product
Suite
2CD+DVD Special Packaging edition
CD1: The original album + b'sides
CD2: Packed full of previously unreleased material includes:
The
AIR Studios versions, The Manchester Square Demos, BBC Radio 1 Peter Powell
session and Night Versions of Planet Earth & Girls on Film.
DVD: Original Videos plus previously unreleased versions of TOTP, Old Grey
Whistle Test, Get Set For Summer and Multi-Coloured Swap Shop footage.
Special Packaging
*Clamshell box with lift off lid
*8pg booklet
*5 x postcards of individual band shots
*Folded poster approx 30cm x 38cm used in Japanese original LP
2CD/2Component
Digital Download
CD1: Original album + b'sides
CD2: As per 2CD/DVD edition above.
Packaging
*6 panel digipack
*8 page booklet
Vinyl
LP1: Original Album
LP2: Bonus 12"
Packaging
*Wide spine sleeve
*2 x 12" heavyweight vinyl - 180gram
Duran Duran Seven And The Ragged Tiger Release Date: 29/03/2010
Format
Cat.No. ICPN Packaging
CD Album + Bonus DVD (3) EMCX 165454 5099962609722 Clamshell box
CD Album (2) EMCS 165454 5099962609425 Digi-pack
Digital (2) 626 0915 5099962609159 2Component digital download
Vinyl Album (2) EMCD 165454 5099962610018 Heavyweight 2LP
Product
Suite
2CD+DVD Special Packaging
CD1: Original album released 3 Dec 1983
CD2: Bonus album with non album singles, b-sides and mixes
DVD: As The Lights Go Down: A film Conceived by Duran Durand and Russell Mulcahy,
the Videos from Seven and The Ragged Tiger and two Top of the Pops performances.
Special
Packaging
*Clamshell box with lift off lid
*8pg booklet
*5 x postcards of individual band shots
*Folded poster approx 30cm x 38cm used in Japanese original LP
2CD/2Component
Digital Download
CD1: Original album + b'sides
CD2: As per 2CD/DVD edition above.
Packaging
*6 panel digipack
*8 page booklet
Vinyl
LP1: Original Album
LP2: Bonus 12"
Packaging
*Wide spine sleeve
*2 x 12" heavyweight vinyl - 180gram
Read/download the full tracklist on the press releases:
press release Duran Duran: page one, page two
press release Seven And The Ragged Tiger: page one, page two
EMI has also confirmed Arcadia's So Red The Rose release date [April 12th and 13th].
Both packshots showed in the above visual are just a simulation of the prodoucts
January 26: Denis O'Regan has just launched his new improved website with a fantastic collection of 45 new-old Duran Duran pictures from his archive... check them out here and enjoy the trip! There's a lot more... Denis, who has been taking memorable photographs of the band for three decades, unveils his great new project, a new Duran Duran visual book. He says: "I‘m currently producing a book with Duran Duran trough my intense Book Imprint, entitled ‘Careless Memories - Duran Duran in The Eighties’ and I will be opening a print gallery in London’s Westbourne Grove in 2010".
‘Careless
Memories - Duran Duran in The Eighties’: this unique book documents
Duran Duran in the Eighties, using pictures from Denis O’ Regan Archive.
It will be available for pre-sale from April 2010.
Duran Duran contribute interviews and their memories from the period.
The Sing Blue Silver tour is covered in detail, featuring numerous
unseen images, many of them black & white. The book is a strictly
limited edition premium publication, delivered in a custom slipcase,
signed by band members. Book buyers will receive an invitation
to an exclusive Duran Duran performance, at wich they can meet the band.
Buyers will also receive a custom USB stick featuring a recording of the show.
all
photos by Denis O'Regan
You may register your interest in the book here
January
23: I haven't posted since late december 'cos there haven't been
any relevant news to report about. All we would like to hear is that the work
on album is progressing well, and I'm sure the band will give us an update
soon trough the official sources. Meanwhile Duran Duran has announced their
collaboration to Manimal Vinyl's awaited tribute
to David Bowie [due in stores May 2010]. The guys decided to cover
“Boys Keep Swinging”. 100% of the net profits
will go to Warchild.
The album will be available as a limited cd, limited double lp and download
with extra tracks unavailable anywhere else. Site says "expect tracks
to start leaking out around February 15"
This week I had a quick chat with Paul Beahan, owner of Manimal Vinyl, as I was curious to know how Duran Duran ended up in this project, with such a different range of names and genres, right in the middle of their busy recording session for their upcoming album.
Paul, Can you tell us how DD got involved in the project, was John Taylor's idea maybe [since he lives in LA and he's actually a great vinyl collector]?
Aside from owning and operating Manimal Records, I have been working as a fashion stylist in Los Angeles and New York City since 2002. From this I became aquainted with John's lovely wife, Gela [co-owner of Juicy Couture]. Having been a Duran fan since 1982, I simply wrote to their management asking if they had any interest in being a part of this charity project. Thankfully they were.
Is the cover similar to the original song or quite different, would you please describe it? [guitar or electronic oriented sound?]
The track will not be ready until next week. I am just as anxious to hear it as you are. ;) I will let you know.
Has Bowie actually heard any of the songs?
No, but he will soon.
Reissues | Some more news comes from my insider at Emi Catalogue about the upcoming reissues: Duran Duran special edition and Seven And The Ragged Tiger special edition have just been postponed [from march 12] to march 26. Emi will be also reissuing The Greatest dvd in standard amaray case because the first digipack edition is now out of stock. The release date for this one is currently the same of the other two products, Emi Catalogue's representative said.
December 24: A picture is worth a thousand words and I really couldn't find a better image to post duranasty.com's Christmas wishes than this one showing a daddy dressed as Santa Claus with his daughter. The mentioned daddy is none other than Nick Rhodes with a very young Tatjana Rhodes [the picture has been posted on jewelsfromtherovingstove blog where Julie Anne is also running the competition "Name That Santa". Well, what can I say, I Just want to wish everyone in the Duran Duran universe a wonderfull Christmas time and a Fantastic 2010, I'm sure the new year will bring us a lot of Duran Duran emotions with many releases to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary and finally the so awaited new album and tour... so never lose faith and keep on loving Duran Duran!
December 20: Below the very nice Christmas greeting we have received from Duran Duran's guitarrist Dom Brown. We just wish the best to you, Dom, and your growing family, and lots more years of success with Duran Duran and Blue To Brown. We are so lucky to have a talented musician and down to earth guy like you is in the band, we just can't wait to listen some new music. Happy Christmas and a spectacular 2010!
December 17: In the last KatyKafe John mentioned a new project with Nick Egan, not something that seems of immediate concern... the news needed more investigation anyway! John said: 'I've got a little project on the back burner with Nick Egan who designed the Wedding Album and he did the videos for Ordinary World, and White Lines, and it's kind of a, well, it's sort of in the works, but it's like a book project, we've been thinking about, it's kinda about Nick's work, it's about really the twilight of the album cover years, it's really about the death of the album cover.
I've always been a huge fan of Egan's work, he's a 360° visual artist and I just loved what he did with Duran's image, graphically and in video, over the years. I particulary enjoyed the totally new visual identity of the band that he created around the release of the Wedding Album [Ordinary World video, the album cover, the press adverts, the tourbook and all the merchandise including the cool t-shirts: just terrific and very fresh at the time]. So it was a real pleasure to drop him a line and ask some more info about the project. Nick was very nice to return a quick but informative email: below I report what he said'.
Hi Salvo, Thanks for contacting me, actually the book isn't about Duran. It's a book, written by John, about my artwork starting with The Clash and Ramones and including Bow Wow Wow, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Malcolm McLaren, Bob Dylan, INXS, Iggy Pop, Oasis and of course Duran Duran. I can't really give you anymore info than that, other than to say that John is a terrific writer. Feel free to check in with any updates of the next few months.
Best wishes.
Nick
For sure I'll do it and I'll keep you posted! Thanks again for sharing this bit of info Nick!
In the same Kafe John speaks about his talk at ucla, his musical obsessions [he did a nice analogy of mp3's to vinyl as McDonald's to a fine, local restaurant] to art, poetry and books. He also commented on the Rio reissue and said: 'Emi is warming up to do the same with the first album, the third, fourth [Arena] and fifth album'. My contact at Emi Catalogue told me that, despite all that has been posted online, the only confirmed reissue at the moment is Seven And The Ragged Tiger: release date march 12, 2010. According to my source the special edition of Duran Duran and So Red The Rose have been both postponed to april 2010, but no date has been announced yet.
In the pictures Nick Egan, Ronah Elliot Catherine Roylance [publisher and designer], John Taylor, and Catherine Roylance [Owner of Genesis Publications - Publishing industry]. The pic was taken on October 8th 2009 at Taschen in Beverly Hills for The Brian Wilson Book Signing. I guess the book will be released on Genesis Publications, it's the world's leading publisher of signed and numbered limited edition books and fine art prints on modern music, art, sports, and historical manuscripts. The b/w John Taylor portrait was taken on October 1, 2007 during a shoot in London for Rockin On magazine from Japan.
December 9: As we reported last spring, Drama Americana, the documentary filmed during the 2005 Astronaut tour, is now finished. Nick said back in march: "it needs to go out soon, so it will be released on dvd, download or whatever it is". We still haven't got a clue in what kind of form the prodouct will be available to the public but we made a very interesting discovery... on heyluke's website [Gavin Elder's London based Video Production] have been uploaded the trailers of Drama Americana and another documentary titled Duran Japan. "Drama Americana" Usa Tour Film is 64 minutes long. You can watch the trailers directly from the source heyluke.com under the section 'work'. You might get trouble watching them 'cos these are Adobe Shockwave files. The way Shockwave files tend to work is to link to external resources which is why they often don't work... so if you won't get anything when trying to play the swf files you have a second opportunity here, you can watch and download the quicktime files by clicking the links below [right click - save target as]. Glad to help you! This news wouldn't be here without the precious help of Donata and Mr.T.
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Drama Americana Trailer: 30 sec Duran Japan On tour in Japan. Preview: 1min 30sec |
Nick says: "We also have a lot of footage we filmed during the South American Tour, mostly documentary and a little bit of live stuff, but I think it's very different than anything else we have put out before. It needs editing, hours of editing..." Will this stuff ever surface? We wonder also what happened to the Pop Trash tour documentary, hours and hours of shooting...
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December
9: In August 2009 Orion Books has released
a small paperback version of Andy Taylor's book
'Wild Boys, My life in Duran Duran'. If you liked the first
edition and you think it was an interesting read, well... you have to
get this new one 'cos it has a new chapter, chapter
18, titled "Accountants and Cocaine Don't Mix".
The new script is revealing and once and for all Andy gives the fans
all the answers they have been asking since he left the band. This chapter
represents the end to the speculation and all the discussion the fans
have been making over the last couple of years. Below just a couple
of interesting quotes from the mentioned chapter. You really have to
read the full chapter, so if you didn't buy a copy of the book when
it was originally released you can always get it now, I highly recommend
it if you want to get the full picture... Well, I should say the full
picture from Andy's point of view! |
On chapter 18 Andy talks about RCM and the management...
[...] Experience tells you that you can’t spin a good record [no pun intended]; it actually has to be a good record. There are those around Duran Duran who mistakenly belive that as long as they repeatedly state something is good, then it’s eventually going to come good. Force-feed the public till they damn well love it. I prefer to win by winning and not by spinning. I was reported on BBC website in November 2006 that Duran Duran had worked with Justin Timberlake in ‘a writing and production manner’ one one of three new tracks produced by Timbaland. Oh no, I thought, Duran Duran is about to become a celebrity fan club. The cast of characters was staggering: Timbaland, Timberlake, Furtado, Nate Hills... who next? You have to ask yourself what on earth they were all chasing - and really, was the creative energy so lacking that so many other beautiful minds, dare I say egos, had to be involved?
...and about running into Roger Taylot at a Who concert and the end [?] of their friendship.
[...] The box from wich Tracey and I watched the concert was close to the one Simon and Roger shared but but Simon disappeared pretty quickly. Roger and I, however, came face to face over drinks - and I think that was the moment when the enormity of the split finally hit me. Roger smiled and we shook hands in tacit agreement to put any bitterness to one side. Opening up any differences would hardly have been appropriate given the time or the place. Roger is never one to be confrontational and even though I can rip someone’s throat out if I ‘m in a temper, I just didn’t have the heart to bear an old friend any ill will. I felt a little saddened knowing that Roger and I had adgreed on so many issues and now he seemed as if he was just cruising along with whatever was dished up, including using some beat machines. [...] Roger and I vowed to keep in touch with each other, but while we were chatting, i couldn’t help feeling that the atmosphere seemed just a little too polite, if not a tiny bit frosty. I think that’s when it properly sank in: we have nothing left in common, our friendship is gone. I was no longer a member of the band we created - we no longer had the same terms of endearment. It was the last time Roger and I spoke and none of us have ever spoken since.
He speaks also about Reportage and mentions that people keep asking him if he'll ever return to Duran Duran, and he finally answer the question...
[...] I hadn’t disagreed with Sony in 2005 when they’d rejected JT’s painful production of Reportage [our unreleased album], and I wasn’t alone, but nobody had the balls to tell Nick and John that the album just wasn’t up to it. JT couldn’t see this, or more to the point, feel it. They knew how I felt but in their ignorance ignored the one guy who was being straight and actually knew how to operate the machine. Occasionally [like on most days] I get asked by fans if I would ever consider joining Duran Duran for a third time? Sadly, I don’t think there’s any likelihood of that and the direction they’ve taken would not be of my choosing. Aside from anything else it would mean Nick and I have had more make-ups and break-ups than Liz Taylor and Richard Burton! So there’s not a cat in hell’s chance - it’s over. Like all divorces, it was inevitable that at some stage the lawyers would become involved. Our financial affairs had always been a bit of a complex web to say least, and no severance was ever going to be easy, particulary one as sudden and deceptive as my exit from the band. there were no farewell or handshakes and there was not even time to arrange for all of my musical equipment to be sent back to me'.
Andy closes the chapter saying:
[...] I have the satisfaction of knowing that in Duran Duran we did it all, and we did it ‘our own way’ - twice - [well nearly]. So there's no point in getting hung up about how things turned out. It’s over baby, they didn’t want me around anymore and fundamentally I’m okay about that. And we were gone just as quickly as it all had began.
November 24: Album Update | Read it carefully 'cause this is not a take of this Roger Taylor's blog on the official site.This is a transcription of the most interesting part [about 13th] from the recent KatyKafe, online on ddm from november 19th. Roger says: "We'll probably back in the studio as a band in the new year. Simon is writing lyrics, he is just sorting the final vocals. I know that he'll back in the studio next week and I know that he has got around six songs and they are all pretty much finished so I think we really start moving again from there" [...] There will be a tour for sure, we hope to get some dates for the second quarter of next year" [...] I'll probably deejay in a couple of weeks in London, at the Met Bar, it's kinda like my resident, I kinda play there when I want.
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November
19: On sunday november 15th, Yasmin Le Bon with husband Simon
and their three daughters joined other celebrities in raising money
for charity by manning stalls at the Really Really
Great Garage Sale fundraising event at Selfridges in London.
Here is a fan/fun experience from our London reporter Silvia Chironi
[pictured with Simon on the left. Silvia is also known for being the
fan who lent her voice to speak the italian words in Venice
Drowning]. |
"My friend B and I arrived at Selfridges at about noon, when the event was actually supposed to start! Big mistake! We should have known better! Tons of celebrities selling their own clothes for charity, certainly a very attractive event! The nice police-officer I talked to estimated 4 hours queue. We decide to go for the Jimmy Choo sale at H&M which was quite a big deal as well to be honest! We go back at around 2pm! We were lucky! Barely half hour in line! We walked right away towards Yasmin’s stall! She’s already sold almost everything. She welcomed us warmly, she started talking with us saying that she’s been there since 9am but she’s very proud of what she accomplished so far! We asked if she had eaten at all… she said: ”not really!”. The 3 girls are all there with their aprons and horns helping mom!! Simon arrives 5 minutes later in a very good mood! He tries right away to sell us one of his jacket, light grey/white XL and stained! We really were laughing very hard thinking about our husbands wearing it… they would have most likely thrown it in our faces! We didn’t ask anything about the work they’re doing with the band because he seemed very excited about the event and wanted to show us more clothes! I go back to Yasmin and spot a very sexy black dress… I guess I couldn’t resist and besides the money will go to charity! She tells us that she partied very hard on it, it’s a Versace dress. She sells it to me for 15 pounds and Saffron put it the shopping bag for me! We spoke about the Wallis collection and boobs... Right! Boobs! Which she confessed: ”I never had!”. We decided to wander around and check out the other stalls! Simon is always somewhere around us very excited! We meet again and I decide to ask for a picture… it’s been 20 years that I don’t take a picture with Simon, it seemed a good occasion! He looks very happy and proud of what Yasmin was doing and he’s keeping on saying:” this is so fucking cool! Some people recognized him and ask for autographs! At some point some tv journalist interviewed him! That’s pretty much it! Very funny and exciting experience! Certainly a little different from the usual ones where Duran Duran are involved!"
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From the Indipendent: Sunday is a holy day for bargain hunters, who flock to car parks and playing fields around the country to rummage through stalls of second-hand clothes, toys and bric-a-brac in the hope of finding a hidden gem. But while boot sale-goers wouldn’t spend hours queuing for the privilege, a fashion-conscious crowd arrived at the car park of London's Selfridges early yesterday morning in the hope of bagging a bargain and spotting some celebrities at a charity jumble sale. Famous names including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lily Allen, Yasmin Le Bon [with Simon and their three girls] donated items, with many choosing to man their own stalls. Wider baby smiling you just made a million: Yasmin gets money from Silvia! |
November 19: On November 14th John Taylor, wife Gela Nash and daughter Atlanta attended The Museum of Contemporary Art [MOCA] 30th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles. The gala and auction of new artworks will benefit the museum's exhibition and education programs.
Above some unusual pics of Simon shopping in Casablanca. The pics were taken in the early days of November when Simon and his family attended the launch of the Mazagan Beach Resort in Morocco. Credit goes to the very informative forum All for Simon Le Bon
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Last
but not least... when Spandau Ballet came to Milan
last week for a quick promotional tour, during the press conference
they were asked about Duran Duran and their historic rivalry. Spandau
said: "They are very nice guys and we are friends. The night of
our London debut they sent us a very big bottle of Dom Perignon, some
of them also attended the show. With the bottle there was also a wishing
card... they didn't write the typical english good wish "break
a leg", they just wrote ‘We’ll break your legs’!
From rockol.it |
November 13: Review | Originally released in 2003, the Single Box 81-85 gets new life with the a new release. If you have purchased this compilation in the form of 13 cd singles you won't be disappointed getting this wonderfully designed new podouct by Duran Duran under Emi! Not only is this 3cd version considerably cheaper, you're also spared the irritation of having to constantly swap discs over in order to hear all the tracks. The box set contains so many great remixed/extended versions of classic Duran Duran tracks, such as the 'nite versions ' and the 'dance mixes' [in the early days, the band would actually re-record the extended versions of their singles]. You'll be able to listen to Khanada, Fame and Secret Oktober without the hassle of changing disc: a real full immersion in the Duran Duran b-sides world. I just hope that Emi Catalogue will reissue soon the 'Singles Box 86-95' in a similar manageable and usefull format. [the box is available on amazon.co.uk for only £7.98]
Press release: 2009 three CD set from the New Wave quintet containing all of their singles [A and B-sides] released between 1981 and 1985. From their debut single 'Planet Earth' to their James Bond theme, 'A View To A Kill', Duran Duran could do no wrong and were one of the most sucessful Pop acts of the '80s. This triple box features all 13 singles released during their first four years including seven inch single mixes, extended mixes and b-sides. Features the hits 'Rio', 'Hungry Like The Wolf', 'The Wild Boys', 'Girls On Film', 'Save A Prayer', 'Is There Something I Should Know', 'The Reflex' and many more. Emi.
November 13: Duran Duran has recently inspired a musical in Australia and a movie still in production in Uk. From the Sydney Morning Herald | Section: Spectrum | "Musical theatre is undergoing a metamorphosis as plot-driven epics make way for nostalgic fantasy. Listen up, theatreland, have I got a show for you. Rio! – The New Romantic Musical!© is the heart-warming story of an apprentice in a run-down suburban hair salon who enters an international hairdressing competition in Brazil because she’s searching for her father, a man that her mother – now tragically deceased, but still available in humorous ghost format – allowed her to believe is Vidal Sassoon. Stay with me, people. There’s a hilariously bitchy gay character, a wedding [maybe two!], a haircut gone seriously wrong and, best of all, it’s stuffed full of retro-fabulous ’ 80s pop anthems including Duran Duran’s Rio for the spectacular beach finale".
The film Elevator Gods has been in preparation for eight years and is being directed and produced by Tadcaster man Peter Hunt, who is starring in the film alongside comedians Trevor and Simon and Ralph Brown, who played drug dealer Danny in Withnail And I. The film, which has a budget of just £100,000, is being billed as The Full Monty meets The Commitments, and tells the story of a Bradford poseur who must persuade his friends to reform their Duran Duran tribute band to enter a contest and win the cash prize to save their nightclub. The budget is so tight that Mr Hunt’s family and friends are helping to get the film made. Writer and Director Pete Hunt and the crew hope the film will be released early in 2011. |
November 8: The Le Bon family were among the celebrity guests who attended the launch party of the Mazagan Beach Resort in Morocco. The luxury property is located in the Mazagan region south of Casablanca. According to Dean Piper [Celebrity & Showbiz Expert and currently the celebrity and entertainment columnist for The Sunday Mirror] guest were also invited at the Birthday party for Simon Le Bon, Hollywood actor Gerard Butler and Naomi Campbell’s millionaire boyfriend Vladislav Doronin. The threesome celebrated their birthdays at Mazagan’s Sanctuary Club. Yasmin and Naomi had pre-planned the entire evening around their men and a huge cake was brought out for each man! And part of the celebrations included Simon and hotel owner Heather Kerzner taking to the mic for some impromptu karaoke! Meanwile Simon and Dean Piper engaged in a ‘dance-off’ in the middle of the Sanctuary club. Simon wandered over to the DJ booth and yelled: “Got any MGMT. Please play it.” Unfortunately the DJ had no idea an eighties pop legend was before him and said he ‘didn’t take requests’. Blasted!
As soon as Simon returned to London he was busy doing quick rehearsals to play live with Mark Ronson and the Kaiser Chiefs at Brixton Academy for Care. Proceeds from the show went to Care international – one of the largest international relief and humanitarian organizations in the world. Simon sang an interesting rendition of Planet Earth with Mark Ronson and the Kaiser Chiefs. Something funny [?] happened that night to Mark Ronson: David Walliams a comedy actor played a joke on him earlier that night. He did a sketch and got Mark up on stage where they played a game called 'find the sausage' anyway it ended up with him pulling Marks pants down! By all accounts Mark didn't know it was going to happen and had his pants ripped in the process. Those funny pics appeared in the papers the next day. [thanks to snr79 for reporting about the Ronson bad joke and to Daniela for the Simon picture above-right]
in the Media
Simon, Kaiser Chiefs and Ronson's performance from Youtube. On the right two papers from last week about Casablanca and the bad Ronson joke. |
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November 7: Phillips de Pury & Company, one of the most innovative forces in the art world, has introduced a new series of theme auctions of Contemporary Art and culture which will be held at their headquarters in London and New York. Two lots of photos from Nick Rhodes are available for auction [view them here], "Selected images from the Flag" and "Selected Images from American TV". Both photos come from the Interference project dated 1984. The MUSIC theme sale will be offering four key components to the sale: art and design by contemporary artists that has a reference to music; art by contemporary musicians; portraits of contemporary musicians by top photographers; plus music memorabilia. Auction starts Saturday 21 November 2009 5pm London with Simon de Pury and featuring DJ Matthew Herbert. Viewing 9 – 21 November. You can order a copy of the MUSIC catalogue featuring pics of the two Rhodes artisitic polaroids right here. |
Here is a nice photo of Nick at the book launch party for Nicky Haslam's autobiography - 'Redeeming Features' on November 5, 2009
November 6: Last week, during the 40th Anniversary of the Internet celebration, John Taylor revealed some juicy details about the still embryonic Apple-Itunes collaboration for the future Duran Duran album and products. At the end of the conference John answered a couple of questions that don't appear in the video posted by UCLA in the webcast site. This is an exclusive transcription of the most interesting part of the chat that John had with the audience after his official speach. John was asked to talk about the recent meeting of the band with the Apple-Itunes representatives. Here is what he said: " [back in July] We went up to Apple, we met quite a few people there, we talked to Robert Gondrick at Itunes about how we could expand, we talked about packaging [I'm obsessed about that kind of stuff! John says]. I was finding the [dowload] experience actually buying music, 'cos I'm an old-timer... I find that downloading experience a bit of a let-down, I'm looking to an answer and get a little bit more out of it and he [Robert] is of that mind also. So we got to see a little bit what they were doing with a view to a new project, we talked about an Anthology project and how we could release it, maybe not all in one go, or just releasing it. I suppose asks questions of how the prodouct show be presented, you know I'm used to very much like a recording with a beginning and an end and maybe with the online services is not like that. We even talked about releasing an album that maybe hadn't a fluid running order... that maybe everybody that downloaded the album ain't got it in different order..."
"I like the idea of selling my music directly to people out there"
November 3: Just some Taylor Made news and tidbits! On October 15th Cindy Crawford [in the small pics with Roger] launched a new Omega advertising campaign commemorating 10 years of the brand’s Co-axial technology. The evening party - attended by celebrities - was held at the exclusive Almada bar in Mayfair and music was provided by DJ Roger Taylor.
Andy and James Taylor, sons of Andy Snr and Roger, are launching their new band Nitevisions. Listen a bit of their song Fire here.
Since I haven't seen these pics posted on the usual boards I take the chance to show them to you... Roger with his wife Gisela at the Neville Hair And Beauty - Salon Relaunch Party [taken on June 22, 2009]
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More Taylor Made news. Our correspondent Alexandria visited the Eastside Project Abstract Cabinet Show [Taylor/Toledo's exhibition in Birmingham]. Here is what she has to say: "It's a small gallery in the middle of what aptly felt like an industrial estate, there are various pieces on show and as I meandered around towards the rear I thought I could hear a familiar voice. Behind a black curtain is the looping short film show with the words of John and Laureana. Interesting thoughts about cities, architecture and what was home, nostalgia. If you get a chance I would recommend seeing it, for those who can't I took a snap of the amp and the paper." Check out this great document of the multitalented and creative John Taylor right here |
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Last but not least Taylor Made tidbit... if you missed this revealing interview to Andy Taylor [published in september], well here is a chance to read it again ... Andy says about Nick Rhodes! [...] "to his credit or discredit - and it’s a very subjective sort of thing, y’know - all he’s ever known is Duran Duran. That it! All he’s ever known. So, you can forgive him for screwing up sometimes. Q: So you don’t hate him? AT: [Laughs] No, not at all. But y’know, me and Nick can push each other’s buttons like nothing else and it’s one of the most productive things when it works and one of the most destructive things when it doesn’t, and that’s what bands ought to be. Not those homogenised fuckers from Pop Idol. |
Since we are talking about the keeper of Duran Duran's flame, aka Nick Rhodes, I want to close this post with this priceless picture of him, Mark Ronson and his girlfriend [French model and actress] Josephine de la Baume [taken at the Pringle of Scotland fashion show at the Sacchi Gallery on 21/09]. It's your turn now! Caption this pic, email me your captions at salvo@duranasty.com The funniest caption will be published!
*Updated on December 9*: The best caption is from Bev Smith [thanks!]:
"Yes
Mark, of course you can be the fifth member of Duran Duran, now put the gun
down theres a good chap!
In the pic from left: John Taylor, John Perry Barlow, Electronic Frontier Foundation; and from World-of-Warcraft producer Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard officials Frank Pearce and Mike Morhaime. |
Ocotber
31: John Taylor was one of the panelist who spoke at UCLA's
40th Anniversary of the Internet celebration, hosted by Prof. Leonard
Kleinrock, on October 29, 2009. The conference marked the 40th birthday
of the Internet, which was created on Oct. 29, 1969, at UCLA when a
team led by Engineering Professor Leonard Kleinrock successfully linked
a campus computer at Boelter Hall with a machine at Stanford. Kleinrock
predicted decades ago that the resulting connectivity would one day
be a household product, like electricity, but said he never guessed
that the Internet would be used to connect people to people, instead
of people to machines. The logistics of the conference itself revealed
how far the Internet has come: Although 200 people attended in "real
life," as speaker John Taylor from the band Duran Duran put it,
the live webcast attracted more than 51,000 viewers, an uncounted number
of whom submitted questions to the speakers via Twitter. Many more watched
the conference via the online video posted after the event. The speakers
revealed how their early forays into web technology resulted in creating
new communities. Taylor now blogs on Duran Duran's fan site but he was
a veritable pioneer who began selling music via the web before practically
anyone else. |
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October 27th 2009: Wishing Simon a great 51st Birthday!
We love you www.duranasty.com |
October 17: Exclusive | For collectors and paper-lovers only | Patty Palazzo reveals to duranasty.com some juicy details on the look of the new Duran Duran calendar for 2010 available from november in the duran.com store|
Hi Salvo, here's what I can tell you on the calendar... firstly I'm very excited about it! :) I had a lot of fun designing it as it was quite different than the other calendars I've done. The photos of the band were taken by Kristin Burns [she took some great band photos that are part of the "Red Carpet Massacre" CD package as well as the tour programme for the RCM tour * editor note: the three small pics above-left are taken from that old job], and they were all shot from the band's West Coast mini-tour this past summer [Seattle, San Francisco, Saratoga, Vegas and LA]. Rather than using the usual one photo per month, I incorporated A LOT of Kristin's photos in a more collage-based design, with many photos working together on a page telling a visual story. The photos themselves are a combination of live on stage, behind the scenes backstage, and photos of the guys during their downtime on the road. What is great about Kristin's photos is that they take on a documentary feel and I was inspired by that, so it sort of dictated where I wanted the overall design to go. The look has definitely moved away from the RCM splatters, etc... as the band are moving into a new period, however, as there is no album 'look' yet, this is a more stand alone design. What I like though is that this calendar is a snapshot, a mini tour book of sorts, of the band's summer tour. Look out for it in the Crewe Issue/DD.com store most likely in November! [Simon's close up pic from my photo archive - taken in '97]
Talking about paper goods I also have to report about the new Denis O'Regan Duran Duran book! On his website he says: "as of 2009, a limited edition book is in production with Duran Duran"! Here is what Denis told a while ago to my friend Christian, author of the unofficial Duran Duran biography Glam Pop Party published in Italy in 2006 [these tidbits extracted from the unpublished interview are another exclusive of this site]
Denis says: I first met the band in around 1981 - John told me that he knew of me and my photographs from NME. He was very friendly and I liked him. From a photographic point of view the band looked great. [...] When they split I spent more time with Power Station than Arcadia, mainly because I spent more time with John anyway. I live in London but but I saw John at the NYC apartment quite a bit in 1986. It was big, modern, stylish, quiet, with a great view - I found a buyer for him when he sold it. [...] The photo shot in Marrakesh in 86 came about because DD were flying there for a French TV show. I suggested that I came along to take some pictures because of the location. Very many magazine covers and features appeared - I liked the light and the photographs. The guys looked great. [...] I've got a lot of unseen Big Thing pictures - in fact many unseen DD pictures. I have also some unseen pictures of the Caravan tour - I suppose there are fewer pictures after Sing Blue Silver because the budget wasn't there to take me on tour for long. [...] In 1990 I invited John & Amanda to Lake Como for a Formula One party - I had introduced them and knew them both before they knew each other. They had a good time - it's a beautiful relaxing place. [...] I wasn't always in touch with the band, even though Simon lives very close by - not much happened between us in the Nineties although I stayed in contact with John, then in 1999 Andy again [we set up one of the first music download companies together]. I got back in touch with everyone in 2003, had lunch with John in London and joined them at rehearsals - it was really great to see them all together again and I loved hearing them play in a tiny rehearsal room. Fantastic! I'll work with the band on an official book this year - a major biography. I'll probably provide pictures for the anthology.
Ocotber 16: The band takes a little break from the new album recording session to attend some social events| John Taylor and Gela Nash-Taylor with Duran Duran and their families attended the launch party for Juicy Couture's flagship store in central London on October 13th. The store is located in Bruton Street in Mayfair.
On the 14th of October Nick and John have been spotted with their ladies at the Frieze Art Fair private view at Regent's Park. At the fair John showed interest in a Richard Prince collage [source]. The same day Nick and LouLou attended the No Love Lost new paintings by Damien Hirst private view held at The Wallace Collection, Hertford House while John and Gela attended Tatler's 300th Anniversary Party, at Lancaster House [pics below are taken at the mentioned events]
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Ocotber 10: Exclusive pics | On October 7th Nick and LouLou attended the Louis Vuitton Pret a Porter show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2010 at Cour Carree du Louvre in Paris. The same evening the couple attended the John Galliano fashion show Spring-Summer 2010. The couple has been seen kissing and hugghing tenderly in front of the of the Ritz Hotel in Paris on the 8th of October. So Mr Rhodes is finally dating somenone his height... ;) |
Ocotber 7: 42 atheist celebrities, comedians, scientists and writers give their funny and serious tips for enjoying the Christmas season. Last year, Guardian journalist Ariane Sherine launched the Atheist Bus Campaign and ended up raising over GBP150,000, enough to place the advert 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' on 800 UK buses in January 2009. Now Ariane and dozens of other atheist writers, comedians and scientists are joining together to raise money for a very different cause. The Atheist's Guide to Christmas is a funny, thoughtful handbook all about enjoying Christmas, from 42 of the world's most entertaining atheists. It features everything from an atheist Christmas miracle to a guide to the best Christmas pop hits, contributors include our Simon Le Bon with is first published work of prose "Losing My Faith", an account of how he stopped believing.The full book advance and all royalties will go to the UK HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust. Ariane Sherine, the author of the book, is a comedy writer and journalist. She writes for The Guardian. She was also a Duran Duran fan back in the days... as Simon reported in his blog "When I saw her on telly I thought “Hang on, I know her!” – she used to hang outside of Warren’s house in 1996 when we were making a record! I remember I really liked her and thought she was smart – so I wanted to get back in touch to lend my support."
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Ariane was kind enough to show me some pics of her with Simon, she says: "one is taken in March 1997 in Battersea [when I was aged 16, Simon was 38 and the band were recording Medazzaland] and one taken 12 years later in August 2009 [we are now aged 29 and 50] in HarperCollins, Fulham!" Below some personal reflections I picked up for you from the 5 pages prose written by Simon. I suggest to read the full piece to discover and understand this unknown side of Simon Le Bon, it's a must for all the Simon fans. The whole book really deserve a read anyway. |
"Losing my faith was very gradual. I was confirmed, and I absolutely 100% believed in the Christian God. And then, after a while, it started to change. I started losing my faith when I started trying to figure out what God was: “He can’t really look like us! This whole thing about ”Man created God in his own image”... When it came working out what I really believed in, I realised that, if there is a God, he doesn’t have a personality. He certainly doesn’t have a set of morals - certainly not human morals, wich we impose. And then I started thinking, “Well, what if it’s just people trying to personify life? To personify the fact that there is a matter, and that there is a universe? If there is a God, that’s it. God doesn’t have a brain, God doesn’t think, God is just existence.” For me, the hardest thing about losing my faith was facing the possibility that life is all there is. One of the foundation stones of all religion is people’s fear of death and non-existence. People will do anything and belive anything if they can think, “You don’t really die. There’s somebody up there who says you carry on and you go to heaven.” [...] Part of me would like there to be a God, because part of me wants there to be a parent looking after me. To say, “Hey, it’s okay, it’s all under control. No matter how much you mess up, I’m here to save you.” that’s very natural feeling, very normal. But on the other hand, I don’t think it’s enough. I’ve found I’m more responsable, freer and more liberated living a life without God."
You can order your copy of the book at amazon.co.uk
Ocotber 4: The Birmingham Comedy Festival this year hosts the Abstract Cabinet Show, a public sphere of groups, collaborations, galleries and other phenomena. The Abstract Cabinet Show includes the Premier of a new multi screen film, sound, bass amp and newspaper publication project, Correspondence/Correspondencia, made collaboratively by Mexico City based Laureana Toledo and John Taylor. Fueled by Toledo and Taylor's Super-8 footage of Birmingham and Mexico City - with Taylor filming Mexico and Toledo filming Birmingham - the work is a meditation on local and international constructed space and identity, the sound of cities and an inquisitive meeting of difference, coincidence and shared passions.
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Laureana was kind enough to answer duranasty.com's questions. Here is what she told me when I asked to give us some more info about the movie and her collaboration with John: I'm a visual artist, my practice involves photography, video, sculpture, drawing, writing. In my work there is usually a reference to popular culture, be it music, architecture, painting... it has to do a lot on how information travels, is digested, translated and re-incorporated into our daily lives. |
When I was invited to do a piece for Eastside Projects' opening exhibition in Birmingham last year, I knew I wanted to do something that involved John and the role of the bass player in a band-comparing it to the secondary role that a place like Birmingham has, or the role that Mexico has as a peripheral culture center. And also that that feeling could be transported to any other place in the world, and how it is that when we move around, the place where we started gets a different connotation in our memory: our houses move, we change, and the perception of it all starts shifting all the time. But lots of things remain in place.
From there, through a mutual friend, I got in touch with John and we started talking about doing a collaboration. He had never "done" art, but he knows a lot about art and obviously has the sensibility to do it. Although this was done in my platform, his approach to the piece was always very generous. It was very interesting to work with him. And very easy.
This piece is a conversation between two individuals,
two cities, two circumstances. For every sensation or idea you have, there's
a correspondence in another person, in another place.
The piece consists of two films, super 8 transferred to dvd, in which
John is filming Mexico City and I'm filming Birmingham. There is
a conversation interrupted by music from both cities. There is an
amplifier where the bass lines of a Duan Duran concert is heard all the time.
There is a newspaper printed with the conversation and a centerfold with the
blend of the two cities as one... (John's only 2 seconds in the films,
but his bass playing is there, nonstop. And he's one half of the 9 minute
conversation.)
[Interview: Laureana Toledo about her collaboration with John Taylor | source bhamcomfest.co.uk]
How did the collaboration come about? I was invited by Eastside Projects to do a piece in the opening exhibition last year. In my ignorance, all I knew about Birmingham, was that Duran Duran were from there. So I thought of doing something related, but not about them directly. In any case, I didn't want to speak to just any member of the band, but rather used the context to get John to collaborate with me. Thoughts went from here to there, one thing led to another, time passed, axioms were discarded, degrees of separation were used and I ended up finding him and asking him to work along. He seemed quite ready to jump in.
Are you a hardcore fan of Duran Duran? I like their music a lot. I'm not a big fan of anyone in terms of following a band around the world, knowing weird information of each member, knowing what school they went to, their parent's names, etc. I'm a music freak, and I always admired John for his bass-playing skills. I like songs like My Own Way, Shadows on Your Side, Lonely in Your Nightmare… mostly, hidden and a bit obscure songs.
What's John's input? He really did half of the piece. Like they say, "takes two to Tango", here it took two minds to accomplish this work. Of course it is done in my platform, but he was always ready to suggest visual and conceptual solutions to my entanglement. I like the fact that he's not used to doing art, but he knows a lot about it, and likes to see a lot of art, so his input was much better than that of many artists. We had a lot of help from other people too, like cinematographer Rain Li in the first part of the filming in Birmingham, and designer Patty Palazzo designing the newspaper insert.
The exhibition is part of the Comedy Festival - is there a humorous element to the piece? I'm not funny at all. And I couldn't think of a worse duo for a stand up comedy! I believe there has been a terrible mistake there [laughs]!
Have you worked with other musicians in the past? [I gather you recently formed a band in Sheffield?] I have worked with musicians. I've also worked with tattoo artists, with architects, with painters. I find a lot of inspiration in music, but also on the funny associations I can get by receiving filtered information. By living in Mexico City, which is a periphery, weird connections are made. Like, for instance, on day discovering that three of my favourite bass players were called John [Entwistle, Taylor, Paul Jones]. I believe that this connection led me to work with a person and not with a celebrity.
Do you have plans to work with John again? What I've learned with this is that you can never know what's going to happen tomorrow.
Eastside
Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Birmingham B9 4AR
Admission: Free Times: Thu noon-7pm, Fri-Sun noon-5pm; Comedy Night, Thu 8
Oct, 7pm
www.eastsideprojects.org
There is another element [part of the Correspondece/Correspondencia project] the Proximo magazine designed by Patty Palazzo based on rough ideas of Laureana’s and John, printed on pale pink paper in the spirit and remembrance of the old Birmingham ‘Sports Argus’. Patty Palazzo is also launching her own t-shirt/greeting card line. Below you can read the nice email she sent us yesterday:
Family & Friends,
Many of you know I have been working on designing and launching my own t-shirt line for a good part of this year, and I'm happy to say it's finally arrived! Called Punk Masters, it's a line of t-shirts, greeting cards and tote bags all designed as well as hand screen printed by me. The Punk Masters combine imagery and aesthetics from the great classic masters and royalty of centuries past, but punked up, rocked out and living in my world now. I like the idea of combining opposite worlds, all living harmoniously (and humorously) together. My army of one (ie: me) has set up a website (pattypalazzo.com) with all of my goods, plus a few other sections to peruse... all about me of course. No, seriously... that's not true as I've had a lot of help, creative counsel and advise from some great people along the way getting me to this point. And may it continue! I'm happy to invite you all to take a look. If you like what you see, tell a friend! Also, if you feel so inclined, join my page on Facebook. My aim is to keep things exciting and fresh, updated and fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy creating it all. And, really, how hot would you look in one of my shirts?! Also, for those in the Los Angeles area, a selection of my tees are available at Fred Segal/Ron Herman at 8100 Melrose Ave. With Thanks & Appreciation,
Pattypattypalazzo.com, punkmasters.com, punkmasters.etsy.com, facebook
Great stuff as usual Patty, we love it! Good luck!
Another one to add at his art-book collection to put in the Tuscan Red Room [that's how Nick calls a particular chamber in his house] or maybe he was just looking for some inspiration for the new album artwork?! |
October
2: On the 25th of september Nick attended the Private view
at The Whitechapel Gallery Book Fair Mile End in London
[the Fair presented the work of international artist bookmakers, gallery
presses and arts publishing houses alongside a wider associated programme
of talks and events]. Nick has been caught by paparazzi having a look
at Allen
Jones's Projects book. Jones was a leading figure of the British
pop art movement and his work has remained very popular. He borrows
from pornography and fashion magazines and the resulting work is often
both erotic and witty. |
more news in the archive section
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