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Nick Rhodes and John Taylor form Duran Duran in the late 70s.
1978 line up: Stephen Duffy (vocals and bass), John Taylor (guitar), Simon Colley (bass and clarinet), Nick Rhodes (synthesizers, tape and rhythm machines)
1979 line up 1: Andy Wickett (vocals), John Taylor (bass), Roger Taylor (drums), Alan Curtis (guitar), Nick Rhodes (synthesizers)
1979 line up 2: Jeff Thomas (vocals), John Taylor (bass), Roger Taylor (drums), Alan Curtis (guitar), Nick Rhodes (synthesizers)
1980 line up: Simon Le Bon (vocals), John Taylor (bass), Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), Nick Rhodes (synthesizers)
In early 1980, the band bring their demo tapes to Paul & Michael Berrow, who run the Rum Runner night club. The brothers agree to give the band rehearsal space and jobs in the club so they wouldn’t have to take day jobs. (John works the door, Nick DJs, Roger works as Busboy).
In April, 1980, Duran Duran take out an advert in Melody Maker music magazine for a “Live-Wire Guitarist.” Andy Taylor answers the ad, auditions and impresses Nick, John and Roger with his talent and professional experience, having toured Europe as a teen. He gets the job and moves from his hometown of Newcastle to Birmingham, where the band is based.
A bar maid at Rum Runner recommends her ex-boyfriend as lead singer for Duran Duran. Simon Le Bon shows up to his May, 1980 audition in pink leopard-skin trousers. He wins over the band with his showmanship and book of lyrics they feel fit perfectly with their songs. The book has the name of his previous band on the cover (ROV OSTROV). The lyrics to the song which would eventually become “The Chauffeur” are in that notebook.
The band write their first ever song together at the Rum Runner, “Sound of Thunder.”
The Berrow brothers form a company Tritec Music (named after the triangular-themed bar inside the club) in June, 1980. The band sign a Production deal with the Berrows, who also become their managers.
Duran Duran (classic line up) play their first show together on July 9, 1980 at The Rum Runner, Birmingham, England.
Kahn and Bell design clothes for bands early performances.
Duran Duran go in to the studio to record “Girls on Film” and “Tel Aviv” (which is a completely different version than the instrumental featured on their debut album) at AIR Studios in London
Betty Page of Sounds magazine writes the first National article about the band, classifying them as part of the New Romantic movement.
Simon Le Bon drops out of University to perform with Duran Duran full time.
Duran Duran record demos with Producer Bob Lamb, which include the songs “Planet Earth” and “Is There Anyone Out There.”
The band do a photo session with photographer Andy Earl in Milton Keynes; one of his photos is used as the 12″ cover photo for “Planet Earth.”
Duran Duran plan to independently release a 45rpm single with “Planet Earth” and “Is There Anyone Out There” on the Tritec Music label; they print 5,000 labels with a new logo designed by John Warwicker.
John Warwicker designs a triangular shaped Duran Duran poster that are plastered all over the city centre of Birmingham.
Duran Duran get the support slot with Hazel O’Connor and are on the road from November until early December, 1980. The band start to get encores and the girls in the audience are starting to scream.
The tour reaches London where Hazel’s show at the Dominion Theatre is recorded. Simon joins her on stage and sings backing vocals on her encore performance of the David Bowie song “Suffragette City.” This is later released as a B-Side to one of her singles.
While on tour with O’Connor, a bidding war erupts between Phonogram and EMI to sign Duran Duran; the band eventually sign with EMI records, persuaded by A&R man Dave Ambrose, who had signed The Sex Pistols and Kate Bush
Duran Duran return to Birmingham and record more demos for their first album at Bob Lamb’s studio.
The Band play some more UK dates and prepare to go into the Studio with Producer Colin Thurston, who had previously worked as an engineer with David Bowie and Iggy Pop, as well as having produced the first Human League album. They record at Red Bus Studios, London and Chipping Norton Studios in Oxfordshire, as well as trying out Abbey Road for a few days. The debut Duran Duran album is mixed at Utopia Studios.
Paul Edmond does a photo session at the studio in Chipping Norton.
Duran Duran end the year 1980 by unknowingly ushering in a new trend – they film the video for “Planet Earth” at St. Johns Wood with Russell Mulcahy and the video for “Careless Memories” in Soho, which is directed by Perry Haines and Terry Jones.
1980 Tour Dates:
April 4, 1979 Polytechnic Dept of Foundation Studies, Birmingham, UK
May 29, 1979 Cannon Hill, Hexagon Theatre, Birmingham, UK
June 1, 1979 Barbarellas, Birmingham, UK
October 11, 1979 Golden Eagle, Hill Street, Birmingham, UK
November 13, 1979 University, Cellar Bar, Birmingham, UK
November 14, 1979 University, Cellar Bar, Birmingham, UK
November 18, 1979 Red Star Club, Essex Street, Birmingham, UK
December 15, 1979 Bewdley, Little Lakes Caravan Park, Worcester, UK
February 1, 1980, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
February 18, 1980 Nashville, Kensington, London, UK
March 12, 1980 Rum Runner, Broad Street, Birmingham, UK
July 16, 1980 Rum Runner, Broad Street, Birmingham, UK
July 19, 1980 Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham, UK
July 22, 1980 Holy City Zoo, Birmingham, UK
August 6, 1980 Rum Runner, Broad Street, Birmingham, UK
September 16, 1980 Hostaria Wine Bar, Hurst Street, Birmingham, UK
October 3, 1980 Aston University, Birmingham, UK
October 4, 1980 Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham, UK
October 9, 1980 Lyceum, London
October 22, 1980 Holy City Zoo, Birmingham, UK
October 24, 1980 Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham, UK
November 9, 1980 Maquee, London, UK
November 18 Top Rank, Cardiff, UK
November 19, 1980 Apollo, Manchester, UK
November 21, 1980 Polytechnic, Sheffield, UK
November 22, 1980 Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
November 23, 1980 Colston Hall, Bristol, UK
November 24, 1980 Top Rank, Reading, UK
November 27, 1980 Odeon, Birmingham, UK
November 28, 1980 University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
November 29, 1980 Odeon, Edinburgh, UK
December 1, 1980 City Hall, Newcastle, UK
December 2, 1980 de Montfort Hall, Leicester, UK
December 3, 1980, University, Leeds, UK
December 4, 1980 University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
December 6, 1980 Dominion Theatre, London, UK
December 11, 1980 The Venue, London
December 22, 1980 Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham, UK
The band record an appearance on the Richard Skinner Sessions on BBC; they perform “Sound of Thunder,” “Is There Anyone Out There,” “Friends of Mine,” and “Careless Memories.” The BBC later airs a three-minute profile on Duran Duran.
Duran Duran perform at The Sundown Club in London.
Duran Duran’s first single, “Planet Earth” (with B-Side “Late Bar”) is released in UK. The “Planet Earth” single (with B-Side “To The Shore”) is released in America. The band’s first single hits #12 on the UK charts and #8 on the Australian charts.
Finn Costello shoots the cover for the first album.
Duran Duran begin their first headlining tour of the UK, in support of the the album.
In March the band perform “Planet Earth,” “Careless Memories” and “Girls on Film” on the Midlands (UK) music show LOOK HEAR!
The band play “Planet Earth” on Noel Edmonds’s Multi-Coloured Swap Shop Saturday TV show.
Duran Duran perform on BBC’s Top of the Pops for the first time on March 19, 1981 with a performance of “Planet Earth.”
Duran Duran support their album in the UK with concerts at Aston University (Birmingham), Brady’s Club (Liverpool), Manchester Polytechnic, Sundown Club (London), Rock City (Nottingham), Top Rank (Cardiff), Leicester Polytechnic (Leicester) and Top Rank (Sheffield).
In April “Careless Memories” (with B-side “Khanada”) is released in UK; the 12″ single includes a cover of David Bowie’s “Fame.”
Duran Duran perform “Careless Memories” on Top of the Pops.
In May, Duran Duran appear on their first magazine cover Smash Hits UK.
The Nite Romantics EP is released in Japan, containing Night versions of “Planet Earth” and “Girls On Film” along with “Fame” and “Khanada.”
Duran Duran fly to America for the first time for their North American Club Tour. The first date of the tour is at Spit in Long Island, NY. Among the tour stops are 4 performances at the Roxy in Los Angeles and 2 shows at the Ritz in New York City.
The band’s eponymous debut is released worldwide; the first US pressing did not include “To The Shore.”
The band appear on The Peter Powell Show on BBC Radio One, performing “Nightboat,” “Girls on Film,” “Is There Anyone Out There” and “Like An Angel.”
The Duran Duran album peaks at #3 in UK; remains in the charts for 118 weeks.
The band begin the “Faster Than Light” tour of the UK with dates that include the Brighton Dome, Gaumont (Southampton), Rock City (Nottingham), Apollo (Manchester), City Hall (Newcastle), Tiffany’s (Glasgow), Odeon (Edinburgh), Royal Court Theatre (Liverpool), Hammersmith Odeon (London), New Theatre (Oxford) and the Birmingham Odeon.
The “Girls on Film” single (with B-Side “Faster Than Light”) is released worldwide in July.
Duran Duran make a third appearance on Top of the Pops, performing “Girls on Film.”
The band film the “Girls on Film” video at Shepperton Studios on August 13th with directors Kevin Godley and Lol Crème; Antony Price designs the clothing the band wears in the video. The song becomes the world’s first extended video, edited to the Night Version of the song. Due to it’s “x-rated” content, the video is banned by both MTV and the BBC.
Duran Duran begin International promotion to support their first record, visiting and performing in Belgium, France, Sweden, Netherlands and Germany. Bus loads of fans from the UK came to support the band on their date in Paris.
WLIR on Long Island become the first US station to play Duran Duran.
Duran Duran fly to America in September for their first headline tour of North America. Dates include The Channel (Boston), Bayou Theatre (Washington, DC), Eastside Club (Philadelphia), Le Club Montreal, El Macambo (Toronto), First Avenue (Minnesota), Parkwest (Chicago), The Metro (Boston), Nitro (Detroit), Pirate’s Cove (Cleveland), Park West (Chicago), I Beam (San Francisco), Peppermint Lounge (New York City) and Danceteria (New York City).
Andy Warhol brings Duran Duran to The Factory.
Duran Duran perform at the Underground Club at The Savoy, New York City. Andy Warhol attends. He later takes the band to Studio 54.
The band do a record signing at Vinyl Fetish in Hollywood, CA.
Simon, Nick, John & Roger do an interview with Rodney Bingenheimer on KROQ radio, Los Angeles.
Before leaving America, Duran Duran visit with MTV, who had a staff of 16 people at the time. They discuss airing their videos and future programming ideas.
Duran Duran begin their first headlining tour of Germany; dates included Die Wartburg (Wiesbaden), Markthalle (Hamburg), Ballroom Blitz (Hannover), Kant Kino (Berlin) and more.
In November, EMI present the band with their Gold and Silver discs in recognition of sales for the Duran Duran album.
The “My Own Way” single (with B-Side “Like An Angel”) is released as a stand-alone single worldwide, (ex-US) in November. The single was designed to capitalize on the Top 5 success of “Girls on Film.” The 7″ single and 12″ versions were recorded in October 1981 with Colin Thurston, well before the rest of the Rio album, where the song would later appear. “My Own Way” was another hit, reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart, and in Australia, where it became Duran Duran’s second Top 10 hit at #10. Malcolm Garrett and Peter Saville designed the cover artwork.
The band perform “Girls on Film” on Rock Pop Germany.
Duran Duran perform at the Chichester Festival. The performance is filmed for television.
The “Careless Memories Tour”’ begin on November 29th at Gaumont, Southampton, England.
Duran Duran perform “My Own Way” on Top of the Pops.
The band end the year at home in England with performances at Hammersmith Odeon, London and 3 shows with band Talk Talk supporting at the Odeon, Birmingham.
Duran Duran’s Night Versions EP, including “Girls on Film” and “Planet Earth,” is released in Australia.
The band perform “Anyone Out There” and “Nightboat” live on Old Grey Whistle Test in England.
The first broadcast of Off the Record, a Duran Duran concert recorded at Chichester Festival in November 1981, airs on TV.
Duran Duran is nominated for “Best Newcomer” at the British Rock & Pop Awards; they perform “Girls on Film” and “My Own Way” at the show.
The band begin recording the Rio album at Air Studios, London with producer Colin Thurston. Paul McCartney is in another one of the Studios with George Martin and the band Japan are also recording an album there at this time.
Artist Patrick Nagel is commissioned to create a painting for the cover of Rio. He makes two images for the band to choose from, one is used for the album, the other is only ever seen on the Japanese single issue of “My Own Way.”
The band and their management agree to hire director Russell Mulcahy, who directed “Planet Earth,” to work on several more videos. It is Russell and Producer Eric Fellner who suggest the band shoot on location in Sri Lanka.
Duran Duran commission director Ian Eames to make a short black and white film to accompany the song “The Chauffeur.” The band elect not to appear in the video. It is a highly stylized clop inspired by the images of photographer Helmut Newton.
Duran Duran film the video for “My Own Way” in St. Johns Wood; Russell Mulcahy directs.
Nick stays behind in London to complete the final mixes on the Rio album, while the other band members fly off to commence work on the videos in Sri Lanka. He catch up with them several days later, bringing a cassette of the finished album with him.
In Sri Lanka Duran Duran film videos for “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “Save a Prayer,” and “Lonely in Your Nightmare.”
Duran Duran tour Australasia for the first time behind the Rio album. All dates are sold out.
Duran Duran and Director Russell Mulcahy fly to Antigua to film the “Rio” and “Nightboat” videos.
Duran Duran perform “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Lonely in Your Nightmare” and “Hold Back the Rain” on Peter Powell’s Get Set for Summer show in the UK.
Due to Andy’s illness from Malaria, the European dates for June and July are postponed.
The “Hungry Like the Wolf” single is released with the B-Side “Careless Memories (Live).”
Duran performs “Hungry Like the Wolf” on Top of the Pops.
Duran Duran perform “Hungry Like the Wolf” on Dance Fever.
Rio is released worldwide on EMI, May 10/11. In the US, the album comes out on the Harvest label.
“Hungry Like the Wolf” hits #5 on the UK Singles Chart.
Rio album reaches #2 in UK.
The band return to North America to support the release of Rio; dates include The Meadowbrook (New Jersey), Ontario Theatre (Washington, DC), Pier 42 (New York City), Mann Music Center (Philadelphia), North Stage Theatre (Long Island), Chance (New York City), Peppermint Lounge (New York City), Paradise (Boston), Le Club (Montreal), Concert Hall (Toronto), Heaven (Pittsburgh), Clutch Cargo (Detroit), Parkwest (Chicago), Palms (Milwaukee), 1st Avenue (Minneapolis), Playhouse (Winnipeg), Dinwoodie Lounge (Edmonton), McEwan Hall (Calgary), Commodore Ballroom (Vancouver), Showbox Theatre (Seattle), Kabuki Theatre (San Francisco) and The Greek Theatre (Los Angeles).
Andy Taylor marries the band’s hairdresser, Tracey Wilson at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.
Duran Duran get the opening slot on Blondie’s Tracks Across America tour. The CNE venue in Toronto has over 30,000 fans in the audience, the largest the band have ever played to up to this point. They get an unexpected encore but have played all of their songs so they have to repeat one of them.
Simon and Nick film commercial for MTV.
Duran Duran perform “Save a Prayer” on Top of the Pops.
“Save a Prayer” reaches #2 on the UK Charts.
Duran Duran begin working with David Kershenbaum in Los Angeles on remixes of several tracks from Rio for the Carnival EP to be released in America, Japan and several other countries.
The Carnival EP is released. Each territory had a different selection of 4 songs (except Japan, who had 5 tracks) with Night Versions.
US Radio begin playing dance versions from the Carnival EP.
The band play rescheduled shows including Draken Theatre (Stockholm), Drammenshallen (Oslo), Turku Concert House (Finland), Falkoner Theatre (Copenhagen), Rotation (Hannover), Zeche (Bochum), Trinity (Hamburg), Sektor (Berlin), Oz (Stuttgart), Music Center (Utrecht), Brielpoort (Deinze), Le Palace (Paris) and more.
The initial success of the Kershenbaum remixes spurs Capitol Records to issue a re-mixed and re-mastered version of the Rio album for North America featuring the David Kershenbaum remixes.
The single for “Rio” is released worldwide with the B-Side “The Chauffeur (Sing Blue Silver).” The single version for US, France and Germany has the B-Side “Hold Back the Rain.”
Duran Duran embark on a sold-out 25-date tour of the UK; dates include Caird Hall (Dundee), Apollo (Glasgow), Edinburgh Playhouse (Edinburgh), 2 nights at the Hammerstein Odeon (London; where Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel joins them on stage for “(Come Up and See Me) Make Me Smile” ), 2 nights Apollo (Manchester), De Montfort Hall (Leicester), 2 nights at the Empire Theatre (Liverpool), 2 nights at City Hall (Newcastle), 4 nights at the Odeon (Birmingham) and more.
Duran Duran perform “Rio” on Top of the Pops.
The band are interviewed by Paula Yates for the TV Programme The Tube.
“Rio” single reaches at #9 on the UK charts
The “Hungry Like The Wolf” single (Kershembaum remix) is re-released in US.
Duran records “Is There Something I Should Know,” at Good Earth Studios in Soho, London. The band produce the song with Ian Little. It is mixed by Bob Clearmountain in New York, but the band decide the sound is not exactly what they are looking for and hire Producer Alex Sadkin to remix the masters in London at RAK Studios.
MTV places “Hungry like the Wolf,” on maximum rotation; it goes on to become one of the most played videos ever.
Duran Duran break the US, with “Hungry Like The Wolf” reaching #3 on the US charts.
Duran Duran perform on MTV’s Rockin’ Eve New Year’s show at The Palladium in New York City.
Princess Diana declares Duran Duran her favorite band.
Duran Duran’s Mega-Mixes is released in Germany.
The band are awarded Best Album and Best Group, and Simon is awarded Best Male Vocalist, at the British Rock & Pop Awards.
John appears as panelist on the Pop Quiz game show in UK.
John is featured on Rockschool, demonstrating the “Planet Earth” bass line; the show includes an interview with Chic’s Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.
Nick produces the Kajagoogoo album White Feathers at Chipping Norton and Utopia studios, with Colin Thurston. The single “Too Shy” reaches #1 in the UK.
Simon, Nick and Andy appear on the television programme Saturday Superstore in the UK.
Rio album goes Gold in the UK.
Duran Duran’s Video Album is released on VHS, Beta, and laserdisc.
“Is There Something I Should Know” is released as a standalone single around the world except in US; It goes straight in to the UK chart at #1, becoming the only the 4th single in history to accomplish that feat.
Duran Duran fly to New York City and perform “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Girls on Film” on Saturday Night Live.
“Hungry Like The Wolf” peaks at #1 in Canada.
Duran Duran’s Video 45 with videos for “Girls on Film” and “Hungry Like The Wolf” is released in US. The VHS contains the MTV-friendly version of “Girls on Film”, while the Beta format has the uncensored Night Version.
At a video signing at the Video Shack in Times Square in New York City, the band is mobbed; twelve mounted police are called in to break up the crowd and the band have to be smuggled out the back of the shop. John, Roger and Nick are interviewed by New York’s Channel 7/ABC News about the mob scene at the signing.
“Rio” single ( Kershenbaum 7″ remix) is re-released in US, B-Side “Hold Back The Rain (remix).”
Duran Duran Duran perform “Is There Something I Should Know” on Top of the Pops.
Duran Duran Duran perform “Is There Something I Should Know” on the Kenny Everett Video Show.
Duran Duran Duran perform “Is There Something I Should Know” on the Riverside Show.
The band’s first album is repackaged with “Is There Something I Should Know” and re-released worldwide (“ITSISK” has replaced “To the Shore”). This release also becomes the first Duran Duran album available on CD.
Rio goes platinum in the USA.
Simon and Nick are Guest VJs on MTV; Andy Warhol stop by as their guest; the rest of the band appears at the end to present a Rio album to MTV as a thank you for helping them break in America.
The re-release of Duran Duran album reaches #10 on the US Charts.
The band begin writing their third album; several demo tracks are recorded.
The single “Is There Something I Should Know”is released in US with the B-Side “Careless Memories.”
Duran Duran start recording their third album at George Martin’s Air Studios in Montserrat.
“Is There Something I Should Know” reaches #4 on the US Charts.
Duran Duran perform for the Prince’s Trust at the: Old Dominion Theatre, London, England. Princess Diana, who loved the band, and Prince Charles were in attendance. It was later discovered that the IRA had planned, but failed, to blow up the theatre in an assassination attempt on the Royals.
The re-released Duran Duran album goes Gold in the US .
Duran Duran perform at the Aston Villa Football Grounds, Birmingham, England to raise money for MENCAP charity. When it is discovered that the financial goal of the charity wasn’t reached, the band and their manager donate a huge sum of money to the charity.
After another stay recording in Montserrat, the band finish recording and mixing at 301 Studios, Sydney, Australia with Producer Alex Sadkin.
Duran Duran film the video for “Union of the Snake” near Sydney using 35mm film; Once again, Russell Mulcahy is the Director.
Simon and Nick work at mixing “Union of the Snake,” up until delivery, leaving themselves only 24 hours to write, record and mix “Secret Oktober” for the B-side.
The band decide to fly in a Bengal tiger to Australia for the photo shoot of the Seven and the Ragged Tiger cover.
In another first, the band decide to release the “Union of the Snake” video to MTV a week before radio receives the single, amid much protest from radio stations.
The “Union of the Snake” single is released worldwide with B-Side “Secret Oktober.”
John, Roger and Nick accept an award for “The Most Popular International Act” in Australia.
The band begin rehearsals for their first worldwide tour at the Sydney Showgrounds.
Duran Duran perform “Union of the Snake” on Top of the Pops.
“Union of the Snake” reaches #3 on both the UK and US charts.
The SING BLUE SILVER Tour begins in Australia. All dates are sold out:
National Indoor Sports Centre, Canberra, Australia
Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia
Festival Hall, Brisbane, Australia – 2 nights
Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Center, Melbourne, Australia – 2 d nights
Memorial Drive Tennis Courts, Adelaide, Australia
Entertainments Centre, Perth, Australia
Seven and the Ragged Tiger released worldwide; the album enters the UK charts at #1.
SING BLUE SILVER tour comes to the UK:
Apollo, Manchester, England – 2 nights
Queens Hall, Leeds, England – 2 nights
Royal Highland Exhibition Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England – 2 nights; show is filmed for The Tube TV show, along with interviews with Simon, Nick and John
Brighton Centre, Brighton, England – 2 nights
Wembley Arena, London, England – 5 nights
Duran Duran film the video for “New Moon on Monday” in Noyers, Bercy, and Paris, France. They make both a short and long version of the video.
The single “New Moon on Monday” is released worldwide, with the B-Side “Tiger Tiger.”
Seven and the Ragged Tiger goes both Gold and Platinum in the same week.
The SING BLUE SILVER tour continues as Duran Duran becomes the first act to utilize live video cameras and screens in their show. They break every existing merchandise record during this tour.
SING BLUE SILVER tour of Japan; dates include:
Sendai Sports Centre, Sendai, Japan
Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
International Exhibition Hall, Nagoya, Japan
Fukuoka International Centre, Fukuoka, Japan
Castle Sports Centre, Osaka, Japan
Budokan, Tokyo, Japan – 2 Nights
Russell Mulcahy begins to gather together a crew together to film the Sing Blue Silver documentary about the band’s North American tour.
Duran Duran’s full stage is set up at the Saddle Dome in Calgary two days ahead of time for technical run-throughs before the first North American date.
SING BLUE SILVER tour North America; dates include:
Saddle Dome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, Washington
Lawlor Arena, Reno, Nevada
The Forum, Los Angeles, California – 2 Nights
Arizona State University Activity Center, Tempe, Arizona
Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
The Summit, Houston, Texas
Louisiana State University Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Dane Co. Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin
Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois- 2 nights
Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia
Roanoke Coliseum, Roanoke, Virginia
Syracuse Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (portions of the video for “The Reflex” are filmed during the show; “Cracks In The Pavement” recorded at this show later used as B-side to “The Wild Boys.”)
The Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Civic Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Worcester Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts – 2 Nights
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA – 2 Nights, one of which is broadcast live on Westwood One radio; the band’s families fly in from England to attend these shows.
Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, South Carolina,
Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida
Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida
The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Greensboro Coliseum , Greensboro, North Carolina
Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia
Capitol Center, Largo, Maryland
Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA – 3 Nights
San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA – 2 Nights
Duran Duran grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, where they are dubbed the “Fab Five.”
Duran Duran perform “New Moon on Monday” on Top of the Pops.
Simon and Andy are interviewed on Solid Gold, a TV dance show in the US.
Artist Patrick Nagel, who created the iconic cover for the Rio album dies of a heart attack at the age of 38.
The band holds a press conference at the Magic Castle club in Hollywood, California with an estimated 150 journalists in attendance.
The extended “New Moon On Monday” video premieres on MTV; the network soon switches to the shorter version.
Duran Duran are made honorary citizens of Texas while performing in Austin.
Duran Duran is awarded two Grammy Awards for “Best Short Form Video” (”Girls on Film”/”Hungry Like The Wolf” Video 45) and “Best Long Form Video” (Duran Duran Video Album); the band, performing in Pittsburgh, is unable to attend.
Capitol Records hold a major press conference in New York City; to preserve his voice, Simon does not attend.
“The Reflex” single released in the United States, with B-Side “New Religion (live).”
The band begin production on the film Arena, with concert sequences filmed in Oakland.
“The Reflex” single released in UK, with B-Side “Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile).”
The band finish their North American SING BLUE SILVER tour and fly back to London.
“The Reflex” reaches at #1 in the US, becoming the band’s first Number One single in America.
Duran Duran perform “The Reflex” on Top of the Pops.
“The Reflex” reaches #1 in UK.
Duran Duran make promotional appearances in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy and more.
The band appear on the UK Game Show Pop Quiz, where John is the team leader. The band compete against Spandau Ballet and win.
The Tiger Tiger! EP is released in Japan with the songs “The Reflex,” “Union of the Snake,” “New Moon on the Monday,” “Is There Something I Should Know” and “Tiger Tiger.”
Additional crowd and concert footage for Arena is filmed at the Birmingham National Exhibition Center; 2,000 free tickets are given away via Birmingham Evening Mail and London Standard newspapers.
Studio footage for Arena is filmed at Twickenham Studios in West London.
Duran Duran record “The Wild Boys” single for their live album Arena at Maison Rouge studios in southwest London with Nile Rodgers producing.
Simon and Andy perform backup vocals for Sister Sledge’s “Lost In Music” since Nile is producing their album as well.
The video for “The Wild Boys,” and additional studio footage for Arena, is filmed in London; actor Milo O’Shea, who played Dr. Duran Duran in the film Barbarella appears in the Arena footage.
John runs into James Bond film producer Cubby Broccoli at a party and suggests Duran Duran to write and record the next Bond theme.
Simon and Nick attend the MTV Video Awards and present Cindi Lauper with the Best Female Music Video Award for “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”
The Dancing on the Valentine video EP is released with videos for “Union of the Snake,” “The Reflex” and “New Moon On Monday.”
“The Wild Boys” single is released with B-Side “Cracks in the Pavement (live).”
The band perform “The Wild Boys” on Top of the Pops.
Duran Duran’s Arena live album is released worldwide.
“The Wild Boys” single reaches #2 in both the UK and the US.
The band’s documentary on their North American tour, Sing Blue Silver is released on VHS, Beta and laserdisc. The band also release Arena, a concept/concert film from the same tour.
As The Lights Go Down, a one-hour concert video created from the concert portion of Arena is shown on MTV along with an hour long version of Sing Blue Silver.
Nick releases Interference, an art book of Polaroid photos he took of television sets.
Arena reaches #6 on the UK charts.
For two days, Duran Duran participate in Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s Band Aid project by recording “Do They Know It’s Christmas” at Trevor Horn’s Sarm West Studio in London. Simon is a featured vocalist.
Arena reaches #4 on the US charts.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas” with B-Side “Feed The World” is released.
Duran Duran go to Spain on a promotional tour.
John and Andy become friendly with Chic drummer Tony Thompson, who in turn introduces them to Chic bassist (and John hero) Bernard Edwards, who is now a successful producer.
John, Andy and Tony record a demo of T-Rex’s “Bang a Gong” with the goal being that the three of them record an album together with different guest vocalists. Robert Palmer comes in to sing, and Producer Edwards is so blown away he suggests that they keep him as the vocalist for the entire project.
John, Andy, Tony and Robert dub themselves The Power Station after the New York City recording studio; Capitol/EMI sign the band.
“The Wild Boys” reaches #1 in Germany.
The Source syndicated radio show airs a one hour special live across America featuring tracks from Arena, a call in Q&A with Simon and Nick and the US premiere of “Do They Know It’s Christmas.”
Sing Blue Silver premieres on British station ITV with an airing of As the Lights Go Down the following night.
The BBC air a special Christmas edition of Pop Quiz with Duran Duran once again defeating Spandau Ballet.
Simon and John attend the MTV New Year’s Eve bash and join Frankie Goes To Hollywood on stage to sing “Relax.”
Simon invests in the 77-foot maxi-yacht Drum along with managers Paul and Michael Berrow.
The “Save a Prayer (live)” single off of Arena, with B-Side “Save A Prayer” single edit, is released in the US. The video for the song will go on to become the reigning champ of MTV’s Friday Night Video Fights.
Duran Duran win the BRIT Award for Best British Music Video for “The Wild Boys.”
The Power Station perform “Some Like It Hot” and “Bang A Gong” on Saturday Night Live; this turns out to be Robert Palmer’s only live performance with the band.
Duran Duran performs “The Wild Boys” at the San Remo Festival in Italy. Simon appears with his foot injured and in a cast.
Power Station’s “Some Like It Hot” single is released.
Power Station release their first album, 33 1/3.
John and Andy appear as guest VJs on MTV.
Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” is named International Hit of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.
With John and Andy focusing on Power Station, Nick and Simon decide to record some tracks of their own. As the project takes shape, they invite Roger to join them.
Nick and Simon name their band Arcadia after the Latin phrase “et in arcadia ego.”
Simon, Nick and Roger begin to record the Arcadia album, So Red The Rose, at Studio de la Grande Armee in Paris with producer Alex Sadkin and numerous musical guests, including Grace Jones, Sting, David Gilmour and Herbie Hancock.
So Red The Rose mixed at Soundworks Studio in New York City
Duran Duran and John Barry write the James Bond theme “A View to a Kill,” (for the film of the same name), which is recorded at Maison Rouge Studio and CTS Studio in London with a 60-piece orchestra.
“A View To A Kill” single released worldwide, with B-Side instrumental “A View To A Kill (That Fatal Kiss).”
Top of the Pops airs Duran Duran’s performance of “A View To A Kill”
“A View To A Kill” peaks at #1 in US, the first James Bond theme to do so.
“A View To A Kill” peaks at #2 in UK.
Duran Duran perform “A View to a Kill” at the Montreux Pop Festival, Montreux, Switzerland.
The “A View To A Kill” video is filmed at the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. Footage from the film is interspersed within the video.
A View To A Kill Soundtrack released in US and Japan.
Robert Palmer decides not to tour with Power Station; Michael Des Barres becomes the lead singer as Power Station embark on a summer tour.
On July 13th, Duran Duran and Power Station both perform at Live Aid in America at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA.
Duran Duran’s performance of four songs (“A View to a Kill”, “Union of the Snake”, “Save a Prayer”, and “The Reflex”) results in what would become the band’s final show with the original five members.
Simon’s boat Drum begins the Fastnet yacht race.
On August 11th, Drum capsizes three miles off Falmouth during a trial run at the Fastnet race; Simon and five other crew members are trapped underneath the hull before being rescued by the British Navy.
Nick makes an surprise appearance during the encore of a Power Station concert. He comes out during the performance and “sweeps” the stage with a broom.
Arcadia begin filming the video for “Election Day” in Paris, with director Roger Christian.
Power Station appear in an episode of Miami Vice, playing “Get It On” onstage during a scene in a nightclub.
Arcadia’s “Election Day” single released (with B-Side “She’s Moody and Grey, She’s Mean and She’s Restless”).
Arcadia’s So Red The Rose is released worldwide; the album goes Platinum.
Simon and Nick make another appearance as guest VJs on MTV. Keith Haring stops by to paint the set.
Simon and Nick appear on the Rock Over London radio show.
Simon marries Yasmin Parveneh in Oxford, England.
Roger announces he’s leaving Duran Duran.
EMI releases the Rio album on CD in Germany. The CD uses an alternate version of “Hold Back The Rain,” which all other CD releases will utilize until Rio gets digitally re-mastered in 2001.
Nick and Simon make an appearance on Wogan show on UK TV to promote Arcadia.
John records the single “I Do What I Do,” written by Michael Des Barres, for the film 9 1/2 Weeks.
Arcadia’s “Goodbye Is Forever” single is released with B-Side “Missing”.
Simon makes an appearance on the US TV special Disney’s Living Seas.
Nick and Andy get together in Los Angeles to work on some songs for the band’s planned forthcoming album.
Simon joins Drum, which is competing in the Whitbread Race, in leaves Auckland.
Nick, along with Sheena Easton, presents the Song of the Year to Quincy Jones for “We are the World” at the Grammy Awards.
The Power Station “Video Album” is released.
The Making of Arena vhs is released in UK and Japan.
Drum arrives in Punta del Este, Uruguay, coming in second place.
Simon and Nick shoot the video for Arcadia’s “The Flame” in Spain; John appears briefly in the video.
In April of 1986, Duran Duran issue a press release about Roger’s official departure from the band.
With Simon back on board, Drum returns to Portsmouth, finishing the Whitbread race third over the line.
Simon joins Nick and John in London to begins writing lyrics for what will be the Notorious album.
Duran Duran begin working at Westside Studios in London on the new record. They will eventually make the rounds to Abbey Road, Maison Rouge, Skyline and AIR Studios.
Wham! perform their final show at Wembley Arena; Simon performs “I’m Your Man” with George and Andrew.
Andy Taylor invites Terry Bozzio and Patrick O’Hearn to help on his solo project. At this point, Simon, Nick and John begin to realize Andy isn’t going to come back to the band.
Drummer Steve Ferrone begins working on the sessions for Notorious.
Notorious Producer Nile Rodgers performs on several guitar tracks on the album.
Simon records “Grey Lady Of The Sea” with Nick Wood; it is used for the documentary film on his yacht called Drum: The Journey of a Lifetime.
Andy releases a solo single “Take It Easy” from the film soundtrack for American Anthem. Shortly thereafter, he releases his first solo album, Thunder.
Atlantic Records releases Arcadia’s “Say The Word” single from the Playing For Keeps movie soundtrack.
Andy Taylor definitively decides not to return to Duran Duran. Warren Cuccurullo, of Frank Zappa’s band and Missing Persons, becomes the band’s guitarist, adding to some tracks on Notorious.
Duran Duran film the video for the single “Notorious.” The dancing is choreographed by Paula Abdul.
The “Notorious” single is released worldwide with the B-Side “Winter Marches On.”
The “Notorious” video is world premiered on MTV (US).
“Notorious” single reaches #7 in the UK and #2 in the US.
The band begin extensive media interviews to promote their forthcoming record.
Duran Duran perform “Notorious” on Top of the Pops.
On November 18, 1986, EMI/Capitol Records release Notorious.
In December, prep begins for the Strange Behavior tour, which is filmed for a documentary entitled Three to Get Ready (which will later premiere at film festivals).
The band receive an award at the Diamond Awards Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, where they perform the songs “Notorious” and “Vertigo.”
Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 announces Duran Duran as the most successful duo or group from England based on the Billboard charts. Duran Duran were ranked first, followed by The Police, Culture Club, Wham! and The Rolling Stones.
The band’s “Skin Trade” single released in US with B-Side “We Need You.”
Duran perform “Skin Trade” on German TV show WWF Club.
In February the “Skin Trade” video, featuring model Tatiana Petiz, premieres on MTV.
The Making of Arcadia videocassette and laserdisc is released in Japan, Australia and the UK, with videos and behind the scene footage from “Election Day,” “The Promise,” “Goodbye Is Forever,” “The Flame” and “Missing.”
“Skin Trade” single is released worldwide. The original sleeve, with a woman’s bare behind, is banned in record shops except in Canada and France.
Duran Duran perform at the San Remo Festival.
The band appear on Top of the Pops to perform “Skin Trade.”
Duran Duran make an appearance on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers to perform “Skin Trade.”
In March the band begin the STRANGE BEHAVIOUR tour in Japan:
Shimin Kaikan, Fukuoka, Japan (2 dates)
Kokusai Tenjujyo, Nagoya, Japan (2 dates)
Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, Japan (2 dates)
Nishinomiya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
Duran Duran return to England to perform “Save a Prayer” and “Skin Trade” at The Secret Policemen’s Third Ball at the Palladium, London on March 29th. Their rendition of “Save a Prayer” will be added to the charity compilation of the event, benefitting Amnesty International.
The STRANGE BEHAVIOUR moves to Europe for the end of March and the first three weeks of April:
Forest National, Brussels, Belgium (2 dates)
Lilles, France
Bercy, Paris, France (2 dates)
Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart, Germany
Sporthalle, Cologne, Germany
Grugahalle, Essen, Germany
Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Valbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark (2 dates)
Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany
Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Royal Dublin Society Exhibition Hall, Dublin, Ireland
Kings Hall, Belfast, North Ireland
A pre-taped performance of the band airs on Soul Train.
The single “Meet El Presidente” is released with B-Side “Vertigo” and the “Meet El Beat” remix. This is the first DD song released as a CD single.
Duran Duran perform “New Religion,” “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “Notorious,” “Meet El Presidente”and “Wild Boys” on the final episode of the UK music show The Tube.
In April, Top of the Pops host the band’s performance of “Meet El Presidente.”
The band close out April with UK dates:
Queens Hall, Leeds, England
Empire Theatre, Liverpool, England
Apollo, Manchester, England
Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland (2 dates)
Duran spend May touring Europe:
Palais de Sports, Lyon, France
Les Arenas, Fréjus, France
Palais de Sports, Toulouse, France
Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
Ahoy, Rotterdam, Holland (2 dates)
Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
Duran Duran appear at the Montreux Pop Festival, Montreux, Switzerland
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
Brighton Centre, Brighton, England
Empire Ballroom, London, England
Wembley Arena, London, England (3 dates)
Palacio Municipal, Madrid, Spain
Estadio Municipal Fuente de San Luis, Valencia, Spain
Palacio Municipal, Barcelona, Spain
Stadio La Favorita, Palermo, Italy
MTV join the band on the road for the Music Passport documentary special with Duran Duran, filmed in Italy.
Stadio Comunale, Bari, Italy
Stadio Comunale, Cava Dei Tirreni, Italy
Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
Stadio Comunale, Modena, Italy
Stadio S. Siro, Milan, Italy
Stadio Comunale, Florence, Italy
Master Mixes, a two album set of remixes from the Notorious album, is released in the US and Hong Kong.
Simon and John make their first appearance on The Howard Stern Radio Showon WXRK, New York, on June 22nd.
The US leg of the STRANGE BEHAVIOUR tour begins June 18th, with Erasure opening all dates:
Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA, USA
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA
Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA (2 dates)
Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center, Rochester, NY, USA
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA
Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Welsh Auditorium, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Five Seasons Center, Cedar Rapids, IA, USA
Poplar Creek Music Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, USA
Louisville Gardens, Louisville, KY, USA
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC, USA
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, USA
Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta, GA, USA
Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville, TN, USA
Sandstone Amphitheatre, Kansas City, MO, USA
Compton Terrace, Phoenix, AZ, USA
The Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2 dates; The Bangles join the band onstage for a rendition of “If She knew What She Wants” at the band’s second show on July 25th)
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA, USA
San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA
Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA, USA
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA
El Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2 dates)
Six Flags Music Mill Amphitheatre, Arlington, Texas, USA
On August 12th, Duran Duran join David Bowie’s GLASS TIGER tour to finish their run of North American dates:
Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO, USA
Portland Civic Stadium, Portland, OR, USA
British Columbia Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Molson CNE Stadium, Toronto, ONT, Canada (2 dates)
Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, ONT, Canada
Olympic Stadium, Montreal, QBC, Canada
On August 31st, Duran Duran play their 100th, and final, show of the Strange Behaviour tour at Beacon Theater, New York, NY. The show is a benefit for “The Association to Benefit Children”; Lou Reed join band for “Sweet Jane” and “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Capitol/EMI releases the compilation Brave New Music for a New World, including Duran’s “Winter Marches On” and the “Notoriousaurus Rex” remix.
The band take the rest of the year off.
Big Thing is released, generating the hits “I Don’t Want Your Love” (Top 5 worldwide) and “All She Wants Is.” The video for “All She Wants Is,” directed by avant-garde photographer Dean Chamberlain is awarded by MTV for its innovation.
To kick off their tour in support of the album, the band gets back to basics and begins the Caravan Duran Tour, playing small clubs in the United States and abroad.
The United States Army discovers the use of music is very successful in psychological warfare against their enemy. The Bush Administration found it necessary to invade Panama to rid the country of General Manuel Noriega. To increase Noriega’s tension and unease, the Army begins to play a selection of loud music near his base, including Duran Duran’s “Hungry like the Wolf.”
The band continues to tour in support of Big Thing, moving on to larger venues with the Electric Theatre Tour.
Ten years of Duran Duran are documented by both an album and video entitled Decade. The mega-mix “Burning the Ground” captures some of their finest recorded moments.
Warren Cuccurullo becomes a permanent member of Duran Duran, as they release their sixth studio album Liberty and the singles “Violence of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)” and
“Serious.” To the disappointment of their fans, the band chooses not to tour.
Simon, Nick, Warren and John start preparation and writing for the next Duran Duran studio album.
Duran Duran holes up in Privacy Studios to record tracks for their self-titled seventh CD, also known as The Wedding Album. They collaborate with Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento on a song called “Breath after Breath.”
The band performs at the KROQ (CA) Acoustic Christmas show.
Duran Duran makes a triumphant return to the charts with “Ordinary World,” which instantly becomes a massive hit Worldwide.
The group films the video “Ordinary World” in California with Director Nick Egan.
Duran Duran’s The Wedding Album is released and mirrors the success of the single “Ordinary World.” The song “Ordinary World” receives much praise and wins an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting.
Duran Duran becomes one of the first bands to play in South Africa after the end of Apartheid.
“Come Undone” becomes the album’s second hit as Duran Duran embarks on a lengthy world tour.
The band is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Simon and Nick appear on Larry King Live in Washington, DC.
Duran Duran performs live via satellite across the globe from the Tower Records store on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.
A world-first Enhanced-CD produced by AMXstudios [Alasdair Scott and Malcolm Garrett] premiered at the EMI Records world conference in Brighton, 1993. “Universe” featured a revolutionary audio mixer, allowing users to remix “Ordinary World” on their CD-ROM enabled computers.
Duran Duran performs “Come Undone” at the MTV Movie Awards.
Beavis & Butthead play the video for “Come Undone” on their MTV show.
The band continues on the road with the Dilate Your Mind World Tour in support of The Wedding Album.
The band films a video in New York City for “Femme Fatale” with director Ellen Von Unwerth.
While in South America, Duran Duran shoots the video for “Breath After Breath” in Argentina.
Duran Duran performs an acoustic set on MTV’s Unplugged series.
In their spare time, they commence work on their next album, recording in studios around the globe while on tour.
Duran Duran decides to pay tribute to their musical influences and release Thank You, an album of cover versions. The song and video for “Perfect Day” reunites the band with original drummer Roger Taylor.
Duran Duran performs the rap classic “White Lines” on the Late Show With David Letterman, accompanied by Grand Master Flash, Melle Mel and the Furious Five.
Everyone from Lou Reed to Led Zeppelin and Iggy Pop to Bob Dylan sing the praises of Duran Duran’s versions of their songs.
Duran Duran headlines a series of radio festivals in the States and contributes a stellar track to the Led Zeppelin tribute album Enconium.
Hole performs “Hungry Like the Wolf” in their set for MTV Unplugged.
Bassist and founding member John Taylor decides to leave Duran Duran to pursue a solo career.
Simon performs in Italy for the Bosnian War Child charity, and appears on the album Pavarotti and Friends Together for the Children of Bosnia, duetting with Pavarotti on Duran’s “Ordinary World,” and Dolores O’Riordan on “Linger.”
Simon, Nick and Warren return to Privacy Studies in London to begin work on a new album.
Duran Duran contributes a song to the soundtrack of the motion picture The Saint. Their stand out track, “Out of my Mind,” together with a video shot in Czechoslovakia, garners worldwide attention and anticipation for the release of Medazzaland, the group’s eleventh album.
As Duran Duran readies the CD, they shoot the video for the first single “Electric Barbarella” in UK with Ellen Von Unwerth.
After 17 years on the edge of music and technology, Duran Duran makes yet another break through by becoming the first band in the history of the Internet to digitally download a song for sale on the World Wide Web. “Electric Barbarella” is downloaded from Abbey Road Studios London, using Liquid Audio.
MoJo Records release The Duran Duran Tribute Album, with tracks by Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish and Deftones. A concert is organized in Los Angeles by the acts involved to celebrate the band and their music.
Duranduran.com is launched.
Duran Duran kicks off a two month tour of North America by performing at the opening night of New York’s Whitney Museum Exhibit featuring the work of Andy Warhol.
The band returns to the studio to begin writing the follow up to the critically acclaimed Medazzaland.
The band embarks on the Greatest and Latest Tour of the UK, their first live dates there in five years.
Duran Duran leaves EMI Records after 18 years. EMI records release both a re-mix CD called Essentials and Greatest, a second Greatest Hits collection.
Simon performs with the Smashing Pumpkins at the Sheperds Bush Empire in London. They perform the Duran classic “Nightboat.”
VH1 features the band on its Behind the Music program as Duran Duran enters the year 2000 by signing a multi-album deal with Hollywood Records.
Two more Tribute Albums are released: Glue featuring Nathan Stack, Deep 13 and Earthling and Undone: The Songs of Duran Duran, a tribute by Australian artists, showcasing covers by The Living End, Kylie Minogue and Ben Lee.
Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo put a touring band together to play outdoor arenas during the summer. The shows receive rave reviews.
Puff Daddy samples “Notorious” for a Notorious B.I.G. song.
The band performs on VH1′s Hard Rock Live, showcasing songs from their forthcoming album and classics from their repertoire.
With 60 million records sold, Duran Duran releases their new album, Pop Trash on June 13th, 2000. “Someone Else Not Me” is the first single, released on May 2nd.
The band’s official site, duranduran.com, is re-vamped and re-launched.
Duran Duran records VH1 Storytellers in London on June 25th. The show first aired in Europe on August 25th and in the US on September 23rd.
The video for “Someone Else Not Me” premiers on Shockwave.com on June 13th. The video is made using Flash Technology and is the first video that was broadcast on MTV and VH1 using this type of digital animation.
Duran Duran appears on US television shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show Summer Concert Series, The View, and The Craig Kilbourne Show to promote the album.
The band begins Pop Trash Tour 2000 of the United States in Florida on July 21st. The 33-date tour attracts rave reviews. During the US tour, the band plays a week’s residency at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, smashing all attendance records. On Wednesday, August 30th, the show is broadcast live on HOB.com.
BBC1 television (UK) film interviews past and present members of Duran Duran for a documentary on the band celebrating 20 years of their career. The BBC1 show entitled The Wild Boys first airs in the UK on August 28th.
Duran Duran do a Christmas tour of the United Kingdom, selling out all shows. The UK Pop Trash tour features the world’s first use of “augmented reality” technology in a live concert. Duran Duran works with a computer graphics producer to create advanced 2D and 3D visual effects, which allows animated characters to appear live on stage with the band.
Universal Theme Park in Japan uses the Duran Duran song “Last Day on Earth” from the Pop Trash album to welcome visitors during the Grand Opening.
The band tours Russia for the first time in their career. The show from Moscow is broadcast live on television.
Duran Duran embarks on the Close Up tour of the USA, playing multiple nights in intimate venues. Their five-night stint at Chicago’s House of Blues break all records for their fastest sell out shows ever. The shows receive terrific reviews.
The film Donnie Darko with Jake Gyllenhaal uses the song “Notorious” for an extended sequence. The movie goes on to become a cult classic, with many devoted followers seeing the film over and over again and attending midnight screenings. The film is later re-released in 2004.
During a “Close Up” tour show in Anaheim, California, the first fully immersed video and audio recording of a rock concert is conducted. The live rock experience is captured using a unique 360-degree panoramic video and 10.2 channel audio recording system. This pioneering recording is coordinated by producer Jarrell Pair with audio/video researchers working with Dr. Tom Holman, famous for creating Lucasfilm’s THX audio standard.
Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes shoot a print campaign for the GAP in May.
The National Portrait Gallery in London showcases an exhibition of “Horst Portraits, 60 Years of Style”. Duran Duran is featured as part of this exhibit.
Unable to land the Space Shuttle Atlantis due to poor weather, NASA wakes the crew the next morning by playing Duran Duran’s “Hold Back the Rain” in an effort to ward off the bad weather. It works, and the shuttle lands safely at Cape Canaveral.
Duran Duran tours Japan in June for the first time since 1992. The Japanese dates are the last with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. Warren Cuccurullo parts with the band to reform his group Missing Persons.
Nick Rhodes and Simon LeBon are reunited with the original three members of Duran Duran, Roger, Andy and John Taylor. They meet together in Europe in June to commence writing on a new album.
Simon, Nick, John, Andy and Roger get together in the South of France to work on material for a new album.
John tapes a guest spot on the Fox Television show That 80s Show.
When they return from France, Simon and Nick team up with the Dandy Warhols to work on their new album Welcome to the Monkey House. Nick is at the helm producing the record and Simon provides guest vocals.
The Devils, featuring Nick Rhodes and original Duran Duran lead singer Stephen Duffy, release Dark Circles in the UK to critical acclaim.
The Devils (Nick Rhodes and Stephen Duffy) perform songs from Dark Circles at London department store Harvey Nichols to a packed crowd that includes both Simon LeBon and Roger Taylor.
Simon records a duet of “Save a Prayer” with SYN artist Silvio singing in Portuguese and Simon singing in English. The song appears on a Starbucks compilation available only in Japan.
The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH features Duran Duran in the “50 Years of Rock and Roll” exhibit with clothing worn by Nick, John and Roger.
Celebrations Chocolates and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) come together to put out a series of Christmas Cards made available to the public. World famous photographer The Earl of Lichfield creates twelve stunning cards that are themed around the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – but with a modern twist. Featured amongst them is Twelve Drummers Drumming with Roger Taylor.
Simon starts “Simon’s Reader” on Duranduran.com, a quarterly feature in which Simon reviews books that are of interest to him. Spin, Blender and USA Today newspaper all tout the merits of his reviews.
Nick Rhodes produces songs for two up and coming artists, She Said Yeah and Riviera F in-between his duties on the new Duran record.
Duran Duran celebrates the 25th anniversary of the formation of the band in 1978.
The Devils featuring Stephen Duffy and Nick Rhodes perform at The Live Music Hall, in Cologne, Germany. The show is taped for the Music Planet 2Nite show for Arte TV. It is the only full performance they have done thus far.
Capitol/EMI Records re-issue a re-mastered version of the album Rio.
In April Duran Duran announces their first tour dates together in eighteen years with the original line up of Simon, Andy, Nick, John and Roger. The first shows (in Japan) go on sale and the renowned 8,000 capacity Budokan Arena in Tokyo sells out in a staggering 30 minutes! A second sell out show at the Budokan is added to the five other dates.
The Dandy Warhols release Welcome to the Monkey House. The album receives critical acclaim and rave reviews for its Duran/Bowie-esque influences – brought to the project by Rhodes’ finely tuned production skills.
June sees EMI Records release re-mastered versions of Duran Duran and Seven and the Ragged Tiger.
EMI Records release a 13 CD Box Set of the band’s singles from the period ‘81-‘85 to coincide with the 25th Anniversary. The band members announce their first American dates in eighteen years, including a night at the legendary Roxy Theatre on Sunset in Los Angeles (the first West Coast venue they played some 20 plus years earlier). The show is announced by the band on LA’s KROQ radio. Fans sleep outside the venue for nights in order to secure tickets to the show. A star-studded audience includes Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani, fellow No Doubt’ers Tony Kanal and Adrien Young, actor Nicolas Cage, Christina Applegate, Beck, Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols.
Duran Duran announces more US dates, including The Joint at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas which sells out in less than 10 minutes, with a second date being quickly added. Another celebrity-packed audience attends the concert and after-party, hosted by Hard Rock founder Peter Morton. Guests include singer Macy Gray, comedian Jimmy Fallon and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody amongst others.
Famed photographer Mario Testino does a photo session with the band for British Vogue, which becomes the first magazine to publish a photo of the reunited band.
The band records their five Japanese shows, one of their Las Vegas dates and their first show in Orange County, to release both individually and as a box set. Available through the Internet
only, these are part of the Encore Series distributed by TheMusic.com.
Duran mania spreads to New York in August when the band plays their first date in eighteen years on the East Coast at Webster Hall (formerly The Ritz). All 1,500 tickets sell out in a mind blowing 2 minutes – crashing the Ticketmaster website for at least 30 minutes.
The show and after party celebration is attended by many New Yorkers happy to see the band back together including Christie Turlington, Edward Burns, Chloe Sevigny, Debbie Harry, Tatum O’Neal, Famke Janssen, Michael Musto The Donnas and film director Brett Ratner.
The band members attend the MTV Video Music Awards in New York the night after their show at the Ritz and are surprised with a presentation of a “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
EMI Records release a 2-DVD Greatest Hits compilation containing all of the band’s seminal videos.
Duran Duran plays to 45,000 people at KROQ’s (CA) Inland Invasion show. The event becomes the fastest selling date ever at Devore’s Glen Helen Pavilion.
The band headlines other radio shows in San Francisco and Boston during September and early October.
Q Magazine – the UK’s most prestigious music magazine – presents the band with the Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2003 ceremony in London. Nile Rodgers presents the accolade and the event is televised around the world.
The band plays their first UK show since 1984 as the original lineup to an ecstatic sold out crowd. Fans camp out at The Forum, in Kentish Town, London and Sky News reports that there were over 200,000 requests for tickets for a venue that could only hold 2,000 people.
Duran Duran is invited to participate in the Princes Trust Fundraiser at the Royal Albert Hall, entitled “Fashion Rocks.” As the band performs “Girls on Film,” models – including Yasmin LeBon – strut the catwalk dressed in Donna Karan. The televised event raises over One Million Pounds for charity.
The band joins pop star Robbie Williams as the special guests on his tour of Australia and New Zealand (December 2003). The first stadium concert in Sydney sells 50,000 tickets in one hour and a second Sydney date is added because of the demand.
After a successful stint “Down Under” with Robbie Williams – where the band adds solo shows to cope with fan demand – they finish 2003 with a sold out show in Singapore.
Throughout the year, alongside their extensive touring and promotional commitments, the band manages to convene regularly in London for further writing and recording sessions.
“All She Wants Is” is featured in the Oscar nominated film Monster starring Charlize Theron. The band later finds out Director Patty Jenkins is a fan.
Simon is featured in the Vanity Fair all music issue doing a Q&A with George Wayne in New York, the day after the band wins their surprise MTV Award.
Simon is a presenter with Lisa Maffia (So Solid Crew) at this year’s MOBO Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Duran Duran launches their paid Fan Community at www.duranduranmusic.com, making concert tickets available to members first, as well as showcasing exclusive photos, footage and content.
Power Station lead singer Robert Palmer dies suddenly in France and Powerstation drummer Tony Thompson dies of cancer a few months later. All members of Duran Duran are deeply saddened by both deaths.
Duran Duran teams up with Amnesty International, participating in their “Second Annual Music for Humanity” Auction. The band auctions off concert tickets, backstage passes and a signed skateboard on EBay to raise money and awareness for Amnesty International.
Duran Duran announces four UK arena shows, which sell out almost immediately. They perform 17 shows to over 200,000 people across Britain. The last two shows, at London’s Wembley Arena, are filmed. The band is invited to participate in the US Super Bowl in Houston, TX. The song “Wild Boys” is broadcast to over one billion people worldwide.
NASA sends a second Mars Exploration Rover into Space called Opportunity, whose main task is to investigate whether Mars ever had environments that were suitable for sustaining life. Each morning the Rover is awoken by a song, and in early February NASA chooses Duran Duran’s “Is There Something I Should Know?” in hopes of “encouraging” Opportunity to
find some more answers.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) announces that they will honour the band at their February Awards show, The Brits, with the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. The Award is presented to the band by Justin Timberlake, who surprised the band at August’s MTV Awards by telling them what a big influence they had been on him.
An after party is thrown for Duran Duran in honour of the win at The Brits. The bash is held at the Adam Street private members’ club, and is attended by Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Scarlett Johansson, Alicia Keys, Philip Treacy, Jamelia, The Queens of Noize, Stephen Fry, Badly Drawn Boy, Timbaland, and others. Harpers & Queen magazine covers the event with a pictorial.
Indie favorites Goldfrapp & The Scissor Sisters are announced as special guests for the UK dates, with Goldfrapp taking the first nine shows and Scissor Sisters the last six.
A group of Duran Duran fans attend every UK show of the tour, sponsored by the automobile company KIA, who provide the women with a KIA Rio as transportation.
Simon, Nick and Roger visit the BRIT school in Croydon, England, where they inspect the dance studio, theatre, recording studio and technology labs before facing a grilling in a Q&A session from 50 students. Duran Duran plays to more than a quarter of a million people on their UK tour and break the house record on May 1st at their final UK Wembley Arena show. Wembley Arena is subsequently demolished – so the record will remain.
Duran Duran’s Greatest CD re-enters the UK chart at #3.
A new track, “Sunrise” mixed by Jason Nevins, is included on Capitol Records’ Queer Eye For the Straight Guy soundtrack.
Due to the success of the Singles Box Set and Greatest DVD, which was certified Platinum, EMI releases the Sing Blue Silver documentary and Arena/Making of Arena live concert film on DVD as well as a mini box set containing Duran Duran, Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger.
Duran Duran attends the FIFA 100 Charity Auction & Tribute Ceremony, honouring the top 100 living football (soccer) players, at the Natural History Museum in London. The band allows FIFA to use “Beautiful Colours” as an accompaniment to a video clip showing great football moments of the last fifty years.
John is the center of a six-page feature in THE FACE magazine, where he reports on how it feels to be a transplanted Englishman in Los Angeles.
Nick is asked to Oxford University for their annual debate. He is partnered with U2 Manager Paul McGuiness as they discuss “This House believes that reality T.V is killing real music.” Nick & Paul believe this to be true, but do not win the debate.
World Idol winner Kurt Nilsen covers Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” on his debut album, out on BMG.
Boy band PHIXX covers Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys.”
Official Duran Duran ringtones become available for the first time, featuring songs “Rio,” “Girls on Film,” “Planet Earth,” “Wild Boys,” “Ordinary World” and “Notorious.”
Nick Rhodes is asked to photograph guests attending the Serpentine Gallery’s Annual Summer Party. His work appears as a spread in Tatler magazine.
Duran Duran returns to the Studio in London, where they work with Producers Don Gilmore and Dallas Austin, and re-mixer Jason Nevins.
The band signs a worldwide deal with Epic Records in June 2004.
EMI releases Box Set Number 2, featuring songs from the band’s catalogue from 1986 through 1995.
Duran Duran’s single, “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise” is released off their upcoming CD in September, 2004 and quickly rises up the charts worldwide, hitting Number 1 on the Billboard
Dance Charts abd becoming a Top 5 smash nearly all over the world.
“(Reach Up for the) Sunrise” is used on a commercial for TIM Mobile phones in Italy, as well as the theme song for the UK version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the Australian Morning Show, Sunrise.
Duran Duran appears at In Store appearances at Saturn (Berlin), HMV (Birmingham and London) and Virgin MegaStore (New York and Los Angeles) to rapturous crowds who camp out overnight to meet the band.
Epic releases Duran Duran’s Astronaut on October 11/12th, the first album of new material featuring the original line up since Seven and the Ragged Tiger.
Top US morning show, Good Morning America, shut down 44th Street, in New York, for the first time in the show’s history, for a three song performance by Duran Duran on the day of the album’s release.
The band embarks on endless promotion for their single, appearing on the television shows Top of the Pops, The Lottery, Time Lovejoy’s All Stars, The Jonathan Ross Show, TRL in the UK and Italy, The Tonight Show Featuring Jay Leno, The Late Late Show, Last Call with
Carson Daly, Ellen, Good Morning America, Live! With Regis and Kelly and many others.
In November, Duran Duran is honoured with the Ondas Award for Musical Achievement in Barcelona, Spain.
Deep Visual develops a projection for the Duran Duran UK Tour, featuring a Manga cartoon during the song “Careless Memories.”
Duran Duran’s Astronaut is released in the following formats: CD, CD with Bonus Track (Japan), CD/DVD (with footage of the band’s Wembley performances and behind-the-scenes
footage), Double 12” Vinyl.
Duran Duran’s Astronaut hits #1 on the Billboard Download chart the first week of release.
Each band member films their “own” video of “(Reach up for the) Sunrise” with the Polish Brothers. These are later released on ITunes Internationally.
“(Reach up for the) Sunrise” gets the re-mix treatment from Alex G, Jason Nevins, Eric Prydz, Ferry Corsten & Full Intention.
The video for “What Happens Tomorrow” is filmed in Los Angeles with Directors Smith N Boran.
Nick Rhodes participates in the Guy Oseary book On The Record: Over 150 Of The Most Talented People In Music Share The Secrets Of Their Success.
Duran Duran appears on the cover of the Radio Times in London with respected Newscasters dressed up as “The Wild Boys” to support the Children in Need charity.
Kelis mixes the Duran Duran song “Notorious” in to her single “Trick Me”.
Simon and Nick attend the MTV Europe Awards in Rome and present the Best New Artist Award to Maroon 5.
The band tapes a performance on the hit NBC Television show Las Vegas, which airs in January, 2005.
A 5.1 mix of Astronaut is done by Jeremy Wheatley for the dual-disk release of Astronaut. The CD side contains the album as-is and the DVD side contains the 5.1 mix of the album in DVD Audio format along with some DVD footage and videos.
“What Happens Tomorrow” remixes done by Peter Rauhofer – Reconstruction Mix and Reconstruction Dub.
Nick Rhodes is given a football after his appearance on Tim Lovejoy’s Allstars TV Program in the UK. He then has the football signed by many celebrities for the Lighthouse charity to auction off.
The song “Ordinary World” is used in the Matthew Vaughn film Layercake.
“Hungry like the Wolf” is used in the DVD release of Shrek 2.
“Nice” remixes done by: Lindberg Palace – 456 Productions – Mike Greig – JD aka Dready – Pablo La Rosa – Johnson Somerset – Eric Prydz.
The band tours the US from February to April 2005, culminating with a performance at Madison Square Garden on April 13th, 2005.
Duran Duran designs a Pop Up book as their tour programme, which are a huge hit and are carried by eclectic book stores including West Hollywood’s Book Soup.
Duran Duran kicks off a European tour in the summer of 2005 visiting places such as Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary (where Simon famously asks “Is anyone Hungarian?”) , Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and France.
Duran Duran performs at Live 8 on July 2nd, 2005, at Circus Maximus in Rome. Their performance is also beamed in to London’s Hyde Park, while the whole concert is aired over the internet by AOL and over Satellite radio by XM. The band then jets to their performance at the Roskilde Festival.
After a short and successful summer tour of the US, 3 dates in Japan (including the Summer Sonic Festival), the band announces they will be doing Christmas shows in the UK including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and two shows at London’s Earls Court.
Armand Van Helden samples Andy Taylor’s “I Might Lie” for his track “Into your Eyes”.
Duran Duran Live From London is released, capturing the original band during their spectacular seventeen-date, 2004 UK arena tour in both a special deluxe 2-Disc package and a spectacular single DVD disc. Directed by award-winning film-maker, Lawrence Jordan and shot with fourteen state-of-the-art, 1080 24p high-definition cameras, this unique concert DVD, with its film-like visuals, captures the magic, excitement, and pure adrenaline of the band’s final two Wembley concerts on April 30 and May 1, 2004. Both packages also include a behind-the-scenes documentary, rare and candid interview footage, a photo gallery, and a unique audio-track voice-over by all five of the band members – talking about the songs and the show. In addition, the special, deluxe two-disc set includes one song that can be watched in 3D, together with a 12 page booklet, and the live album.
Duran Duran performs at Fashion Rocks which will aid in charity relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Duran Duran is asked to be special guests at the launch of the Imperia Vodka brand, imported from Russia, where the single “What Happens Tomorrow” is a huge hit. Imperia “rents” out Liberty Island in New York City for the event. The band performs for the crowd from a barge floating in the Hudson River.
Live From London is shown in movie theatres across the US to sold out audiences. Some theatres add 2nd showings due to demand.
Andre Agassi personally asks Duran Duran to perform at his annual Grand Slam for Children charity event in Las Vegas.
The band begins work on their follow-up to Astronaut.
Duran Duran performs at the Nobel Peace Concert in Norway.
The band plays Christmas dates in Europe, culminating with two shows at Earls Court in London.
Duran Duran re-launch ringtones in the UK, featuring songs taken from Live From London and a re-mix of “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise”.
Ferry Corsten samples the Duran Duran song “Serious” off of the Liberty album. The song, “Fire”, becomes a massive dance hit and includes clips of the original in the new video.
After taking a well earned break, Duran Duran returns to the Studio in London with Engineer Michael Patterson to continue working on their forthcoming CD.
February 2nd, 2006 marks the 25th Anniversary of the release of Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth” single. Roger comments on Duranduran.com, “My strongest memory of the release of ‘Planet Earth’ is one of US gathering around the radio in Chipping Norton studios (where we were recording tracks for the forthcoming FIRST album) and hearing one of our songs being played on the radio for the first time, being absolutely ecstatic and feeling that we had really ‘arrived,’ when in fact it was just the start of a very long journey.”
Duran Duran performs at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. The performance takes place on February 15th at the Medals Plaza, Piazza Castello, Torino. Footage of the show is broadcast around the world.
To celebrate the end of the Astronaut World Tour, Duran Duran releases their first set of exclusive master ringtones, which include the Jason Nevins remix of “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise.”
Duran Duran launches their official Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/duranduran.
Duran Duran adds Mobile Graphics to their Mobile Webshop.
The deluxe version of Live From London (10 tracks + 2 bonus) is added to iTunes.
EMI UK releases Nick Rhodes and John Taylor Present: Only After Dark. Only After Dark is the first compilation to recreate one of the UK’s most dynamic and exciting moments in music – the late ’70s and dawning ’80s period, which resonated soundly with the two future members of Duran Duran. The critically acclaimed CD features tracks by Brian Eno, David Bowie, Simple Minds, Grace Jones and more.
Nick’s essay on the early ’80s in Birmingham and the songs that inspired Only After Dark is chosen as the cover piece for the London Daily Telegraph’s Saturday pull out section.
In another first, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes step in to the history books to launch the UK Guardian newspaper’s Film & Music Podcast series, with a 2-part interview discussing their Only After Dark compilation. This mini-podcast-within-a-podcast makes UK media history, becoming the first time music from the major record labels and music publishers has been officially approved for use in a podcast.
Duran Duran performs at the Annual Red Cross Ball in Monaco on August 4th. It is their last performance with Andy Taylor.
Duran Duran’s “Nice” remixes, including mixes by Eric Prydz, JD aka Dready, Johnson Somerset, Mike Greig and Pablo La Rosa, are added to iTunes.
Duran Duran announces plans to create a virtual universe in Second Life, as well as perform a concert in-world. This news creates 1.8 million media and online mentions for the band, setting a record in terms of coverage.
EMI releases Duran Duran’s video catalogue for electronic download. Videos include “What Happens Tomorrow,” “Girls on Film,” “Rio” and “Save a Prayer.”
Duran Duran reconvenes in a New York City studio and begin work with famed Producer Timbaland on three tracks for their upcoming album.
Justin Timberlake, whom the band first met when they received their Lifetime Achievement Award from MTV and who later presented them with a second Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK BRIT Awards in 2004, collaborates with them on one of the songs from the forthcoming release.
Individuals: Portraits from the Gap Collection is published and showcases the GAP print ad Simon and Nick did. The book benefits Project Red, a business model developed by Bono and Bobby Shriver to create a sustainable stream of revenue for AIDS initiatives.
The longest running Duran Duran fanzine, The Dutch Go Duran ceases publication after 18 years.
Nick Rhodes is a presenter at the first annual British Academy Video Games Awards In London. He is joined by his newly created Second Life Avatar.
John Taylor designs a Signature Peavey Guitar and Bass line, called the Liberator, in association with Juicy Couture.
The band announces the departure of guitarist Andy Taylor and confirm that they will continue as a foursome as they finish up their new CD for Epic/Sony Records.
The band performs for the first time in Poland, in front of 120,000 People. The show is televised nationally.
The band warms up for a short U.S run with five European shows in Bratislava, Bucharest, Sofia, Athens and Belgrade.
The band opens the new Sears Center Arena in Chicago on October 26th.
Duran Duran joins the Red Hot Chili Peppers as Headliners for the Voodoo Music Experience, Halloween weekend in New Orleans.
The band visits Warren Easton High School while in New Orleans. This school was devastated by hurricane Katrina and began rebuilding after being closed for 7 months. After taking a tour of the school, and participating in a press conference/autograph session with the Journalism Department, the band donates an audio sound system for the school to the students.
Duran Duran headline the BANG! Music Festival on November 11, at Bicentennial Park in Miami. Other artists include Gnarls Barkley and Daft Punk.
The band perform a stand alone gig in New York City as part of the Cipriani Concert Series to benefit amfAR. Over a million dollars is raised.
Princes William and Harry announce Duran Duran as one of the main artists to appear at this summer’s Princes Diana Memorial Concert, taking place at London’s newly re-built Wembley Stadium on July 1, 2007. The show sells out in just 20 minutes.
John Taylor under takes four in-store appearances to launch his signature series Guitar and Bass lines.
The band goes into the studio in London with producer Nate ‘Danja’ Hills and mixer Jimmy Douglass to complete their album.
The video for “Rio” tops a global survey on AOL for the ‘Best Music Video of all Time’. The classic clip takes 59% of more than a million votes cast.
Fans vote on Capital Radio’s Hall Of Fame countdown for their favorite songs of all time; Duran Duran holds 4 entries with “Ordinary World”, “Girls on Film”, “Save A Prayer” and “Wild Boys”.
Duran Duran returns to the studio in July with Justin Timberlake, writing the track “Falling Down”.
The band announces the upcoming publication of Would Someone Please Explain, The Best of Duran Duran’s Ask Katy culled from ten years of questions from the ASK KATY column on Duranduran.com.
Q Magazine announces the “500 Greatest Lost Tracks – The Best Songs You’ve Never Heard” with “My Own Way (Night Version)” coming in at #129.
Nick Rhodes participates in a traveling guitar exhibition, designing a one-of-a-kind guitar – the world’s first electric guitar to feature a TV screen. The Fender guitar plays video (curated by Rhodes), as well as music. The guitar is later sold in a charity auction.
Duran Duran’s version of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” is included on Instant Karma: The campaign to Save Darfur.
The band plays their first “fan community members only” concert for their official Fan Community at a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.
Duran Duran opens the Concert For Diana show from London’s newly renovated Wembley Stadium on July 1, introduced by Princes William and Harry.
Duran Duran perform at Al Gore’s Live Earth event from Wembley Stadium on July 7. They are the only band to play at both events.
Anticipation builds as Sony announce Duran Duran’s Red Carpet Massacre will be released November 12th (US) and 19th (UK), 2007.
Duran Duran appears on the UK TV show The Jonathon Ross Show to promote Red Carpet Massacre.
Duran Duran set to perform an unprecedented 10 nights on Broadway in November at the Barrymore Theatre. After the 7th show, the Stage Hand Union goes on strike, forcing the band to miss one performance and re-schedule the remaining two at the Roseland Ballroom.
Duran Duran perform “Falling Down” on the American Music Awards, as well as “Hungry Like the Wolf,” which was voted by fans as the “classic” Duran song they most wanted to hear.
Duran Duran appear on the US TV show Ellen to promote Red Carpet Massacre.
After being forced to cancel their show at the Odeon on London’s Westend due to Council concerns of rioting, Duran Duran re-schedules their performance at the Lyceum; the December 3rd show sells out in just 5 minutes.
Nick Rhodes takes the photos for the packaging of Red Carpet Massacre; John Taylor oversees art direction with Patty Palazzo.
Duran Duran performs “Notorious” and “Nite-Runner” on the show X Factor in London.
Duran Duran become the first artist to partner with Apple’s Garageband for a re-mix contest on Sony’s dedicated Duran Duran site. Given the song “Nite-Runner,” fans are encouraged to re-mix the track with the winner hand-picked by the band.
A&E feature the band on an episode of Private Sessions; Duran Duran fan Ricky Gervais calls in to ask them questions.
Sirius Satellite Radio dedicates a week to Duran Duran, giving them their own Red Carpet Radio channel.
John Taylor makes the January, 2008 cover of Bass Player magazine (US).
The band film interviews at Olympic studios in London for the Rio: CLASSIC ALBUMS DVD. They film the live performances for the DVD 3 days later in Boston.
Duran Duran performs “Falling Down” at the San Remo Music Festival in Italy on February 26th.
The Duran Duran designed ROCK THE RABBIT T-Shirt is chosen by Playboy to be sold in major outlets such as Bloomingdales & select W Hotel boutiques.
A 3 CD box set containing Duran Duran, Rio and Seven and the Ragged Tiger is released in the UK on Monday, March 17th. Though there is no content change to the CDs or artwork, EMI have numbered the boxes, making it a collectible.
Duran Duran kicks off their Red Carpet Massacre World Tour in New Zealand Duran Duran play their first batch of Festivals, co-headlining Richard Branson’s V FESTIVAL with The Smashing Pumpkins. The tour continues through the Far East including Indonesia, The Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.
The band ends the Australasia leg of the tour in Costa Rica, a place the band had never played before. Headlining the Festival Imperial, the band play to a rapturous audience.
Duran Duran kicks off their 2008 North American tour in Vancouver, BC on April 29th. The Leeds, UK band Your Vegas is the opening act for the entire tour.
American Idol finalist David Cook performs Duran Duran’s “Hungry like the Wolf” on the hit TV show.
Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning from The Killers join the band on stage at their Las Vegas show at The Joint in the Hard Rock Café to sing Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth”.
Simon throws out the first pitch at a Cubs game at Wrigley Field on May 13th.
Smashing Pumpkin’s Billy Corgan joins the band onstage to sing “The Chauffeur” at their Chicago gig at the Rosemont Theatre .
Duran Duran announces a musical collaboration with Mark Ronson for a Smirnoff sponsored event in Paris on July 2.
“Wild Boys” is featured in the film and soundtrack for Son of Rambow.
Animated series Futurama reference Duran Duran with an ode to “Hungry like the Wolf.”
The band perform two shows at New York City’s Central Park SummerStage at the Rumsey Playfield, one of the few NYC venues they’ve never played.
Duran Duran make history by becoming the first band to ever play at the Louvre Museum (home of the Mona Lisa) in Paris. They perform under the I.M Pei glass pyramid as part of the biggest fundraising event ever held on the Paris museum’s premises. Proceeds go toward renovating the 18th-century furniture rooms of the decorative-arts galleries.
La Cigale in Paris hosts the third global Smirnoff Experience event, showcasing a collaboration between Duran Duran and Mark Ronson. The event presented live performances of Ronson’s re-workings of his favorite Duran Duran classics along with songs from their new album.
DD take the Red Carpet Massacre tour to the UK, with performances in London at the O2 Arena, Liverpool, Nottingham, and Birmingham. The Duke Spirit support the band on all UK dates. They continue across Europe, playing shows in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and Italy, including a free show in the Reggio Calabria Piazza
On July 16th, The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is built and managed by the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, sends the names Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor and John Taylor to the moon.
Pop Trash and Medazzaland are added to iTunes.
Roger Taylor performs a DJ Set at the famed Pacha night club in Ibiza.
The band is awarded the ultimate music video accolade by MTV viewers, who voted the band’s legendary clip for their hit single “Rio” The Greatest Video Of All Time, beating stiff competition from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You,” Notorious B.I.G’s “Sky’s The Limit,” and Rage Against The Machine’s “Sleep Now In The Fire” to claim the top slot.
John Taylor films a guest role on the American TV Sitcom Samantha Who starring Christina Applegate.
A survey by Gigwise.com crowns “A View to a Kill” the best Bond theme.
Eagle Rock releases Rio: CLASSIC ALBUMS. This DVD tells the story behind the writing, recording and subsequent success of the album through newly filmed interviews, musical demonstrations and both new and archival performances.
Duran Duran set on the most extensive tour of Latin America they have ever done in their career. The tour travels through Peru, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Panama and Brazil, covering 4 countries the band have never visited before. Sadly, they are forced to cancel a few dates in Mexico and Texas due to an ear infection contracted by Nick Rhodes. They resume in Houston, Texas and continue through Canada, ending the world tour with a string of dates on the East Coast.
Duran Duran publish Would Someone Please Explain, The Best of Duran Duran’s Ask Katy, available on Duranduran.com. The book, which highlights the best of the ASK KATY section of the website, features never-seen-before photos, a band Q&A and questions never published on the website.
Roger Taylor finishes out the year with a DJ stint at New York City’s Webster Hall.
Duran Duran release their most recent album, Red Carpet Massacre, on vinyl in a special, limited edition, numbered package. All copies sell out within a few days.
John appears in the UK as a guest on the BBC’s Style on Trial series.
January 27th finds the band recording in depth interviews for the forthcoming Sky Arts Songbook show, filmed in HD.
On January 28th, Duran Duran film Sky Arts Songbook before a studio audience at the Hospital in London. They perform some lesser known songs such as “Late Bar,” and are joined by violinist Martha Brown on “Do You Believe in Shame”.
The band return to the Studio on February 2nd -13th to commence writing for the first time since the recording of Red Carpet Massacre.
Nick and Katy add an audio component to their annual February Oscar Picks with an “All-Academy-Awards” Katy’s Kafe.
Duran Duran contribute an exclusive live performance of their classic Bond theme, “A View to A Kill,” arranged by and performed with Mark Ronson, as a bonus track on the War Child Heroes charity CD compilation.
Simon appears on the BBC 2 programme High Altitude, where he and his brother Jonathan learn to ice-sail in northern Sweden.
In March, Roger and his DJ partner, Jake Fonique, return to the US to DJ at Cielo in New York City, as well as at Gryphon at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL.
John participates in the Tap Water Project via Unicef to raise awareness for the world water crisis.
On February 27- March 3rd Nick and Snake Newton mix the Sky Songbook show in surround sound at Sphere studios London.
Roger offers a drum lesson for the great Ormond Street Hospital charity auction; the auction is won by a young fan named Chloe who spent an hour in the studio getting a lesson from Roger.
“Hungry like the Wolf” features in The Simpsons episode “E Pluribus Wiggum.”
The band announce a summer date at Edinburgh Castle on July 16th.
Duran Duran are announced as the headliners for the Lovebox Weekender Festival in Victoria Park on July 18th. Other artists include N.E.R.D, Florence and the Machine, Groove Armada and Ladyhawke.
Duran Duran reveal a few summer dates in the US: July 5th at the Marymoor Amphitheatre in Redmond, WA, July 7th at the Fillmore in San Francisco, July 8th at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA, July 10th at the Pearl in Las Vegas and July 11th at The Pacific Amphitheatre in Orange County.
On March 11th Nick records an interview for a documentary about Andrew Logan’s Alternative Miss World show.
From March 18th-26th, the band work in the Studio with Producer Mark Ronson who texts Rolling Stone magazine that the sessions are “fucking awesome!” Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson joins them for some songwriting.
In May, Simon crews on the yacht RIO during Antigua Sailing Week and was part of the team that won The Lord Nelson Trophy for first place.
The band return to the studio to do more tracking with Mark Ronson from May 11th- June 1st, They work at both Eastcote and Sphere in London.
On June 3rd in St. Petersberg, Russia the band all visit the Hermitage Museum.
Duran Duran perform in St. Petersburg on June 4th at the Palace Square. Pop singer Anastacia opens the show.
From June 8th-10th Nick works on Keyboards for the new album with Mark Ronson at Sphere studios
Designer John Richmond’s June fashion show in Milan is set entirely to the music of Duran Duran.
Celebrated artist Dinos Chapman creates original poster art for the band’s headlining performance at Lovebox.
Mark Ronson appears onstage and performs with Duran Duran at their Edinburgh Castle show and their Lovebox Festival headlining gig. The band comprises a brass section and a string section who feature on some of the medley’s in the show. One specifically mashing “Girls On Film” together with “La Freak” by Chic, this was discovered by the band on You Tube and re-appropriated for these performances, as far as we know, the first time this has happened. The shows were also noted as the first in which the band ever used lasers in their production.
Nick exhibits two of his artworks as part of the DNA Exhibit celebrating the influence of John Foxx’s music at the Horse Hospital in London.
Simon completes a photo spread for James magazine in the Netherlands.
Simon lends his vocals to the “Beds R Burning” charity single to support Tck Tck Tck Time for Climate Change.
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor listen to Duran Duran’s “Reach Up for the Sunrise” on their last day in space.
EMI enthusiastically release the Deluxe Rio re-issue, including previously unheard demos, the Live from Hammersmith 82! DVD and Rio re-issue on vinyl.
Simon contributes a chapter to the book The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas.
Mark Ronson surprises listeners to his East Village Radio podcast by playing a snippet of a new Duran Duran song.
Roger DJs a set at Almada club in London during the Omega Constellation launch party in October.
Simon lends backing vocals to the song “Simple Joys” by the duo Beautiful Small Machines.
On November 2nd, Simon joins Mark Ronson onstage at the Concert for Care at the Brixton Academy; they perform “Planet Earth.”
John appears at a symposium on “40 years of the Internet” at UCLA’s School of Engineering, giving a much lauded keynote speech.
John participates with Toohey’s Extra Dry to offer an Australian band the chance of a lifetime – to work on a record with Mark Ronson, Santigold, Nick Hodgson of the Kaiser Chiefs, Sean Lennon and John. Mark Ronson chooses the winner, who then flies to New York to work with the aforementioned artists.
Diane Von Fursternberg names her new collection “Her Name is Rio.”
The Duran Duran webshop is re-designed and re-launched on Duranduran.com .
Nick has two lots up for auction in the Phillips de Pury & Company MUSIC auction in London.
Duran Duran lend their support to the Sri Lanka campaign for Peace and Justice.
In December, EMI release a digital-download-only BBC concert featuring Duran Duran at the Hammersmith Odeon, recorded November 4, 1982.
Roger and Jake DJ at the Merah Club in London in December.
EMI announces several Duran Duran CD re-issues for 2010 including Duran Duran, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, and Arcadia’s So Red the Rose.
Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams from England wins the world darts championship 2010. His walk on/off music is “Hungry Like The Wolf.”
Duran Duran announce they will cover “Boys Keep Swinging” for the Manimal Records’ David Bowie Tribute Album, due out in September, 2010. 100% of the net profits will benefit the War Child charity.
Roger DJs the I LOVE LONDON event to aid the Wings of Hope children’s charity on January 15th, at The Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane in London.
The band resume work in the studio January 20th to review the tracks written for the new release; they re-group with Mark Ronson the first week of February for more work.
On February 16th , the band headline the GSMA Mobile conference in Barcelona. Nick Rhodes is one of the keynote speakers at the conference the next day.
Roger is featured on the cover of Italy’s Red Passion magazine.
John is the musical director for the New Roads School benefit featuring Stewart Copeland, John Desmore, Raul Pacheco and more. The school later releases a CD of music from the event to further benefit the school.
The single “Fox” co-written by John Taylor, is released by The Danimals, the Toohey’s Extra Dry winning band chosen by Mark Ronson.
Duran Duran’s “The Chauffeur” is featured on the Greenberg movie (starring Ben Stiller) soundtrack, released on March 26th.
Roger and Jake Fonique DJ the 4th Annual FATE Awards in Belfast, Ireland at the end of March.
John writes a tribute to Malcolm McLaren on Duranduran.com that is later picked up by Billboard magazine.
Arcadia’s So Red the Rose two CD re-issue, complete with all the videos filmed for the project, is released by EMI on April 12th/13th.
In mid April, John takes over the blog section of DD.com and posts a different photo of himself every day for thirty days.
Nick and Simon join Mark Ronson at Ronnie Scott’s in London for a performance of Duran Duran’s “The Chauffeur” on April 21st at the Gucci Icon afterparty.
Nick participates in the SAVE SIX campaign to save BBC Radio 6 Music.
JT’s Vault, chronicling the band’s early days, is launched on Duranduran.com.
EMI re-issue the albums Duran Duran and Seven and the Ragged Tiger. The two disc sets includes remixes, live tracks and videos. It is released on March 29th in Europe and May 18th in the US. EMI also issue rare vinyl.
Simon presents the Best Album Award at the 55th Annual Ivor Novello Awards, honouring the best of English Songwriting on May 20th.
On June 16th, Roger and Jake DJ the exclusive invite only party for the Pitti Uomo Fashion Fair Party, near Florence, Italy.
John performs on the track “Tigress Ritual” off the upcoming album Man Meat by Swahili Blonde, the new band led by ex-Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante.
There are currently in excess of 100,000 web pages dedicated to Duran Duran on the worldwide web.
