Duran Duran: a selection of interesting facts
Duran Duran is a British new wave and synthpop band formed in Birmingham in 1978. Their career spans over four decades, and they are still a strong band that never ceases to delight loyal fans! Their 14th and so far final studio album, Paper Gods, released in the fall of 2015, reached #10 on the Billboard charts! Today, Duran Duran belongs to the category of bands whose influence is limitless... They are one of the most commercially successful musical groups in history with sales of over 100 million copies worldwide...
In the 80s, Duran Duran made a real splash, appearing before the public in the form of new romantics! Now they are known as the pioneers of this genre... But what facts about this band remain a mystery to fans? We invite you to find out! This is the top most interesting facts about Duran Duran.
One of their albums is still unreleased
It seems surprising, but it's true: the band has an album in reserve that has not been released since 2006 - it's called Reportage! Material for the album was recorded before Andy Taylor left the band. Subsequently, keyboardist Nick Rhodes said:
“The work on this album went in a completely different direction… I mean, most of the songs recorded for him are much meaner and more political than it usually happens with us…”
Fans have of course made a lot of speculation as to when Reportage will be released. But ... Duran Duran themselves have not confirmed anything.
Simon Le Bon nearly drowned twice
Yes, at one time Simon Le Bon, the leader of Duran Duran, almost drowned ... Twice.
During the filming of the Wild Boys video, Simon was tied to a windmill. But… it broke down and stopped moving. As a result, Le Bon got stuck underwater. It is scary to imagine what thoughts visited him at that moment ... Fortunately, the diving team managed to do it in time! Otherwise, it must have been a truly horrific event… Simon Le Bon probably thought that this bad experience with water only happens once in a lifetime. But, unfortunately, this is not the case.
The second time Le Bon's yacht capsized was during a FastNet race in 1985. The singer and five of his teammates were trapped under the boat, but thankfully survived thanks to an air pocket underneath the yacht. They were under the ship for over an hour before the Royal Navy was able to rescue them.
They were Princess Diana's favorite band
To this day, Duran Duran fans are concerned about the question: did the band members know Princess Diana personally? Well: personally, they were only partially acquainted, but Duran Duran was Diana's favorite group ... This became known back in the 1980s.
In 1983, the band was lucky enough to meet Lady Di at the Prince's Trust concert in London, which they say was one of the highlights of their career... At the memorial concert in 2006, Le Bon not only performed, but also paid tribute to the late princess, saying :
“We are honored that she has always named Duran Duran as her favorite band as she was by far our favorite princess…”
Two of their videos were banned by the BBC.
The first video, the video for the song "Girls on Film", was banned by the BBC and heavily censored by MTV, containing many lewd scenes that made it too sexy to air on uncensored television.
The second scandalous video of the group is the video for the song "Electric Barbarella", which involves a half-naked female robot.
They started out as nightclub employees
Duran Duran was arguably the most popular band of the 1980s, with every member becoming a household name by the middle of the decade! However, this group had a rather modest start... Their first live performance took place within the walls of the Rum Runner club in Birmingham, where the future stars of the scene worked part-time... So, for example, Nick Rhodes worked as a DJ and received about ten pounds per night. In fact, the band's first managers were the owners of Rum Runner.
Their name was inspired by the main villain of "Barbarella"
One of the most common questions the band has been asked throughout their career is "Where did you get your name from?" From Black Sabbath to Deep Purple, the names of many bands have confused fans and critics alike! And as for Duran Duran's unique name, the explanation for it is quite simple: Dr. Duran-Duran, the evil character in the sci-fi movie Barbarella, was the inspiration! According to the band members themselves, they chose this name mainly due to the fact that they liked the psychedelic music presented in the film, as well as the retro-futuristic fashion aesthetic ...
Andy Taylor fell out of a tree while filming a music video
The life of a musician is full of dangers - both on and off stage ... This incident happened to Andy Taylor during the filming of the music video for the song "Save a prayer": the video was filmed in Sri Lanka, on the slope of a waterfall ... And if for It sounds like an amazing experience to some, but it certainly doesn't sound like Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor... The guitarist remembers climbing a tree to get a good shot, but... he fell right into the water!
“I climbed up a tree and sat on a branch ten or fifteen feet above the water. It seemed perfect for imitating guitar playing! But… I swung and…. Splash. Believe me, falling into the water that the elephants used as an open toilet is not the most pleasant thing that can happen to you ... "
Q Magazine called their 1995 release the worst album of all time.
The longer a band manages to stay in the public eye, the more likely it is to fall out of favor... And most artists who have been around for decades have come to the conclusion that they've made both brilliant and terrible albums over the years. So, in 1995, Duran Duran released their eighth studio album "Thank You", completely consisting of cover versions of songs by other artists: the album was subjected to universal criticism and almost forever killed Duran Duran's career, and Q magazine, as you know, called it the worst album of all time...
Nick Rhodes wrote an oral presentation on dental surgery at Medazzaland
Duran Duran's ninth studio album, 1997's Medazzaland, is unusual in that it is the only album to feature Nick Rhodes on vocals. Nick Rhodes is the band's keyboardist, and until this point in Duran Duran's career, he hadn't sung vocals on a Duran Duran record at all... As for Medazzaland, Rhodes didn't just contribute his vocals to the album, he wrote an entire song for it! In particular, Rhoads wrote the lyrics for the title track and delivered the poetry-like spoken rendition of them himself. The title track Medazzaland was inspired by Le Bon's visit to the dentist, after which he returned still under the influence of painkillers given to him. He was very lethargic and his speech was very strange. Rhodes then joked that Le Bon was "still in Meduzzland"! Thus was born the ingenious and strange title track.
Roger Taylor is the only member to have his own documentary
Duran Duran went down in history as one of the most influential bands of the 80s and that is why they are influential even today. But in fact, only one band member can boast of his own documentary: and that is Roger Taylor! Roger Taylor, Duran Duran's drummer who left the band in 1985 but returned in 2001, is the subject of Duran Duran's only independent documentary. Looking for Roger Taylor was released in 2000 and is a favorite project of independent film producer and Duran Duran fan Aaron Barnett. This movie explores the time Taylor spent away from the Duran Duran spotlight, as well as the things that motivated him to come back...
John Taylor has contributed to nine studio albums in addition to Duran Duran
There is no doubt that John Taylor is best known for his work as the bassist for Duran Duran. What you may not know, however, is that he has an extensive catalog of non-Duran Duran music albums... When Duran Duran broke up temporarily in the mid-80s, John Taylor joined The Power Station along with Robert Palmer. Moreover, he also recorded one self-titled album with Neurotic Outsiders and released six solo records! In total, John Taylor participated in the recording of nine studio albums in addition to Duran Duran to one degree or another. Nice legacy!
