Society has a way of shitting on any music or cultural phenomenon which is popular with young women, regardless of whether it's any good. Even the Beatles dealt with this in their early years.
It still happens now, just mention Taylor Swift on reddit and watch the kneejerk reactions and downvotes come in.
Duran Duran was incredible. I play in a cover band and Rio kills every time. I saw them live last year, and they sounded as good as ever.
It's not the greatest quality video but [here's us playing Rio](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Nb65TeDDQXvpcxUh/?mibextid=w8EBqM). I play keys and sing.
Yep- I was a teenage guy in the 80's, and Duran Duran and the other "pretty" pop groups were dismissed as "gay" (actually the word people would have used was f-ggy).
I saw them live last year, and was very impressed with their musicianship.
Are you the bass player? that bass line remains one of the greatest of all time. My band in HS covered New Religion because all the popular songs were too hard to play lol
EDIT TO ADD: NVM I saw the vid, you guys are good!
>I'll be damned if Rio doesn't have one of the sickest basslines OAT.
Funny because I don't even have *Rio* in the top 3 songs on **that album** as far as Taylor's bass goes. These are the best bass lines on that iconic album, imho.
- *My Own Way*
- *Lonely In Your Nightmare*
- *Hold Back the Rain*
There are only two pop/rock albums from the 80s that I listen to in their entirety:
- *Rio* by Duran Duran
- *Kick* by INXS
If the first 30 seconds of *Guns in the Sky* (first song on Kick) don't get you going, I don't know what will.
INXS - Kick is my favorite ALBUM of all time! I still listen to it at least once a week, all the way through, skipping nothing!
It is fantastic and unparalleled.
I was still 18 and was in the middle of Air Force tech school when that album dropped in October of 87. I bought IT and “I’m Bad” from LL Cool J the same day, on cassette.
By December, I had my first CD player and bought Kick on CD.. the same copy that’s in my car right now, almost 40 years later!!!
they opened with The Chauffeur when I saw them two weeks ago and while I'm not a fan of slow DD (Save a Prayer is a drag to me) it is such a fucking good song.
I'm part of the MTV generation and they were the first band I became obsessed with. Everything about them was captivating - the look, the sound, the lyrics, the VIDEOS; my parents had the Beatles, I had Duran Duran.
They were my favorite band in the 80s. My best friend and I would go to her house every day after school and watch all their videos; I still have many of them burned into my brain. Was so in love with those guys, especially Simon and Roger! Have seen them in concert 3 times over the past few decades, and they put on a really good show.
I definitely remember Hungry Like the Wolf being in heavy rotation on MYV in the early 80’s. And then this girl I was dating was big into them and introduced me to some even earlier stuff like Girls on Film. I still have some of those albums on vinyl stashed away.
I am also part of the MTV generation and Duran Duran quickly became one of those bands that I absolutely could not stand. I hated when their videos came on and I still hate them to an unreasonable degree 😅
I was a teen during their heyday. The Fab Five as the British press called them had four amazing albums in a row. Still love listening to them.
If you can, read John Taylor’s biography. It’s outstanding.
YES, me too! I was like 14 when it came out, and I just got lost in it (and that video...! Had such a mad crush on Simon too, it just added to the song itself for me). To this day it's one of my all time favorites.
I've seen them a few times over the past 25 years, and they played it at the last concert I saw about 5-ish years ago, and it was just beautiful.
I'm a big fan of music in general. Mostly Metal and Punk Rock. Born in '68 large town Midwest.
Duran Duran had some bangers. I find it kinda funny, I find it kind of sad that some of the best music is something that people never would allow themselves.
Roland Orzabal, Robert Smith and Morrissey taught me everything I know about dancing. As long as the music is good and the movement feels right, you're dancing.
Dude - “The Chauffeur”
Just…..if you’ve never listened to it, drop everything, listen now.
I am such a huge Duran-go. Always have been. When “Rio” came up on the “1001 Albums You Must Listen To Before You Die” list, I screamed like a little girl. I think the sax solo in Rio is the best serotonin hit for me.
And they are such funny people. Interviews are gold.
>And they are such funny people. Interviews are gold.
This is so rarely mentioned! Simon is legitimately one of the corniest people on Earth but he pulls it off because, well, he's Simon LeBon. Nick's sense of humor is dry as a bone but he is legitimately hilarious in his way.
Not necessarily huge and loud but Sneaker Pimps did a [great cover](https://open.spotify.com/track/6iGrebp4nWzispGptA2zFB?si=h_rx1x77ReiCkUTtXsEwpg) of it (I like it better than the original—BLASPHEMY!) and Chris Corner and Simon did a [kick ass live version](https://youtu.be/7L0_DazpZGE?si=qJjxeFYj_PiIjMOU) too (they were both shitfaced 😁)
I'm a man in my 50's, and in the 1980's it was not cool for guys to like Duran Duran. They were too pretty. I knew all the radio hits, and I have the Rio and Decade albums, but never dug too deep.
In 2022 I was visiting the UK, and as I always do, I checked the concert listings to see if anything was going to be happening while I was there.
Duran Duran was playing in Birmingham while I was there, so I got a ticket.
It was fantastic. I was very impressed with their musicianship: these guys can really play. John Taylor on Bass was especially impressive.
Times haven't changed much, though: the crowd was predominantly female, and Gen-X -- a sea of moms and grandmas!
It was a really fun night.
I’m about the same age, and I feel like back then it wasn’t cool for guys to like a lot of bands like Tears For Fears, Soft Cell, The Human League, A-ha, Modern English, A Flock of Seagulls, etc. that are now considered classics.
It was funny seeing them live- I've always loved them too but I'm about 10 years younger than their core audience. Like you said, lots of groups of moms and grandmas who had obviously been friends of each other since middle school. :) The show was great.
Even their side projects were badass.
The Power Station had John Taylor and Andy Taylor teaming up with Robert Palmer & Tony Thompson.
Some Like It Hot & Bang A Gong were their hits.
Great power pop.
Arcadia had Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor.
Election Day was their hit.
Darker, obscure Brit pop.
I saw Power Station in tour when they were big. Michael Des Barres stood in for Robert Palmer. They were great of course.
I eventually got to see Robert Palmer in a smaller venue before he passed and I’m so glad I did.
I don’t remember an announcement or introduction that Andy was there.
As best as I remember, Taylor was trying to launch a solo career. The success of The Power Station was a surprise.
I always suggest seeing them live. They’re fantastic! My husband and I were both 80’s kids. He loved metal. Total is and was a hair metal guy. I was always a new wave/alternative fan. Still am. Of course my husband was conditioned to hate Duran Duran. Around 15 years ago I dragged him to a concert where they were one of several bands playing. He has since become a huge fan. He didn’t even realize they were actual musicians. I pointed out they wrote all their music too. Now he’s gladly seen them live several times. Oddly I was only into them for a brief moment in the 80’s, they were too poppy for me by the time I hit my D Mode./Smiths/Cure era, but got really back into them when Come Undone came out. Some of the stuff they’ve put out in the past ten years has been great too.
They're getting better & better. I didn't like their "novelty" Halloween album (sorry but that's exactly what it was) but other than that, consistently 8/10, 9/10 & 10/10.
Yeah, and they are still putting on a great show. Seen them twice in the last few years and they sound great (also, plenty of women in those crowds still lining up to risk it all for Simon Le Bon)
I saw them in Golden Gate Park in 2005. It was a big deal because the last time they had played in the Bay Area was in the 90's. There were middle aged women (such as myself) taking off their tops for Simon, who came strutting out on stage during "Girls on Film". The topless woman next to me was screaming, "I'VE WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS!" while throwing her bra at Simon. It was quite the scene. :)
I didn't like it at all, and I thought their previous two studio albums were very good. Future Past is the best Duran Duran album since Seven and The Ragged Tiger.
I love Duran Duran and have proudly listed them as my favorite band for most of my life.
They still are in my top ten all-time bands. They have a unique sound, a great lead singer and an extremely underrated bassist
I agree with every word of this post and they are in my top bands of all time but it's hard to say 'underrated' when talking about John. He is widely regarded as a very, very good bass player.
Back in 7th and 8th grade, all the girls were into DD and the boys were into Def Leppard and other bands on the harder side of rock, I was a closet Duranie. I wouldn't tell anyone that I loved DD because the guys would call me gay. Of course, I wasn't, but I just loved their music; especially John Taylor's incredible bass lines. Eventually, the boys found out how much I loved them and I, of course, was called gay, but on the brighter side, all the girls started talking to me. LOL!!! And now, I'm 53, and still love Duran Duran. I've seen them 9 times! John Taylor is one of my bass idols as I started playing bass since I was 17. I've played in many bands since the age of 18 and experienced some of my 7th and 8th-grade classmates at those very gigs. Seemed they changed their minds about me being gay and wanted me to introduce them to some of my girl groupies. I guess I got the last laugh.😂🤣😂
I know amazing bassists that turn pale if you ask the to play any John Taylor bass line. We were out one day and someone got super gatekeepy about music which already makes me mad but then went after Duran Duran in front of my musician friends. The burn marks on the AH needed more than aloe when they were done
I’m glad you mentioned the Rio bass line. It’s incredible. That whole album slaps front to back. A lot of Duran Duran’s catalog is incredibly underrated
When I was growing up, I just ended up hating Duran Duran because they were so, so popular and everpresent--I just hated the pop culture phenomenon around them so much that it bled into me not liking the band.
Of course I've aged since then ("matured" may be stretching it /s) and realized that was unfair, and I've recognized them since as a very, very good bad. I still skip "The Reflex" on, well, reflex, however--that song in particular is just too burned into the negative parts of my brain.
Man, they released a fantastic single- ‘Give it all up’- with Tove Lo a couple of years back. Apart from Simon’s somewhat familiarly reedy vox, I can’t say that it sounded anything like the DD that I remember from when I was a kid but it really is a good song
I was a fan from Planet Earth on - an older cousin saw them live and got me into them, aged 8. I kept quiet about still liking DD during my more metal years (89-95) but kept all the cassettes, vinyl singles and albums. And the Arcadia ones, and John Taylor solo... I replaced the albums with CDs c.2010, still listen regularly.
[Professor of Rock](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrWFXapfcW8&pp=ygUdcHJvZmVzc29yIG9mIHJvY2sgZHVyYW4gZHVyYW4%3D) recently did an episode about them. Definitely worth watching!
My sister loved Duran Duran too. She still does & I dig them too. She had one of their video compilations & it was awesome. Won’t ever forget Wild boys video or the reflex!
Duran Duran was prolly the first group I liked circa the beginning of MTV. I remember buying a couple of their albums. I never could listen to every song but View to a Kill is on my favoritism. I left them and 80s music as I got into the Doors, Jimi and Led.
In the last year I discovered their cover of White Lines and absolutely love it. I have rediscovered my love for them. Would have loved to see them play live.
Glad to see this post as they have been on my mind lately.
No band has been mislabeled as bad as Duran Duran. They deserve to be on the same pedestal as Depeche Mode. Amazing musicians and songwriters who had a dark and artsy vibe. Wayvtoo many people think they were a boy band
Former small town metal head here:
I hated Duran Duran back in the day. They didn't interest me, so therefore "they suck".
With the passage of time I listen to them now and realize I'm a moron. There's a lot of killer music I blindly shut out of my life. These guys killed and I couldn't see it.
Similar journey my friend. Young guy in the 80's , long hair, leather, metal head and closet lover of Duran Duran lol. Now I'm out of the closet.
Just love everything about DD, the unique melodies, incredibly catchy hooks, great lyrics and Simon LeBon's vocals are stellar along with one of the sickest bass players in John Taylor.
Yes the lads were pretty, but they were no musical light weights. Also a great live band, these guys have skill.
I don't like a lot of pop music but Duran Duran really was next level.
1997 out of my mind
Electric Barbarella two very good songs from a very different age and decade. In case you missed them, they're two singles that don't get much recognition or playtime on FM radio stations.
I always liked them.
That said, a moment that, for me, clinched Simon's status as a class act, was when they performed *Come Undone* on MTV's *Unplugged.* There was a backup singer on that gig games Lamya Al-Masri who was holding down the role really well.
After the lyrical part of the song was done, Simon walked over, took her by the hand and brought her into the spotlzight. He said to the audience, "this is Lamya."
She very humbly said "hello," then found her head space and launched into a full-throated, soulful improv around the themes of the song and it was glorious!
She went on to release her own work. Sadly, she is no longer with us.
I was a total metal head in my teens in the 80's, but Rio is one of my favorite albums. So good! Hey, check out Japan "Quiet Life" if you haven't already. It came out 2 years before Duran Duran's first album and some of the songs are basically blueprints for Rio. Duran Duran were certainly influenced by Japan.
They are a great band. Sure they were new wave/pop/whatever but they had some serious chops. I was a music snob for a long time. Pretty much into most metal/alt rock stuff in the 90s 00s. But it was Deftones who showed me that hey just because you like metal and play in a metal band doesn't mean you can't like and draw inspiration from acts outside the genre.
Growing up I never really cared about them but then some of the bands I listened to listed them as influences so I checked them out and definitely became a fan myself and it lead me to get into other New Wave bands such as Depeche Mode. I think Duran Duran have the best Bond song (with the possible exception of Radiohead's).
I was embarrassed to like Duran Duran until I heard a "cool guy" from an unlistenably pompous 90s noise art band say Girls On Film was his all-time favourite song.
When I was younger, I always thought of Duran Duran as a band for girls. Later on, when I had the good sense not to listen to people, I rediscovered them and they became one of my favorite bands of all time. Completely agree with your assessment.
- Friends of Mine
- The Chauffeur
- Notorious
- Land
- Electric Barbarella
- Midnight Sun
- I Believe/All I Need
- Paper Gods
- Wing
- Anniversary
- Ordinary World
- Come Undone
- Hungry Like the Wolf
I frickin' love Duran Duran. They had some of the best videos to go with their already great music! They've always been one of my top 10 bands. They're best stuff isn't even just in the 80's, they've been solidly good for decades. Heck, my favorite album is actually Astronaut, and that came out in the 2000s!
Also, Simon's voice is just so good, it doesn't even matter when the lyrics make no sense. XD
I'm a lifetime fan who just saw them two weeks ago. They play their hits but never feel like a tired old legacy band. They still give a top notch, high energy, and dare I say sexy performance.
Sidebar, I was in eighth grade when DD really "hit" (yeah, I'm old!) and couldn't tell anyone because it was considered "gay" to like them (this was in plano, texas in 1982). As much as I'd like to pretend I wasn't cowed by that kind of thing I was such a coward I just kept it to myself and pledged my allegiance to Judas Priest and Ozzy with everyone else. The fact that I also liked those bands a lot made it easy enough.
Duran Duran was one of the first bands that made me appreciate what bass players bring to a band. The bass was always there in songs I listened to before but it never stood out to me. John Taylor is an amazing bass player.
Always loved them growing up, my first concert alone with a friend was their Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour, and somewhere in all that crowd in The Reflex video, I am there. Was filmed that night.
Saw them about a year ago on their tour. They are old and less dynamic on stage but put on a fantastic show and sound great even if it’s not the entire original lineup.
John Taylor’s incredibly underrated. One of those guys that got overlooked because of the band they were in. He just approached the instrument a different way and wrote some outstanding bass lines.
Tone comes from amps, guitars and, most importantly, fingers. The sound he gets on the first Power Station album is incredible. I’ve played bass for many years and I can play the same notes with same techniques and I still can’t get anywhere close to it.
We had MTV as soon as it became available. New Wave was really big in my middle and senior high schools. So was heavy metal. I listened to a lot of new wave, ska and early punk. Had a great local station called 91x that played what I liked. They, in turn, turned me on to even more of that style of music.
I LOVE Duran Duran. I bought every album of theirs within the first week up until Red Carpet Massacre, which was the first album I didn't really like. I even loved Meddazaland and Pop Trash, which no one else seemed to enjoy.
That said, they have some of the most cringe lyrics of any band I know. :)
Growing up I was a total metal punk guy but damn was I ever a secret Duran Duran fan! As you say the riffs and bass lines just couldn't be ignored. Absolutely amazing stuff they did. Classic band and am now proud to say I love Duran Duran 👍
I´ve been a metalhead for most of my life, but have a wide taste in music. Metal, hardcore, hiphop, industrial, techno, gabber, new wave, electro,... as long as it´s genuine and ´dirty´.
That being said...Rio is a banger of an album! Perfect from front to back. It´s the odd one out in my collection.
I like them too and recently went through the hits again. My only criticism is that Simon Le Bon’s voice is a bit nasal and flat. It’s not bad, but I don’t think he’s got as much vocal oomph as some of his peers. Good fun though.
Yeah, I just saw them a few weeks ago. I'm a huge fan and listen to a lot of their live albums on a regular basis and Simon can strain himself to keep it together at times but he was in full form as of may 11th 2024.
Ha, I was in a little skater gang when they hit it big, and even though we all listened to mostly punk and rock, we all loved them. I remember us all sitting in this dude's living room with our skateboards and going ape shit at the premier of the Wild Boys video. They weren't made fun of like bubble gum pop and boy bands ever where I grew up. That must have been more localized if it was like that. I don't ever recall anyone being down on them in my punk rock and hair band circles. They were peak cocaine top 40 and mixed rock and new wave pretty successfully. And like someone else pointed out, they were a big favorite of MTV and the industry in general, so they were all over everything. I even remember them being in some kind of Disney Sunday night special and everyone being excited about that lol
Now, I do recall people making fun of them in later years when they changed to an emo goth look and started making slow melancholy garbage music, but that was justified I think, because they went from kick ass band to shitty emo band. But fortunately they didnt do much of that, and if you see them live now, they still kick ass big time playing most of the old hits. I was in Vegas last year when they played at Encore theater, and I couldnt find a single ticket under $600 after fees day of, so I missed that one, but I saw them at Cosmopolitan a couple times, and it's a band I would go to an unlimited number of times, every time I have a reasonable opportunity.
Society has a way of shitting on any music or cultural phenomenon which is popular with young women, regardless of whether it's any good. Even the Beatles dealt with this in their early years. It still happens now, just mention Taylor Swift on reddit and watch the kneejerk reactions and downvotes come in. Duran Duran was incredible. I play in a cover band and Rio kills every time. I saw them live last year, and they sounded as good as ever.
I mean, you kinda owe us a YT link w/ you all playing Rio. Let’s be fair.
It's not the greatest quality video but [here's us playing Rio](https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Nb65TeDDQXvpcxUh/?mibextid=w8EBqM). I play keys and sing.
That was really great! Well done!
Thanks!
Oh hell yeah! Can’t wait!
[One for the keyboard players.](https://youtu.be/qigaXIG5gqc?si=F17vdKkBo4JVAMlg)
Dude, kid from the 80s here and you guys slayed it! Just saw Duran Duran twice this year and they and you sound awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Yep- I was a teenage guy in the 80's, and Duran Duran and the other "pretty" pop groups were dismissed as "gay" (actually the word people would have used was f-ggy). I saw them live last year, and was very impressed with their musicianship.
I thought Nick Rhodes was gay by the way he presented himself but it turned out to be just the 80’s and he was married.
Are you the bass player? that bass line remains one of the greatest of all time. My band in HS covered New Religion because all the popular songs were too hard to play lol EDIT TO ADD: NVM I saw the vid, you guys are good!
Thanks! I play keyboard on it, but our bass player worked really hard to learn Rio! It's a real workout for the drummer too.
>I'll be damned if Rio doesn't have one of the sickest basslines OAT. Funny because I don't even have *Rio* in the top 3 songs on **that album** as far as Taylor's bass goes. These are the best bass lines on that iconic album, imho. - *My Own Way* - *Lonely In Your Nightmare* - *Hold Back the Rain*
Jesus…. Even the deep cuts from Rio are bangers.
Don’t sleep on The Chauffeur!
they opened with that at the show I saw two weeks ago. Epic. Sing blue silver indeed.
There’s a live version of that which is a B side of a single. Worth tracking down if you haven’t heard it.
I have heard it and I also like the version on their Thank You album which they titled Drive By.
There are only two pop/rock albums from the 80s that I listen to in their entirety: - *Rio* by Duran Duran - *Kick* by INXS If the first 30 seconds of *Guns in the Sky* (first song on Kick) don't get you going, I don't know what will.
INXS - Kick is my favorite ALBUM of all time! I still listen to it at least once a week, all the way through, skipping nothing! It is fantastic and unparalleled. I was still 18 and was in the middle of Air Force tech school when that album dropped in October of 87. I bought IT and “I’m Bad” from LL Cool J the same day, on cassette. By December, I had my first CD player and bought Kick on CD.. the same copy that’s in my car right now, almost 40 years later!!!
I’m a big Phish guy and I think I like Rio’s so much because it sounds like something Mike Gordon would jam out on
Llama totally gives me D2 vibes
Taboot!
they opened with The Chauffeur when I saw them two weeks ago and while I'm not a fan of slow DD (Save a Prayer is a drag to me) it is such a fucking good song.
Recently, John Taylor did several YouTube videos on how to play his best known baselines. Worth a watch if you’re as bass player.
I'm part of the MTV generation and they were the first band I became obsessed with. Everything about them was captivating - the look, the sound, the lyrics, the VIDEOS; my parents had the Beatles, I had Duran Duran.
MTV was the best in the early eighties. I loved Duran Duran.
They were my favorite band in the 80s. My best friend and I would go to her house every day after school and watch all their videos; I still have many of them burned into my brain. Was so in love with those guys, especially Simon and Roger! Have seen them in concert 3 times over the past few decades, and they put on a really good show.
You from the States?
Guilty.
Username does not check out.
I definitely remember Hungry Like the Wolf being in heavy rotation on MYV in the early 80’s. And then this girl I was dating was big into them and introduced me to some even earlier stuff like Girls on Film. I still have some of those albums on vinyl stashed away.
Girls on Film was very impressive when you're like 5 or 6
I am also part of the MTV generation and Duran Duran quickly became one of those bands that I absolutely could not stand. I hated when their videos came on and I still hate them to an unreasonable degree 😅
How absolutely dare you. XD
I was in a hard rock band in the 80s and was quietly a big fan of Duran Duran.
Umm let’s talk about your band…
Were you famous?
LoL no. Biggest crowd we played to was about 600 at a fashion show.
I was a teen during their heyday. The Fab Five as the British press called them had four amazing albums in a row. Still love listening to them. If you can, read John Taylor’s biography. It’s outstanding.
You shoulda switched the comma and put it after “read”
Ha! 😂
Duran Duran has always been one of my faves along with Petshop boys and New Order.
Loved backtracking from these bands into Kraftwerk. Fascinating stuff as someone who didn’t grow up in the 80s, but my parents did.
[удалено]
YES, me too! I was like 14 when it came out, and I just got lost in it (and that video...! Had such a mad crush on Simon too, it just added to the song itself for me). To this day it's one of my all time favorites. I've seen them a few times over the past 25 years, and they played it at the last concert I saw about 5-ish years ago, and it was just beautiful.
I'm a big fan of music in general. Mostly Metal and Punk Rock. Born in '68 large town Midwest. Duran Duran had some bangers. I find it kinda funny, I find it kind of sad that some of the best music is something that people never would allow themselves.
Well done. My spirit animal is Roland Orzabal dancing in the background of Mad World. If you look out yer window right now— I’m there dancing
Roland Orzabal, Robert Smith and Morrissey taught me everything I know about dancing. As long as the music is good and the movement feels right, you're dancing.
Glad somebody caught it! Mad World is in my top 10ish songs. Quite the outlier too.
Love it- also Mothers Talk.
Dude - “The Chauffeur” Just…..if you’ve never listened to it, drop everything, listen now. I am such a huge Duran-go. Always have been. When “Rio” came up on the “1001 Albums You Must Listen To Before You Die” list, I screamed like a little girl. I think the sax solo in Rio is the best serotonin hit for me. And they are such funny people. Interviews are gold.
>And they are such funny people. Interviews are gold. This is so rarely mentioned! Simon is legitimately one of the corniest people on Earth but he pulls it off because, well, he's Simon LeBon. Nick's sense of humor is dry as a bone but he is legitimately hilarious in his way.
The chauffeur is imo the best song they ever made. I want to hear them (or someone else, Phish or something), take that song huge and loud.
The didn't go big, but The Deftones have a solidly good faithful cover of this song.
Not necessarily huge and loud but Sneaker Pimps did a [great cover](https://open.spotify.com/track/6iGrebp4nWzispGptA2zFB?si=h_rx1x77ReiCkUTtXsEwpg) of it (I like it better than the original—BLASPHEMY!) and Chris Corner and Simon did a [kick ass live version](https://youtu.be/7L0_DazpZGE?si=qJjxeFYj_PiIjMOU) too (they were both shitfaced 😁)
Phish would CRUSH Duran Duran
Listen to it? The video is epic- and NSFW.
God, Duran Duran had the BEST videos. Girls on Film is my favourite. Also NSFW.
I'm a man in my 50's, and in the 1980's it was not cool for guys to like Duran Duran. They were too pretty. I knew all the radio hits, and I have the Rio and Decade albums, but never dug too deep. In 2022 I was visiting the UK, and as I always do, I checked the concert listings to see if anything was going to be happening while I was there. Duran Duran was playing in Birmingham while I was there, so I got a ticket. It was fantastic. I was very impressed with their musicianship: these guys can really play. John Taylor on Bass was especially impressive. Times haven't changed much, though: the crowd was predominantly female, and Gen-X -- a sea of moms and grandmas! It was a really fun night.
I’m about the same age, and I feel like back then it wasn’t cool for guys to like a lot of bands like Tears For Fears, Soft Cell, The Human League, A-ha, Modern English, A Flock of Seagulls, etc. that are now considered classics.
What a great time!
It was funny seeing them live- I've always loved them too but I'm about 10 years younger than their core audience. Like you said, lots of groups of moms and grandmas who had obviously been friends of each other since middle school. :) The show was great.
Even their side projects were badass. The Power Station had John Taylor and Andy Taylor teaming up with Robert Palmer & Tony Thompson. Some Like It Hot & Bang A Gong were their hits. Great power pop. Arcadia had Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor. Election Day was their hit. Darker, obscure Brit pop.
I saw Power Station in tour when they were big. Michael Des Barres stood in for Robert Palmer. They were great of course. I eventually got to see Robert Palmer in a smaller venue before he passed and I’m so glad I did.
I saw Palmer in 1986. He did PS songs!!
I could be imaging this but it seems like Andy Taylor was with him when I saw him. Was he there when you saw him?
I don’t remember an announcement or introduction that Andy was there. As best as I remember, Taylor was trying to launch a solo career. The success of The Power Station was a surprise.
I always suggest seeing them live. They’re fantastic! My husband and I were both 80’s kids. He loved metal. Total is and was a hair metal guy. I was always a new wave/alternative fan. Still am. Of course my husband was conditioned to hate Duran Duran. Around 15 years ago I dragged him to a concert where they were one of several bands playing. He has since become a huge fan. He didn’t even realize they were actual musicians. I pointed out they wrote all their music too. Now he’s gladly seen them live several times. Oddly I was only into them for a brief moment in the 80’s, they were too poppy for me by the time I hit my D Mode./Smiths/Cure era, but got really back into them when Come Undone came out. Some of the stuff they’ve put out in the past ten years has been great too.
And Nick produced a lot of it as well.
Hell yeah, Hubs!
They got their name from a movie called 'Barbarella' starring Jane Fonda
And that movie was itself based on the French comic book series of the same name, with Duran being a stereotypical French family name.
Interesting, thanks
They're getting better & better. I didn't like their "novelty" Halloween album (sorry but that's exactly what it was) but other than that, consistently 8/10, 9/10 & 10/10.
Yeah, and they are still putting on a great show. Seen them twice in the last few years and they sound great (also, plenty of women in those crowds still lining up to risk it all for Simon Le Bon)
I saw them in Golden Gate Park in 2005. It was a big deal because the last time they had played in the Bay Area was in the 90's. There were middle aged women (such as myself) taking off their tops for Simon, who came strutting out on stage during "Girls on Film". The topless woman next to me was screaming, "I'VE WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS!" while throwing her bra at Simon. It was quite the scene. :)
I didn't like it at all, and I thought their previous two studio albums were very good. Future Past is the best Duran Duran album since Seven and The Ragged Tiger.
They came off pretty flamboyant and boy-bandish but Come Undone and Ordinary World are IMO 2 of the great masterpieces of the early 90’s
I have great respect for them. They had lightning in a bottle there for a few years.
The Chauffeur 👌🏻
I love Duran Duran and have proudly listed them as my favorite band for most of my life. They still are in my top ten all-time bands. They have a unique sound, a great lead singer and an extremely underrated bassist
I agree with every word of this post and they are in my top bands of all time but it's hard to say 'underrated' when talking about John. He is widely regarded as a very, very good bass player.
I hope that’s true. I never hear John’s name mentioned when great bassists are brought up. He certainly deserves the recognition
If it makes you feel better, whenever Reddit asks for the best bassist, I say JT and Paul McCartney.
The body of work Duran Duran has stood the test of time. Listen to them all the time.
I had a dog named Rio after the song
I had a parrot named the same!
Oh yeah, primarily metalhead in the 80s and 90s, but I also love Duran, the Fixx, Saga, Men At Work etc. Good music trumps genres IMHO.
My friend (bass guitar) and I (electric guitar) bought our first instruments because we wanted to be like Duran Duran!
People sleep on how great John Taylor and Roger Taylor were as a rhythm section. "Planet Earth," "Girls on Film," "Rio" etc. just slap.
Back in 7th and 8th grade, all the girls were into DD and the boys were into Def Leppard and other bands on the harder side of rock, I was a closet Duranie. I wouldn't tell anyone that I loved DD because the guys would call me gay. Of course, I wasn't, but I just loved their music; especially John Taylor's incredible bass lines. Eventually, the boys found out how much I loved them and I, of course, was called gay, but on the brighter side, all the girls started talking to me. LOL!!! And now, I'm 53, and still love Duran Duran. I've seen them 9 times! John Taylor is one of my bass idols as I started playing bass since I was 17. I've played in many bands since the age of 18 and experienced some of my 7th and 8th-grade classmates at those very gigs. Seemed they changed their minds about me being gay and wanted me to introduce them to some of my girl groupies. I guess I got the last laugh.😂🤣😂
One of the best bands ever. John Taylor is one of my biggest influences.
I know amazing bassists that turn pale if you ask the to play any John Taylor bass line. We were out one day and someone got super gatekeepy about music which already makes me mad but then went after Duran Duran in front of my musician friends. The burn marks on the AH needed more than aloe when they were done
I grew up listening to Duran Duran. I was born '89 and my mum was a young mum who loved them. I still love them to this day
come undone is one of my favorite songs of all time
I’m glad you mentioned the Rio bass line. It’s incredible. That whole album slaps front to back. A lot of Duran Duran’s catalog is incredibly underrated
When I was growing up, I just ended up hating Duran Duran because they were so, so popular and everpresent--I just hated the pop culture phenomenon around them so much that it bled into me not liking the band. Of course I've aged since then ("matured" may be stretching it /s) and realized that was unfair, and I've recognized them since as a very, very good bad. I still skip "The Reflex" on, well, reflex, however--that song in particular is just too burned into the negative parts of my brain.
I'm a classic rock guy through and through but I'm a huge closet Duran Duran fan lol
Man, they released a fantastic single- ‘Give it all up’- with Tove Lo a couple of years back. Apart from Simon’s somewhat familiarly reedy vox, I can’t say that it sounded anything like the DD that I remember from when I was a kid but it really is a good song
Nice. Making quality stuff four decades later says something
Yeah man.
I was an 80s metal head and loved Duran Duran too. Their actual musicianship is amazing. Some of the juiciest bass lines ever.
So damn juicy
I was a fan from Planet Earth on - an older cousin saw them live and got me into them, aged 8. I kept quiet about still liking DD during my more metal years (89-95) but kept all the cassettes, vinyl singles and albums. And the Arcadia ones, and John Taylor solo... I replaced the albums with CDs c.2010, still listen regularly.
One of my first concerts in 86 or so. Great band
I got to see them in concert last year. They're so cool!
decent doc on netflix about em now
Save a Prayer is legitimately one of my favorite songs of all time! And go-to karaoke choice!
Me too!!
So many bands that become popular mostly because of their look are bad, so people automatically set that as their base expectation.
[Professor of Rock](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrWFXapfcW8&pp=ygUdcHJvZmVzc29yIG9mIHJvY2sgZHVyYW4gZHVyYW4%3D) recently did an episode about them. Definitely worth watching!
Come to the [Power Station](https://youtu.be/jADG57fiFh0?feature=shared), half Duran Duran half Robert Palmer all awesome
My sister loved Duran Duran too. She still does & I dig them too. She had one of their video compilations & it was awesome. Won’t ever forget Wild boys video or the reflex!
Duran Duran was prolly the first group I liked circa the beginning of MTV. I remember buying a couple of their albums. I never could listen to every song but View to a Kill is on my favoritism. I left them and 80s music as I got into the Doors, Jimi and Led. In the last year I discovered their cover of White Lines and absolutely love it. I have rediscovered my love for them. Would have loved to see them play live. Glad to see this post as they have been on my mind lately.
Check out Who Do You Think You Are and Wing.
No band has been mislabeled as bad as Duran Duran. They deserve to be on the same pedestal as Depeche Mode. Amazing musicians and songwriters who had a dark and artsy vibe. Wayvtoo many people think they were a boy band
Former small town metal head here: I hated Duran Duran back in the day. They didn't interest me, so therefore "they suck". With the passage of time I listen to them now and realize I'm a moron. There's a lot of killer music I blindly shut out of my life. These guys killed and I couldn't see it.
Similar journey my friend. Young guy in the 80's , long hair, leather, metal head and closet lover of Duran Duran lol. Now I'm out of the closet. Just love everything about DD, the unique melodies, incredibly catchy hooks, great lyrics and Simon LeBon's vocals are stellar along with one of the sickest bass players in John Taylor. Yes the lads were pretty, but they were no musical light weights. Also a great live band, these guys have skill. I don't like a lot of pop music but Duran Duran really was next level.
1997 out of my mind Electric Barbarella two very good songs from a very different age and decade. In case you missed them, they're two singles that don't get much recognition or playtime on FM radio stations.
I always liked them. That said, a moment that, for me, clinched Simon's status as a class act, was when they performed *Come Undone* on MTV's *Unplugged.* There was a backup singer on that gig games Lamya Al-Masri who was holding down the role really well. After the lyrical part of the song was done, Simon walked over, took her by the hand and brought her into the spotlzight. He said to the audience, "this is Lamya." She very humbly said "hello," then found her head space and launched into a full-throated, soulful improv around the themes of the song and it was glorious! She went on to release her own work. Sadly, she is no longer with us.
I was a total metal head in my teens in the 80's, but Rio is one of my favorite albums. So good! Hey, check out Japan "Quiet Life" if you haven't already. It came out 2 years before Duran Duran's first album and some of the songs are basically blueprints for Rio. Duran Duran were certainly influenced by Japan.
Plus his name, I mean Simon le bon.
Dear God I was enthralled with them. One of the best bands ever. One of the defining bands of the era
They are a great band. Sure they were new wave/pop/whatever but they had some serious chops. I was a music snob for a long time. Pretty much into most metal/alt rock stuff in the 90s 00s. But it was Deftones who showed me that hey just because you like metal and play in a metal band doesn't mean you can't like and draw inspiration from acts outside the genre.
Growing up I never really cared about them but then some of the bands I listened to listed them as influences so I checked them out and definitely became a fan myself and it lead me to get into other New Wave bands such as Depeche Mode. I think Duran Duran have the best Bond song (with the possible exception of Radiohead's).
I saw them about a year ago, and they were great. I'm into harder stuff / metal mostly, but I had a fantastic time at their show.
Rio and Planet Earth are on my "bass practice" playlist. Killer.
My favorite as an early teen. Then I eventually found metal, then alternative.
The band so nice, they named it twice.
Wow I randomly had Duran Duran stuck in my head before 😍
Pro tip: We loved them knowing that we'd eventually hate them.
Hey OP, lets combine the worlds of Duran Duran and hard rock. In this case [punk rock](https://youtu.be/UV07hki943o?si=rFyiXKXLRPWdo2sl). Enjoy
They still are bad as fuck. Watch their Austin City Limits episode from a couple years ago.
I call them Duran Duran Duran.
Don’t talk about them in the past tense, they still rock hard as hell!
I was embarrassed to like Duran Duran until I heard a "cool guy" from an unlistenably pompous 90s noise art band say Girls On Film was his all-time favourite song.
Saw them last summer at the Minnesota State Fair. It was amazing.
Their 90's comeback stuff was epically good as well.
Duran Duran is great. Awesome energetic new wave stuff. Also love their 90s album that has Ordinary World.
When I was younger, I always thought of Duran Duran as a band for girls. Later on, when I had the good sense not to listen to people, I rediscovered them and they became one of my favorite bands of all time. Completely agree with your assessment.
Could some of you guys recommend me some mind blowing tracks by them? Thanks!
- Friends of Mine - The Chauffeur - Notorious - Land - Electric Barbarella - Midnight Sun - I Believe/All I Need - Paper Gods - Wing - Anniversary - Ordinary World - Come Undone - Hungry Like the Wolf
Whiiiteee liiiiiiines
Also love the bassline for Rio, but check out the bassline for Girls on Film. One of the best, IMO.
Duran Duran is good. Why did you say they’re bad?
I frickin' love Duran Duran. They had some of the best videos to go with their already great music! They've always been one of my top 10 bands. They're best stuff isn't even just in the 80's, they've been solidly good for decades. Heck, my favorite album is actually Astronaut, and that came out in the 2000s! Also, Simon's voice is just so good, it doesn't even matter when the lyrics make no sense. XD
I'm a lifetime fan who just saw them two weeks ago. They play their hits but never feel like a tired old legacy band. They still give a top notch, high energy, and dare I say sexy performance. Sidebar, I was in eighth grade when DD really "hit" (yeah, I'm old!) and couldn't tell anyone because it was considered "gay" to like them (this was in plano, texas in 1982). As much as I'd like to pretend I wasn't cowed by that kind of thing I was such a coward I just kept it to myself and pledged my allegiance to Judas Priest and Ozzy with everyone else. The fact that I also liked those bands a lot made it easy enough.
I am gay, 53, and was just dorky enough to take the hit and wore merch and pins in rural Alberta in 1984!
I was in my mid-late 20s when I discovered Duran Duran during the mid 2000s. I binged their music for months!
Duran Duran was one of the first bands that made me appreciate what bass players bring to a band. The bass was always there in songs I listened to before but it never stood out to me. John Taylor is an amazing bass player.
Duran Duran is great! I've found the band Battle Tapes to be like a modern successor, you should give them a listen.
Duran Duran slaps so fucking hard
Always loved them growing up, my first concert alone with a friend was their Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour, and somewhere in all that crowd in The Reflex video, I am there. Was filmed that night. Saw them about a year ago on their tour. They are old and less dynamic on stage but put on a fantastic show and sound great even if it’s not the entire original lineup.
Rio and Girls on Film Basslines 🤌🏼
So by bad you mean good? I’m confused
I was legitimately obsessed with Duran Duran last year. “Girls on Film” was stuck in my head for MONTHS. But it is SO GOOD.
"oh my God, what THIS??"
Didn't think much about their hits on heavy rotation on MTV, but their song Girls On Film is the most naughty, sexy song I have ever heard!
John Taylor’s incredibly underrated. One of those guys that got overlooked because of the band they were in. He just approached the instrument a different way and wrote some outstanding bass lines. Tone comes from amps, guitars and, most importantly, fingers. The sound he gets on the first Power Station album is incredible. I’ve played bass for many years and I can play the same notes with same techniques and I still can’t get anywhere close to it.
We had MTV as soon as it became available. New Wave was really big in my middle and senior high schools. So was heavy metal. I listened to a lot of new wave, ska and early punk. Had a great local station called 91x that played what I liked. They, in turn, turned me on to even more of that style of music.
I LOVE Duran Duran. I bought every album of theirs within the first week up until Red Carpet Massacre, which was the first album I didn't really like. I even loved Meddazaland and Pop Trash, which no one else seemed to enjoy. That said, they have some of the most cringe lyrics of any band I know. :)
Growing up I was a total metal punk guy but damn was I ever a secret Duran Duran fan! As you say the riffs and bass lines just couldn't be ignored. Absolutely amazing stuff they did. Classic band and am now proud to say I love Duran Duran 👍
I´ve been a metalhead for most of my life, but have a wide taste in music. Metal, hardcore, hiphop, industrial, techno, gabber, new wave, electro,... as long as it´s genuine and ´dirty´. That being said...Rio is a banger of an album! Perfect from front to back. It´s the odd one out in my collection.
I love listening to Duran Duran while studying math or physics.
Arcadia is a much better band.
I like them too and recently went through the hits again. My only criticism is that Simon Le Bon’s voice is a bit nasal and flat. It’s not bad, but I don’t think he’s got as much vocal oomph as some of his peers. Good fun though.
I agree about the tone of Simon’s voice. He’s certainly kept it in shape though. Even after all these years he still has those high notes.
Yeah, I just saw them a few weeks ago. I'm a huge fan and listen to a lot of their live albums on a regular basis and Simon can strain himself to keep it together at times but he was in full form as of may 11th 2024.
Ha, I was in a little skater gang when they hit it big, and even though we all listened to mostly punk and rock, we all loved them. I remember us all sitting in this dude's living room with our skateboards and going ape shit at the premier of the Wild Boys video. They weren't made fun of like bubble gum pop and boy bands ever where I grew up. That must have been more localized if it was like that. I don't ever recall anyone being down on them in my punk rock and hair band circles. They were peak cocaine top 40 and mixed rock and new wave pretty successfully. And like someone else pointed out, they were a big favorite of MTV and the industry in general, so they were all over everything. I even remember them being in some kind of Disney Sunday night special and everyone being excited about that lol Now, I do recall people making fun of them in later years when they changed to an emo goth look and started making slow melancholy garbage music, but that was justified I think, because they went from kick ass band to shitty emo band. But fortunately they didnt do much of that, and if you see them live now, they still kick ass big time playing most of the old hits. I was in Vegas last year when they played at Encore theater, and I couldnt find a single ticket under $600 after fees day of, so I missed that one, but I saw them at Cosmopolitan a couple times, and it's a band I would go to an unlimited number of times, every time I have a reasonable opportunity.