'Duran Duran On Track': Band recaptures the magic with 'The Wedding Album'

Duran Duran On Track is now newly available for purchase from US booksellers. To celebrate, here’s an excerpt from the introduction of the chapter about my favourite album, which just marked its 33rd anniversary and will soon be back in print on vinyl for the first time since its release.

Duran Duran On Track  At top: The band 

in a 1993 promo photo by Karen Mason-Blair

Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) (1993)

Almost as quickly as Liberty vanished from the public consciousness, Sterling Campbell disappeared from the band lineup. ... Warren Cuccurullo remained and became a key player, helping steer the band into one of their most successful periods. The prolonged break between Liberty and its follow-up – and without a tour to draw away their attention – gave them plenty of time in the studio, Privacy, which was in Cuccurullo’s home in Battersea, London. 

Amid the changes in the band’s personnel and in the members’ personal lives, Duran Duran were seeking a comeback amid a vastly different musical landscape. In a scene then dominated by grunge, alternative rock and hip-hop, there didn’t seem to be much of an opening for the new wave sounds that they were known for. But they forged ahead, focusing on the writing process, amassing more than a dozen solid songs and getting the mixing just right.

Indeed, the band hadn’t hunkered down in a studio setting for so long a period before. Producer John Jones described the grass-roots spirit of the initial sessions at Cuccurullo’s home in an interview with Forbes in 2023:

‘He suggested that they come over and start writing at his place. That’s basically where The Wedding Album started. ... I would say [the band members] trusting each other, being able to work together in that room with one mic in the middle, all of us wearing headphones, clapping, singing, whatever – it was just so brilliant.’

Ideas for the most indelible song on their second self-titled album stemmed from those sessions – the instant classic ‘Ordinary World’ – while others came later, like ‘Come Undone’, which was recorded without John Taylor. Jones called The Beatles’ White Album – another effort that featured a mix of musical styles – ‘our guiding light’ in the making of The Wedding Album. Duran Duran’s LP, like The Beatles’ eponymous double album, featured significant contributions from every member. But as was customary for Duran Duran, writing credit was shared among them all.

The album’s nickname came from its cover art, an elegant collage of sepia-toned wedding photos of the band members’ parents embossed with ‘Duran Duran’ in gold lettering. For the artwork, designers Nick Egan and Eric Roinestad took a DIY approach, using materials like Dymo-style labels and gold leaf. Inside, pictures of the band members taken at the University of London Students’ Union photo booth were accompanied by ones from artist Dean Chamberlain, Nick Rhodes and Taylor as well as an ‘illustration’ by the keyboardist’s young daughter, Tatjana. Egan – who had met Taylor at the suggestion of American actor Billy Zane and became a decades-long collaborator – has called the artwork the ‘ultimate punk rock cover’. The members embraced an equally stylish image, favouring Vivienne Westwood suits – another punk rock throwback, which had become a designer fashion label – and hair colours ranging from bleach blonde to shocking purple.

They were also under new management, Left Bank, which was as keen as the members themselves for a comeback. Though the album was completed in early 1992, their record label delayed its release until ’93, perhaps a sign that the group was no longer the priority act they once were. But that changed when the first single, ‘Ordinary World’, began receiving radio airplay in the USA – apparently after the record company itself had leaked the track.

The Wedding Album is one of three studio albums to remain out of print, so vinyl copies regularly sell for handsome sums. (Editor’s note: The LP is finally due back in print this April.) But the quality and impact of the album and its wealth of B-sides and unreleased video footage from that era make it more than worthy of a deluxe reissue.

The Wedding Album era was a magical time for the band – from the spirited recording sessions to the successful attempt to relaunch their brand as unquestionably modern but undeniably Duran Duran.

Their fortunes had shifted – and it was all thanks to the music itself.

Copyright Karen Windle 2025. From Duran Duran On Track (Sonicbond Publishing)

The Power Station, The Damned look back

‘The Power Station DLX’

The Power Station, the commercially successful side project of Duran Duran’s Andy and John Taylor, gets a shiny new reissue with The Power Station DLX.

DLX is the latest deluxe edition of the supergroup’s 1985 debut, released to celebrate its 40th anniversary (now 41st in ‘Durantime’). The album is a true deluxe reissue, at least the CD box, which includes a liner notes interview with the Taylors, the band’s only surviving members, as well as the studio album, raw instrumentals, remixes and live performances. Buyers of the LP will have to shell out again on Record Store Day, when Power Mad: Live At The Spectrum drops on vinyl.

The funk-infused rock of The Power Station is on full display on the remastered studio album (the first disc), and the group’s performance at Live Aid and their contribution to the soundtrack of the movie Commando, ‘Somewhere Somehow Someone (We Fight For Love),’ are highlights of the second disc. By then, singer Robert Palmer had left to embark on the most commercially successful period of his solo career, and the Taylors and Chic drummer Tony Thompson soldiered on for a bit with new vocalist Michael Des Barres.

The live show features Des Barres, who sounds better than remembered but sorely lacks Palmer’s blue-eyed soul swagger. As on the album, ‘Harvest For The World,’ featuring co-lead vocals from Andy Taylor, is a highlight. And the Duran covers, ‘The Reflex’ (played with ‘Communication’) and a rocked-up version of ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’ are fun, though Des Barres is a no Simon Le Bon either.

But DLX is worth it, especially on CD, and especially considering that the forthcoming Duran Duran reissues look to be bare-bones versions. But it’s still good that the brilliant The Wedding Album and the not-bad Thank You will finally be back in print.

The Damned ‘Not Like Everybody Else’

The Damned are also looking back these days in the wake of founding guitarist Brian James’ death last year. They pay tribute to him with their latest album, Not Like Everybody Else, a collection of covers that inspired James himself.

The Damned hammered out the LP in just five days following a tour last fall. It’s a bit rough around the edges at times, but that may be the point, as the band’s debut album with James, the opening salvo of English punk rock, was recorded in a similar spirit.

‘I know a lot of music these days can be done remotely, with participants sometimes on different continents,’ the band’s Captain Sensible told ClassicRockHistory.com. ‘But The Damned still do it in an old-school style in a big, old noisy room, all together. I think you can hear the excitement and fun of the sessions on the record.’

Captain Sensible moved from bass to guitar after James departed and hasn’t looked back. (James went on to form goth rockers Lords Of The New Church.) Here, Sensible delivers an album highlight with a cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘See Emily Play,’ taking on lead vocals. Elsewhere, Dave Vanian’s gothic drama takes center stage, particularly on the album’s strong second half, including The Lollipop Shoppe’s ‘You Must Be A Witch,’ The Animals’ ‘When I Was Young’ and The Stones’ ‘The Last Time,’ featuring James’ guitar from his last live shows with the band in 2022.

After James left The Damned in 1977, the band reformed and were never better, delivering the one-two punch of Machine Gun Etiquette and The Black Album, the latter with current members Vanian, Sensible, drummer Rat Scabies and bassist Paul Gray. Now with the addition of keyboardist Monty Oxymoron (who regretfully doesn’t appear in the new LP’s cover art), they’re a force, both live and on record.

‘28 Years Later’ doubles down on Duran Duran

Two UK cultural treasures, Duran Duran and the 28 Days Later film franchise, come together in thrilling fashion in the new movie 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

Viewers of the first film in the new trilogy already know that Dr Ian Kelson, played by Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes, has built a Bone Temple, a memento mori, or reminder of death. But we now learn that Kelson is a Duranie, too. The walls of his underground space are covered in old photos, reminders of his life before the rage epidemic, as well as a poster of Simon Le Bon. He listens to Rio and presumably The Wedding Album (although only the cover of Rio is seen) on his hand crank record player.

Above ground, as he continues to build his temple and develop a friendship with an infected Alpha named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), he sings ‘Girls On Film’ and ‘Rio’ to pass the time. Along with ‘Ordinary World,’ played prominently during one powerful scene, the Duran Duran songs were all in writer Alex Garland’s script, director Nia DaCosta told IndieWire. ‘It was there, and it made sense for the character (Kelson), and I thought it was really tender,’ she said.

Garland also wrote the script for the seminal 2002 horror film 28 Days Later as well as last year’s 28 Years Later, horror movies about a rage inducing-virus and its aftermath, in which humans are often bigger monsters than the zombie-like infected. 

Along with the Duran Duran songs, two tracks by other UK rock titans Radiohead and Iron Maiden are featured in The Bone Temple. But it’s Duran Duran whose songs seem to play the biggest role as far as the film’s overarching theme. 

Their music helps Kelson stay in touch with his humanity and Samson, his brain clouded by the infection, reconnect with his. Amid an epidemic, they are just two ordinary people seeking an ordinary world.

Top five live shows of 2025

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, which hasn’t released a new album in over seven years and has played live only sporadically for the past few years, at last returned to the stage for a headlining tour to mark the 20-year anniversary of their third LP, Howl.

BRMC played the album in full, followed by some of their hardest rock songs, lighting up a crowd packed “like sardines” into the Summit Music Hall in Denver on Sept. 28.

The band, singers and multi-instrumentalists Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes and drummer Leah Shapiro, impressed at every turn. 

Read more: BRMC return with a 'Howl'

The Damned

The Damned brought their “Black Album tour” to Dallas for an exhilarating show at the Granada Theater on May 18.

Although they did not play their 1980 masterwork in its entirety, they had all four members from the album’s lineup on board, including drummer Rat Scabies, who recently rejoined the band after too long a time away.

The Damned, along with TV Smith’s The Adverts, transported concertgoers back to the early days of UK punk. 

Read more: The Damned go back to ‘Black’ in Dallas

The Faint with Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather

The Faint, a band instrumental in putting Omaha on the musical map, swung through the Midwest to close out their first US headlining tour in years with a show at Wooly’s in Des Moines on April 5.

They had also played other select cities, including their hometown, where they put on a sold-out concert at the Waiting Room on April 3. They capped a roster that also included fellow Nebraskans Plack Blague and Jeff in Leather.

Although the Omaha show was a sight to behold, the Des Moines concert was the best of the two. Later in the year, the band was back at it, playing Omaha again, with a standout gig at the Admiral on Nov. 9.

Read more: The Faint bring homegrown tour to Des Moines

Cold Cave 

I finally got the chance to see one of the newer bands I have been obsessed with the last five years, Cold Cave, and they didn’t disappoint with their show March 28 at the Gothic Theatre in Denver.

The opening artists, Buzz Kull and Kontravoid, helped build up the intensity with their heavy EDM beats. Then Cold Cave took the stage and played fan favorites from throughout their discography, like “Glory,” “Confetti” and “Underworld USA.” They leaned heavily on their latest album, Passion Depression, playing songs like “Shadow Dance” and “Blackberries” as well as tracks from the EP Fate In Seven Lessons in the encore with “Prayer From Nowhere” and the powerful show-ender “Promised Land.”

Be sure to check out Cold Cave, a band that records and distributes their own records and CDs via their label, Heartworm. —Christopher Windle

The Effigies

I was lucky to see The Effigies, a fantastic punk band out of Chicago, on May 16 at the Slowdown in Omaha. I have been a huge fan of theirs for a long time. 

While their lead singer, John Kezdy, passed away in 2023, their current singer, the energetic Geoff Sabin, helped make the show not only powerful but also a straight-out blast. The band played crowd favorites like “Below The Drop,” “Quota,” “Haunted Town” and “We’ll Be Here Tomorrow.”

If you’re a fan of punk music and have not heard of The Effigies, do yourself a favor and listen to them. Out of the many great Chicago punk bands, they’re one of the best. —Christopher Windle

Honorable mentions: ABC and Howard Jones, Clan of Xymox, Front Line Assembly, Laetherstrip

Photos by Christopher Windle and Karen Duran Windle

Duran Duran's top moments of 2025

While 2025 wasn’t a huge year for Duran Duran, there were still a number of happenings that kept the Duranie flame alive.

‘Owning’ Halloween

Duran continued to lean in to Halloween, with an elaborate concert on the holiday in Manchester and a reimagined new version of ‘Shadows On Your Side.’ The Halloween festivities followed a summer European tour as well as other live shows throughout the year.

Global anti-hunger anthem

Duran Duran took part in ‘The Next Verse’ for the 100 Billion Meals Challenge on Dec. 16, along with Stevie Wonder, Dr. Dre and others. Their name even appeared on the list of musical artists above superstar Janet Jackson, a longtime collaborator of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who helmed the new recording. ‘Someday Has Begun, Part 1’ was released on Christmas Day. The spirt of the recording harks back to the UK Christmas number one charity single by Band Aid, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’

‘Duran Duran On Track’

The band joined the extensive list of musical acts covered in the On Track series when my contribution was published in July in the UK. A US release followed on Halloween, and it has continued to appear on a key music book sales chart on Amazon UK through the end of the year.

I was honored to cover all of Duran’s studio output from a fan’s perspective and have been humbled by readers’ responses to the book. I have especially enjoyed chatting with fans online and in person before signing a copy for them. There was even a book release party, where family, friends and other area Duranies gathered together. The event was held at Vive Le Rock! Lounge and Record Store, which treated guests to a playlist of Duran Duran songs and also served a signature cocktail, Girls On Film, which was created for the occasion and remains on the menu. (If you’re ever in Omaha, be sure to check out this rock ‘n’ roll-themed lounge!)

Rio-themed cake designed by Alexandra E. Andersen.
Photo by Michelle Napoli

The Power Station reissue and more to come in 2026

The Power Station’s debut album will get a deluxe reissue treatment in January. Also that month, Duran are set to film a video with director Jonas Åkerlund, presumably for their spring/summer single with Nile Rodgers. 

As for other unreleased music, three out of four members recently confirmed that the ‘lost’ album Reportage could finally see the light of day.

‘I really want to finish working on REPORTAGE. There are some great tracks on it, and I am ready to get it out,’ singer Simon Le Bon said in his year-end list on DuranDuran.com. Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes also suggested that the LP could be released, possibly next year.

At top: Duran Duran in Omaha in 2024. Photo by Karen Duran Windle

'Duran Duran On Track': 'Danse Macabre'—the Halloween gift that keeps on giving

It’s Halloween, and the US release date of Duran Duran On Track has finally arrived! It’s also the perfect time to look back at the band’s last studio album, Danse Macabre.

Duran Duran’s Halloween-themed LP didn’t make the cover of Duran Duran On Track, which features Rio, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, The Wedding Album and Paper Gods, with Future Past on the back cover. In this series, I’ve also covered All You Need Is Now (along with the preceding Red Carpet Massacre), as well as taking a look back over the years at some of the band’s other albums, including Duran Duran and Notorious.

In my original review of Danse Macabre, I called it a joyful gift for Duranies. The band have resurrected the album each Halloween season in the form of deluxe editions, special concerts, and this year, a reboot of one of their most beloved tracks, “Shadows On Your Side,” which has gotten mixed reviews from fans, to say the least. (Despite this, I still stand by my original assessment of the entire project.)

The album shone a spotlight on Duran Duran in the wake of their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and proved that they were capable of turning around a studio LP in under a year—and mature enough to invite both former guitarists back into the fold.

The ambitious LP managed to make a collection of new songs and cover versions of their own tracks and others sound surprisingly cohesive—and arguably put to rest the legacy of the ill-fated Thank You. In addition to the original 13-track album, 2024 saw the release of a De Luxe version with new songs, including a disco-inflected cover of ELO’s “Evil Woman.” And this year’s “Shadows On Your Side” works fine as a remix, though any new version could never top the original.

Whether the band decides to get back into the Halloween spirit every year is still in question. Last year’s sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in New York is being followed with one in Manchester, in their home country.

Duran Duran On Track is available now in the UK and the US. Check out Linktree for order links. I also have a limited number of author-signed copies available for purchase via PayPal.

And if you’re already enjoying the book, please leave a review on Amazon or wherever you purchased your copy.

'Duran Duran On Track': 'All You Need Is Now' reignites fans' passion

As the new US release date of Duran Duran On Track approaches, I’ll revisit one of my favorite albums, All You Need Is Now.

Duran Duran’s Mark Ronson-produced masterstroke didn’t make the cover of Duran Duran On Track, which features Rio, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, The Wedding Album and Paper Gods, with Future Past on the back cover. 

The sales of All You Need Is Now were likely affected by the fact that it was released via an independent label, Nick Rhodes’ and Stephen Duffy’s Tape Modern, during a time when downloads had greatly affected album sales in general. But the LP, on which the band returned to their musical roots, remains a fan favorite.

I had lost touch with my Duran Duran fandom after the release of their last album on Epic Records, Red Carpet Massacre. The decision to work with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nate ‘Danja’ Hills was a polarizing one (which is detailed in the book), and the band was aware that it was a risk in terms of what Duranies would like. I bought the album and listened to it extensively, of course, but that era marked the first time I didn’t attend a single show on a tour to promote a new LP since I had become a fan.

All You Need Is Now, on the other hand, was just what I needed to reignite my passion, and I’m likely not the only such fan. I bought the digital download, followed by the expanded album three months later, attended three shows on the tour and, at a friend’s suggestion, started writing in a professional capacity about the band for a news website. That eventually morphed into this blog, and then the book. 

Duran Duran On Track is available now in the UK and will be released on October 31 in the US. While the book’s US release date was delayed from September 26, I have a limited number of UK import copies available for purchase via PayPal.

Or check out Linktree for preorder links. And if you’re already enjoying the book, please leave a review on Amazon or wherever you purchased your copy.