Duran Duran's top moments of 2019

Duranlive

Duran Duran kicked off its 2019 tour dates in Miami, performing gems like "The Seventh Stranger" (for the first time since 1984),  "New Religion," and "Friends of Mine." The band would go on to play two dates for Kaaboo, in the Cayman Islands and San Diego, and traveled to Iceland, among other touring highlights.

Record Store Day

Duran gave a nod to its past with a double-album release for April's Record Store Day with "As the Lights Go Down." Thirty-five years after the band's shows in Oakland, California, for the Sing Blue Silver tour were recorded for posterity, fans lined up again to get a limited-edition copy of the performance on candy-colored vinyl. "As the Lights Go Down" was originally used as the name of the edited version of the concert film "Arena" that aired on Cinemax back in the day.

NASA concert

Over the summer, Duran played a show for the anniversary of the Apollo mission. The band fittingly went with a space theme, playing "Planet Earth" and "Space Oddity" from its standard setlist, but also dusting off lesser-played tracks like "Astronaut." Duran also tried its hand at a space-themed cover song, "Walking on the Moon" by the Police. It was a magical night for the band and its fans that began with another surprise: the band taking the stage as drones put on a light show overhead, opening with "The Universe Alone."

A night inducting Roxy

In March, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon had the honor of inducting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Roxy Music, perhaps the band on planet Earth that has influenced Duran Duran most. In their induction speech, Simon described Roxy's music as "a shock to the system. ... The musicians themselves were dressed outrageously, each one with an individual, well-defined look."

"Put it all together, and what you got was pulp science fiction."

John continued by saying that Roxy made him realize "what I wanted to be. I knew my destiny. ... I am always proud to say that without Roxy Music, there would be no Duran Duran."

DD15

Signs point to the band's 15th studio album surfacing next year, perhaps in late spring or early summer. The band spent time in the recording studio in 2019 with super producer Mark Ronson and two likely guest musicians, Blur's Graham Coxon and singer Lykke Li. The band has announced two tour dates in June: a headlining spot at the Isle of Wight festival and a show at St. Anne's Park, "in support of the release of their next studio album." Although details have been scant of late, it does look likely that Duran will be releasing new material in the next six months or so, fingers crossed.

Photo by Christopher Windle