Duran Duran's top moments of 2023

Duran Duran dansed into 2023 energized by the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame the previous year, connecting with old friends and its fans alike with live shows and a new album.

It all started with a promotional radio channel, the announcement of a North American tour with Chic and Bastille, and rumblings about a Halloween-themed project.

Future Past Radio

Duran added yet another accolade to its collection of honors with the debut of a radio channel dedicated solely to the band on Sirius XM. Duran Duran Future Past Radio started streaming on the Sirius app in May and was briefly part of the satellite station’s on-air lineup. The channel, meant to promote the Future Past U.S. tour, was extended into July after a campaign by Duranies to make it a permanent fixture.

DuranLive

In late August, Duran’s tour landed at Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver, which singer Simon Le Bon calls his favorite concert venue in the world. Monday’s show was fantastic and a true feat given the weather—rain followed by a drop in temperatures and fierce wind. Tuesday’s concert was very much a repeat performance, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind that the set list was the same. Read the review here.

‘Danse Macabre’

Two months later, there were plenty of surprises in store with the release of the album “Danse Macabre,” which arrived about two years after previous release “Future Past.” The band held listening parties across the U.S. for the album, which debuted at No. 4 in the the U.K. The new album features a confident-sounding band—one mature enough to invite both former guitarists back into the fold. The ambitious effort, featuring Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo, manages to make a collection of covers, reworkings of Duran classics, and new songs sound surprisingly cohesive. Read the review here. 

The Future

As another new year dawns, more new Duran releases loom, though it’s likely they’ll be from the vaults. Chief among them is “Reportage,” the lost Duran album shelved in favor of what became “Red Carpet Massacre.” Talk of finally releasing the band’s last full studio album with Taylor has been bandied about since he came back into the picture after Duran’s Rock Hall induction. A deluxe reissue of “The Wedding Album” and unreleased songs from the ’80s have also been mentioned. 

Amid the holiday season, Duran demos from 1980 surfaced online, suggesting that if the band doesn’t release the old music itself, there are always unofficial channels available.

At top, Duran wowed at Red Rocks in Denver 
on its Future Past U.S. tour.
Photo by Christopher Windle

At Red Rocks, Duran Duran lights up a majestic venue

As Duran Duran steered the mothership (let’s call it the HMS Night Boat) into Red Rocks, a venue that’s been likened to an ancient alien spaceship, the excitement was palpable for the two-night stand ahead.

Already, Nile Rodgers and Chic had masterfully navigated through its standard, though no less thrilling, set list. The Chic Organization is always a class act, even in pouring rain. On Monday, the band added one of Rodgers’ latest successes, Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” to its string of hits by Chic and others who’ve been aided by the super-producer.

Storm clouds loomed over Red Rocks on Monday,
but Duran held back the rain for its set.
All photos by Christopher Windle.

Bastille followed, with singer Dan Smith seemingly humbled by the band’s spot on the bill between two legendary acts. The group had been sidelined for the previous show in Las Vegas but managed to admirably perform its dance-rock hits at a venue it had headlined a few years ago.

Then, there was Duran, landing at the amphitheater outside Denver, Colorado, that singer Simon Le Bon calls his favorite concert venue in the world. The band took the stage amid adoring roars from the crowd as “Velvet Newton” played, along with a video of their avatars controlling a spaceship landing in a “Bladerunner”-esque world. The opening song, a sublime reworking of “Night Boat,” couldn’t have been more perfect and gave Le Bon a chance to warm up his voice.

“The Wild Boys,” a spectacular opener for last year’s U.S. tour, followed, and then an array of huge hits: “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “A View to a Kill,” and “Notorious.” On this “Future Past” tour, only two songs from the album made the cut, “Give It All Up” and “Anniversary,” which sounded surprisingly good, even as the band bundled up against the cold wind and Le Bon swathed his neck in a scarf.

Looming amid all the excitement of the Red Rocks shows was the pending announcement of Duran’s new studio album, a Halloween-flavored effort titled “Danse Macabre.” The first single of the same name had just enjoyed its premier days after most fans had already heard the prematurely released/leaked song. Duran teased the opening of the song between bands and was even selling “Danse Macabre” T-shirts. 

But the new song wasn’t played live. Aside from “Night Boat,” the only song from the forthcoming album was “Super Lonely Freak.” The creepy singing doll and freaky dancing skeleton visuals certainly set a Halloween-time mood (and the weather was a bit fall-like, too).

The reworked “Rio”-era ballad ushered in the highlights of the show. “Is There Something I Should Know?” made its triumphant return to the set list, with teen magazine visuals to match. The aforementioned “Anniversary” was followed by “Friends of Mine” and “Careless Memories,” two of Duran’s best live songs, hands down.

Le Bon dedicated “Ordinary World” to the people of Ukraine and Maui, which was followed by fellow “Wedding Album” smash “Come Undone.” Then it was “Planet Earth” and “White Lines” (or for me, a chance to beat the line to the restroom). “The Reflex” and “Girls on Film” closed out the main set list. So many hits, so little time.

During the encore, thousands of cellphones lit up the majestic venue for “Save a Prayer,” a sight to behold. And “Rio” was the closing number that the vast majority of concertgoers came for.

Le Bon in silhouette. At top, “Save a Prayer.”

Monday’s show was fantastic and a true feat given the weather, rain followed by a drop in temperatures and fierce wind. I’d imagine that few in the crowd left unsatisfied.

And on Tuesday, it was a case of deja vu. There were a few differences. Chic and Bastille switched slots. Le Bon, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor wore different shirts. Keyboardist Nick Rhodes went all out, dressed in a sparkly suit and donning a shiny conductor’s cap for the encore.

But the set list was exactly the same as at Monday’s show. There were a lot of repeat customers who likely noticed the similarities, too. It was the first time I opted to leave a Duran show early, joining the others who also wanted to beat traffic out of the venue. 

If there was any way to make two shows in a standout venue even more special, adding or swapping out a song would have done the trick.

It seems the only surprises in store will be those in the new music: a madcap single featuring guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, of all people. An album release two years after the last (Durantime be damned!). And the re-emergence of Andy Taylor in the Duraniverse. 

Still, it would have been nice to hear a new song.

Duran Duran’s ‘spontaneous’ new project starts to take shape

Duran Duran’s latest studio effort, described as a Halloween-themed project, is taking shape.

Members of the band say the project will include old and new Duran songs, as well as covers, according to recent media interviews. The idea for the project was sparked by the band’s successful show last Halloween.

In Las Vegas on Oct. 31, the Durans donned costumes and played songs a bit on the spooky side, including “Night Boat,” “Secret Oktober,” and a medley of “Lonely In Your Nightmare” and “Super Freak.” The band has since added the latter to its set list.

Duran also played covers at the show, including the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Spellbound.” In a short interview on Duran Duran Future Past Radio, Nick Rhodes revealed that the band has recorded a version of “Spellbound” that would be out in a bit. Guitarist Andy Taylor, who features on the project, has called the Siouxie cover “particularly great.”

Other covers reportedly in the mix: the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” The Specials’ “Ghost Town,” and Cerrone’s “Supernature.”

Also on the band’s Sirius XM channel, producer Nile Rodgers said he and Duran had just wrote a couple of songs together. In addition, the band spent time in the studio with “Paper Gods” producer Mr. Hudson, John Taylor says. The new songs, three in total, may or may not make the finished product, according to Taylor.

The project is “spontaneous,” Simon Le Bon told the NME, and the Halloween theme behind the new music is one that the singer says he had to be talked into.

Le Bon also spoke about his working relationship with Andy Taylor. Le Bon traveled to Ibiza this year to work with the guitarist, who has Stage 4 cancer. “Music is the king” in the room when the two are together, Le Bon said.

The fact that the band booked studio time before heading out on a summer tour bodes well for a planned Halloween 2023 release—though the specter of “Durantime” always looms.

The band’s North American tour kicks off this week in California with a performance at BottleRock Napa Valley and runs through September. Highlights along the way include two nights at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, and a closing show at Forest Hills Stadium in New York.

At top: Le Bon wore a “Queen Sioux” T-shirt onstage in Dallas last year. Now, Duran Duran has recorded a cover of a Siouxsie and the Banshees song.

Photo by Christopher Windle

Duran Duran Future Past Radio takes Sirius XM by storm

Duran Duran added yet another accolade to its collection with the debut of a radio channel dedicated solely to the band on Sirius XM.

Duran Duran Future Past Radio has been streaming on the Sirius app for a couple of weeks, but it was officially added to the satellite radio airwaves on May 18.

In honor of the channel’s first day on the air, Duran producer and superfan Nile Rodgers staged a celeb fan takeover. Rodgers, who described himself as “like the other dude in Duran Duran,” got the party started by playing Duran favorites and sharing stories from his more than 40 years as a friend of the band.

The streaming channel has been playing a slew of Duran fan favorites and rarities, songs as varied as “Winter Marches On” (played by its producer, Rodgers), “Ball of Confusion,” and even “Fragment” (a “Pop Trash” instrumental). Duran members’ faves are played as well; an atmospheric remix of Tame Impala’s “Is It True” worked particularly well before Duran’s own “Mediterranea.” Of course, all of the band’s biggest hits are represented, too.

Meantime, a grassroots campaign is brewing to make Future Past Radio a permanent fixture on Sirius. If you’re a Sirius subscriber, you can send feedback directly via the app. 

As one longtime Duranie says, “Let’s do a RRHOF fan vote and tell Sirius to make Future Past Radio permanent.” Last year, Duranies made a huge difference by scoring Duran a decisive first-place finish in the fan poll and helping propel the band into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.

So send your positive feedback via the app or the link here!

Review: Duran Duran leans in to future, past in Fort Worth

 

As Duran Duran took the stage to the strains of "Velvet Newton" and launched into "The Wild Boys" in Texas on Aug. 30, it was a culmination of a more than six-year wait between live shows.

For me, the "Future Past" tour opener was how it was supposed to start. A week and a half prior, the ill-fated show in my home state of Minnesota was canceled at the last minute due to storms. The show at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth was a pivot, and one that definitely proved to be worthwhile.

Chic opened the show masterfully, drawing the solidly numbered crowd to their spots in the 14,000-seat arena. Nile Rodgers and his band of skilled musicians put on a tour de force of Chic songs and assorted hits from the songwriter/superproducer's past. Everything from Diana Ross, Madonna, Bowie and Daft Punk was played. Rodgers always gets the party started for his brothers in Duran Duran.

Duran also rarely disappoints live, but there was something different this time. There seemed to be a new energy behind the band, now soon-to-be-inducted members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"The Wild Boys" was a commanding burst of energy, aided by video-game like onscreen graphics in which the band members seemed to dance in and out of the fire. New graphics were also employed during "Hungry Like the Wolf" before the band played its first two songs off "Future Past." "Invisible" is always a solid live track, and “All of You" a pleasant add to the set list (though Simon Le Bon flubbed the first line of the chorus).

Le Bon sounded mostly in top form, only straining a bit on some high notes during "All of You" and "A View to a Kill." Le Bon, wearing a "Queen Sioux" T-shirt from Punk Masters and the beginnings of "Le Beard," was an energetic presence onstage. Between songs, he joked about how the neighboring city of Dallas was "booted and suited," while Fort Worth was more laid-back, though he was willing to give Dallas a shout-out later in the show.

Duran also played "Notorious," but this time without Rodgers, who joined the band onstage at prior shows. "Come Undone" was a showcase for backup singer Anna Ross, while Rachael O'Connor shined on the "Future Past" single "Give It All Up."

But the show really took off as Duran leaned in to nostalgia, playing a few "old friends" that compelled the crowd to dance and sing along. "Union of the Snake," "Friends of Mine" and the cracking "Careless Memories" may be the holy trinity of the "Future Past" tour. "Union" is a recent welcome addition to the set list, a song that's too often overlooked. "Friends of Mine" pointed to the band's upcoming Halloween shows in Las Vegas with clips from Hammer's "Dracula" playing on the screen above.

The band slowed things down with "Ordinary World" and a heartfelt dedication to the people of Ukraine. It was well-received in Fort Worth, where Duran seemingly could do no wrong with the audience, even when playing its newest and perhaps weakest single off "Future Past," "Tonight United."

"Planet Earth" led into "Hold Back the Rain" as images from Duran's early days flashed onscreen. The sound and vision brought fans back to when the Fab Five "were a gang, a SWAT team, best friends," as Nick Rhodes writes in the "Future Past" tour book. "Nothing seemed out of reach." 

As expected, Duran saved its biggest hits and a crowd-pleaser for last. "The Reflex" had the audience singing and dancing with abandon, and it made no difference that "White Lines" wasn't a Duran song. The band and an impressive Dom Brown made the song their own, on this night, at least.

"Girl on Film" closed the main set with a batch of fresh graphics and a segue into the Calvin Harris hit "Acceptable in the '80s." The encore of "Save a Prayer" and "Rio" delivered what the crowd wanted. Those songs may seem a bit stale to some diehard Duranies, but seeing them performed live restored faith in this band.

Over the past decade, Duran Duran has evolved into a Hall of Fame-caliber act whose music now belongs to a wider audience than the band enjoyed even during its heyday. Duran must continually straddle the line between its future and its past, its best-known songs and its fan favorites. The band manages to accomplish all that, and does it exceedingly well. See it, and believe it.

All photos by Christopher Windle

Duran Duran and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I truly believe Duran Duran deserves a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But as year after year passes since the band gained eligibility, Duran doesn’t seem to be on a fast track to get in. And I have my doubts about the importance of being inducted at all.

But the tide may have started turning in Duran's favor with the recent nomination of Depeche Mode. There is no guarantee that the group will get in, but nevertheless, Depeche is a Duran contemporary who also makes synth music. There has been the thought that overlooked bands like Depeche, The Cure, and Duran would continue to be overlooked. But now there is a glimmer of hope.

I believe Duran should be inducted based on its contribution to music video alone. But Duran doesn't make the kind of music favored for a quick induction. Duran is perceived as a pop band that has a mostly female fan base. The rock hall clearly prefers "manly," meat-and potatoes rock 'n' roll.

Some of the groups that inspired Duran's music, Roxy Music, Kraftwerk, and Chic among them, aren't even in the hall. (Though Kraftwerk and Chic did make the list of nominees this year.)

Duran has seemingly garnered every other honor over the years: Grammys, VMAs, EMAs, Brit Awards, Ivor Novello awards, Q Icon and lifetime achievement awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But a spot in the hall of fame seems illusive.

So why even bother worrying about it? Duran’s beloved Sex Pistols rejected the band’s induction, with Johnny Rotten calling the hall of fame a “piss stain.” The Pistols also criticized the hall’s practice of requesting a five-figure fee for attending the ceremony. Needless to say, the punk legends didn’t show up on induction night.

It would be a pleasant surprise if Duran someday gets inducted. I’m sure the band members would be proud to share that honor with idols like David Bowie, The Beatles, and Lou Reed, who was inducted posthumously as a solo artist. 

Recently, there were a number of old-school members of the rock hall nominating committee who were dismissed. Duran champion Rob Sheffield is a voting member. Maybe now is the time for the “mascara bands” to be given a shot at induction. 

At top: Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" is listed among the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll in a flier given to visitors at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the band has yet to be nominated despite crossing the 25-year mark of eligibility.