Prince and Duran Duran

It's hard to believe that Prince is no longer with us. He was only 57; a Duran contemporary.

I have listened to Prince since I first heard "Purple Rain" when I was 7 years old. I’m from Prince’s home state; it was just the natural thing to do. 

Over the years, I have been to many shows in Minneapolis clubs where Prince had a history: First Avenue, where scenes from the movie “Purple Rain” were filmed, and the former Glam Slam, which the artist once owned. In 2011, I saw Duran play the latter venue, which had been renamed Epic at the time.

Although I grew up on Prince’s ’80s music, I am partial to his early ’90s work. “Thieves in the Temple,” “Diamonds and Pearls,” and “7” are among my favorite songs.

It was also in the ’90s that Duran opened for Prince and covered his songs. Among the rearranged, unplugged versions of Duran classics the band performed at the time was “Notorious,” which included some of Prince’s “Sexy MF.” It's featured on Duran's "No Ordinary EP."


And in 2008, Duran and Mark Ronson performed Prince’s “Sign ‘O’ the Times” between “Notorious” and “I Don’t Want Your Love."
 

A post on Duran Duran's Facebook page soon after his death called Prince "an enormous talent that we were all big fans of."

And the band echoed the sentiment that many are now feeling: We were "devastated to hear the news about Prince."

The Cult live at the Hard Rock

Bands like The Cult are a rare commodity. The Cult, along with Duran Duran, rose in the '80s yet still is recording viable new music, still has its core members, and still plays a lot of live shows and sounds great. Though the music differs, the two British bands share a lot of the same fans and are both on tour this spring. The bands' paths will cross this summer when each will headline the Ottawa Bluesfest.

All photos by Christopher Windle.

The Cult, on tour to support its new album, made a stop at Anthem at Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 22. "Hidden City" is The Cult's 10th studio album, and the band performed five songs off its latest effort.

The Cult kicked off the show with "Dark Energy" off "Hidden City," then really got the crowd going with "Rain," proving that the new songs fit in seamlessly with the band's older hits. When one audience member voiced his disagreement later in the show, singer Ian Astbury promptly chastised the heckler and launched into "Sweet Soul Sister," with the crowd singing along.

Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy are The Cult's longest-serving members and its songwriters. Astbury, along with Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch and the late Michael Hutchence, is one of the few rock stars who can wear sunglasses throughout most of a show and look legitimately cool doing so. His voice sounded great despite the fact that he was feeling under the weather.

As is the usual practice, casino venues want bands to play shorter set lists to get concertgoers out early and back onto the casino floor. The Cult played its standard 16 songs, and bizarrely, Anthem brought the stage lights down and the venue lights on as the band played its encore. Thankfully, the venue corrected that so the band could close the show with "Love Removal Machine." The band didn't seem to notice, continuing on as only seasoned rock stars can.

... On film

As Duran Duran gets ready to go on tour in less than one month, fans are debating how and whether to take photos. While I have always been partial to actually watching the show, the visual focus of blogs means I'll be bringing a camera along.

Fans on the Duran Duran Message Board seem to agree that point-and-shoot cameras, and of course, cellphones are allowed in even at shows for which tickets say there is no photography allowed. Before the prevalence of smartphones, venues were pickier about allowing cameras. Having stood in a long line after a concert to collect my camera in the past, I would bring a disposable camera and hope for the best.

Simon Le Bon collected cash from the crowd during "Skin Trade" on the 2001 tour.
(Disposable camera photo by Karen Duran.)

When I had a camera with, I got a few good shots at Duran shows over the years. But I have always focused on the writing side of things, so I have detailed notes from concerts from which I have no photos.

Now, I still focus on the words, while my husband takes care of the pictures. We brought our Canon to shoot the Duran show at Red Rocks last year and will have it with us again at the shows this year.

Red Rocks photos by Christopher Windle.

A note: Live Nation is promoting Duran shows on the coming tour. If my recent experience with Live Nation is any indication, expect to go through some strict preshow security. Lines were like anything I have seen when I saw Black Sabbath in January. The security guards blamed it on Ozzy. Maybe Duran will be more lenient.

Getting ready for DuranLive

In almost a month, Duran Duran will kick off its 2016 North American tour.

All photos by Christopher Windle.

I was reminded of this while I watched Duran Duran on MTV World Stage, the 2015 concert from Milan that recently aired in the U.S. for the first time on MTV Live (formerly Palladia). The hit fest, with an added dose of cool from special guest Mark Ronson, will reair at 10 p.m. Central time Thursday on MTV Live and at 11 p.m. Friday on VH1 Classic.

An impending tour always has Duranies wondering what's in store. Nick Rhodes recently told Billboard that Duran is taking out the stage production it used in the U.K. last year. If the set lists are similar, the band could play gems like "Only In Dreams," "Love Voodoo," "I Don't Want Your Love" and "New Moon On Monday."

Even for a band with so many hits, there are a lot of certainties. "The Wild Boys," "Notorious," "Girls On Film" (in some form) and "Ordinary World" are live staples. Everyone expects "Rio." I was at a show once at which the band didn't play it, and it wasn't a pretty view.

That makes up a good quarter of the set list. Expect a handful of new songs, minor hit "Pressure Off" key among them, to make up another quarter. After that is where the surprises could come in.

Some fans are clamoring for Duran to drop "White Lines" from the live show, though the 1995 cover always gets a good reception from the audience as a whole. Still, axing that song means a chance for one more Duran original. Here's a shoutout for "Union Of The Snake," for my husband.

The chance is ripe for a cover of a different kind. A tribute to David Bowie in the form of "Starman," "Fame" or a new song (maybe off the Nile Rodger's produced "Let's Dance") would be fitting. A recent poster on the Duran Duran message board said they'd like to hear John Taylor play the baseline to "Ashes to Ashes."

The time also might be right for new arrangements of old standards. I'm always partial to the Unplugged-era reworkings. Throw a little more of Bowie's "TVC15" onto "Hungry Like The Wolf" and I will totally never say I could take or leave that song live again.


But I'm accustomed to present-day Duran not getting too wild with the set list. I'm happy with the little surprises.

What songs would you like to hear?

Duran Duran cohorts loom large at Grammys

Duran Duran may have missed out on a nomination for "Paper Gods," but the band's influence still could be heard at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 15.

Most notably, Duran producer and fan Mark Ronson walked away with a well-deserved record of the year award for "Uptown Funk." Ronson cut his teeth on 1980s Duran, even playing "Wild Boys" in a grade school talent show.

Earlier, Lady Gaga stole the show with her David Bowie tribute, sharing the stage with another key Duran producer, Nile Rodgers.

Of Bowie, "he really made the blueprint for what Duran Duran have always strived to do, stretching the boundaries and working with artists in different fields," Nick Rhodes told Billboard magazine before the show. "He's a constant inspiration."

An inspiration. Duran Duran is what Gaga once told Rolling Stone magazine was her "major harmony inspiration -- all signs point to Duran Duran."

At the Grammys, Gaga grooved beside Rodgers, with the Chic founder at center stage playing his riffs on "Let's Dance." Gaga sang snippets from nine Bowie songs, including one she was born to sing ("Fashion"), a couple of Duran-covered hits ("Rebel, Rebel" and "Fame") and ending with the obligatory "Heroes."

It was easily the highlight of the three-and-a-half-hour broadcast that ranged from the mundane (Adele's nervous snooze-fest) to the classless (Pitbull's unceremonious closing number).

It was Ronson's big win moments beforehand that shows real music and still alive and well. Along with Ronson's trio of awards for the undeniable "Uptown Funk," bands like Muse and the soulful Alabama Shakes also picked up awards, which suggested an artist doesn't need 10 or more producers to succeed in the industry today.

Duran Duran and David Bowie

It has been a week since the death of David Bowie, and tributes to the musical icon keep pouring in. So I thought I would add mine to the mix, filtered through the eyes of a Duran Duran fan.

Duran Duran would not exist without Bowie. Nick Rhodes himself said it last week.

Duran would cover Bowie numerous times over the years: "Fame," "Diamond Dogs," "Rebel Rebel," "Boys Keep Swinging," "Starman" (above) and "TVC 15.” Duran, already a well-established musical act at that time, even opened for Bowie on the 1987 Glass Spider tour.

Bowie, along with Roxy Music, is one of Duran's cited idols whose influence can be heard strongly in the music. Duran always name drops the Sex Pistols and Chic. Nile Rodgers of Chic would produce and even tour with Duran over the years, and he produced Bowie, as well. But aside from the Sex Pistols' punk aesthetic of picking up an instrument and playing it even without formal training or Chic's four-on-the-floor rhythm section, there aren't as many similarities among Duran and the two bands.

There are shades of Bowie on the first Duran album ("Fame" was a B-side to "Careless Memories"), in Simon Le Bon's sublime vocal on "New Moon On Monday" and in lyrics on Duran releases up to "Paper Gods."

Bowie's focus on image and reinvention is a big part of Duran's legacy as well. While Duran's changes haven't been as spectacular as Bowie's, the band's musical styles have shifted from New Romantic to new wave to funk to electronic and more over the years.

Bowie's influence was echoed this week by superfans Rhodes and John Taylor. As the band gets ready for a North American tour with Chic (who performed "Let's Dance" during the 2015 U.S. shows), fans already are anticipating a Duran/Rodgers tribute to Bowie during the next round of concerts. It would be a fitting goodbye from Duranies.

Duran Duran's top moments of 2015

Duran Duran returned with a vengeance in 2015, releasing a new album, touring the U.S. and U.K., and raking in the awards. Here are the band's top moments from the past year:

 

Amazon.com

Bow to the 'Paper Gods'

Duran released "Paper Gods" in September, and the album would debut at No. 10 on the Billboard albums chart, the biggest chart entry for Duran since 1993's "The Wedding Album." The album also received some great reviews, mine among them, as I was honored to receive a digital copy from Warner Brothers weeks before its official release. Duran collected the Q ICON Award and an EMA Visionary Award following the "Paper Gods" success.

 

'Pressure Off' single and video

For the song "Pressure Off," released as a single in June, Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson put a modern spin on Duran Duran, bringing in R&B's Janelle Monae to share the vocal with Simon Le Bon. Later in the year, the band followed up with a classy black and white video directed by Nick Egan. For every new face Duran brought into the fold, there were longtime collaborators like Rodgers, Ronson and Egan there to remind fans this was still classic Duran.

 

 Amazon.com

New recording contract

Amidst all the excitement about the new music, Duran had once again signed to a major label, reuniting with its back catalog after learning that Warner Brothers UK had bought those rights. With that comes the exciting prospect that Warner could release some gems from the DD vault. There was another rerelease of the "Rio" album in 2015, but many fans are hoping to see rereleases of more recent albums like "The Wedding Album."

 

Photo by Christopher Windle

Tour dates in the U.S. and U.K.

Duran completed only a minitour of the United States in 2015, but the band made it count, playing high-profile festival dates and large venues such as Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. I was there for the majesty of Red Rocks, and it was a show that topped all other Duran shows for someone who has seen the band 18 times in different iterations over the years. In the U.K., a pre-Christmas tour wowed fans. The band pulled out surprises such as "Only In Dreams," "Love Voodoo" and "New Moon On Monday."

More tour dates loom next year, as Duran brought the year to a close by announcing North American dates next spring and summer. Reviews of the St. Paul and Kansas City shows will be among those appearing here next year!

 

TFI Friday

'Save A Prayer' for Paris

One of the great moments of 2015 was Duran's response to a tragedy. After terrorists attacked Paris, including a concert by the band Eagles of Death Metal, fans rallied with a campaign to get the band's cover version of Duran's "Save A Prayer" to the top of the U.K. charts. As sales of the digital song climbed, Duran announced that all proceeds would go to charity. Now, when Duran plays the song in its live encore, Le Bon dedicates the track to the victims of the attacks.