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Duran Duran (Photo courtesy the band)
The WonderBus Music & Arts Festival returns to The Lawn at CAS in Columbus, Ohio, this summer with three days of music on Friday, Aug. 26, Saturday, Aug. 27, and Sunday, Aug. 28.
WonderBus 2022 headliners include Duran Duran (Friday), Lorde (Saturday), and The Lumineers (Sunday).
In three weeks, Duran Duran will release Future Past, the legendary band’s 15th studio album, via Tape Modern for BMG. Should you want more Duran Duran prior to that, we recommend you acquire a copy of Beautiful Colors: The Posters of Duran Duran, curated by Andrew Golub (aka Durandy) and photographed by Christine Born with a foreword by Nick Rhodes!
Fans of Duran Duran know the band truly has been about more than just outstanding music — the gents always have concerned themselves with the visual aesthetics of their art as well. Nothing captures that fact better than Beautiful Colors.
Nick Rhodes and Wendy Bevan (Photo by Radka Leitmeritz)
Duran Duran synthesist Nick Rhodes and violinest Wendy Bevan team for Astronomia I: The Fall of Saturn, the first of four albums to be released on equinox or solstice days throughout 2021.
Nick’s own Tape Modern published the ambient instrumental on Friday, March 19, and the duo then shared a visualizer video for “The Great Attractor.”
Duran Duran (Photo by Stephanie Pistel)
New wave legends Duran Duran long have embraced their David Bowie influences. And the quartet also have covered Bowie’s songs, first grabbing attention with their fantastic cover of “Fame,” which they introduced on their first-ever US tour (which included a date at The Bayou here in DC back in 1981).
Today, in celebration of what would have been Bowie’s 74th birthday, Duran Duran release a cover of his epic “Five Years” from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Simon LeBon performs with Duran Duran at MGM National Harbor on Dec. 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Happy birthday, Simon LeBon of Duran Duran!
For your consideration, five Duran Duran videos showcasing the outstanding English frontman worthy of your attention.
John Taylor performs with Duran Duran at MGM National Harbor on Dec. 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Pandemic lockdowns globally generated a surge of creativity from music artists seeking ways to connect with their fans in a time when people are urged to stay at home.
Of all the virtual concerts, listening parties, and chats, my favorite lockdown series by far has been a tutorial and interview combo by John Taylor of Duran Duran. On nearly a weekly cadence, John regales the viewer with tales of a favorite song and how it came together, with a focus on his bass playing, and then he interviews a friend and fellow artist in a program dubbed Stone Love Bass Odyssey.
On Wednesday, June 10, John walks us through “Some Like It Hot” by his side project Power Station, and then he chats with none other than fellow English rocker Billy Idol, on Duran Duran’s Instagram!
John Taylor performs with Duran Duran at MGM National Harbor on Dec. 31, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
The great Nile Rodgers famously remixed “The Reflex” by Duran Duran — a song that sent the boys from Birmingham UK to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.
Nile went on to work quite a bit with Duran Duran over the past several decades, of course, and bassist John Taylor is likely to explore that relationship in a chat for his Stone Love Bass Odyssey via Duran Duran’s Instagram on Wednesday, May 27.
John Taylor (left) performs with Simon LeBon in Duran Duran at The Fillmore New Orleans on Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
During the national COVID-19 crisis, many musicians have found ways to connect with their audiences virtually, using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to present concerts or interactive experiences.
In my opinion, bassist John Taylor of Duran Duran has developed one of the most joyful, uplifting, and thoroughly entertaining of these virtual performances with his Stone Love Bass Odyssey series, which he broadcasts via Duran Duran’s Instagram on Wednesdays. In the two-part program, John first shares an iconic baseline from a classic Duran Duran song and then he chats with a fellow musician about their careers and shared interests.
Duran Duran performs at The Fillmore New Orleans on Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Editor’s Note: Parklife DC asked its contributors to write essays about their favorite bands. These essays appear in an occasional series, My Favorite Artist, and provide our readers with insights into our bloggers, their motivations, and their approach to covering concerts.
To my ear, music is at its best when it motivates and inspires. Popular music provides a forum for catharsis, surely, but I am most excited when I hear something that stirs my soul, lifts my head, and moves my feet.
Cue Duran Duran.
Simon LeBon fronts Duran Duran at The Fillmore New Orleans on Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
When I was a young lad in the early ’80s on the search for good music, Duran Duran struck as a revelation. They’ve remained as powerful and interesting today as they were then, and their talent, chemistry, and sophistication were on full display at a pair of shows in newly opened The Fillmore New Orleans this week.