DURAN DURAN HANGIN' IN

DURAN DURAN HANGIN' IN

It's been a controversial year for the gorgeous members of Duran Duran, those very successful and extremely popular “Fab Five” guys from Great Britain. It’s been well over a year since the guys got together to record an album, and—with the exception of their landmark performance at Live Aid last summer—they haven’t performed together as a unit in that time.

Nonetheless, the various members of the band have remained in the public eye. The band scored a major hit together last summer with the title tune to the latest James Bond flick, A View To A Kill. But even more important than their Roger Moore adventure is the separate projects the various Duranies worked on during the last 12 months.

First, John Taylor and Andy Taylor briefly broke ^away to join forces with British singing legend Robert ^Palmer and Chic drummer Tony Thompson to form *|jthe Power Station. Their LP was so well received by nDuran Duran fans all over the world that the new band decided to tour the States last summer. Unfortunately, Palmer had prior commitments, and the boys had to find a replacement for the debonair vocalist. Palmer’s replacement came in the form of one Michael DesBarres, formerly a member of Chequered Past, a band made up of people from j Blondie and Iggy Pop’s touring bands. DesBarres apparently made the grade, as the Power Station’s tour was one of the highlights of ’85’s sunniest months. But already the rumor factory was working ..overtime and the controversy had begun. Does this mean the end of Duran Duran? Fans were understandably upset on both continents!

The Duranies kept insisting that the Power Station was just an outside project.

Nonetheless, the rumor mill was heated up again when news reached these shores that the remaining members of Duran Duran would be forming their own "separate project." Yes, Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylo would be recording an album together under the name of Arcadia!

However, since the three Duranies would be using a lot of different studio musicians (including Pink Floyd's David Gilmour) o the album, the chances of them touring seemed quite remote.

Once again, the questions were heard everywhere: will Duran

Duran survive? Of course, the discriminatin Duran Duran fan looked at the advantages of these new solo projects. Not only did they have Duran Duran to look forward to on MTV, not o mention their turntables, but they had both the 5ower Station and Arcadia as well to bring them :ountless hours of enjoyment.

And then what seemed like good news caught sveryone off guard! Yes, Duran Duran would be eforming to play the “Super Concert One” in Anaheim, California in December. The three-hour ihow reportedly included Boy George & Culture Club, lot to mention other supergroups that the promoter :laimed he would name in the future.

; According to plans, the various groups were icheduled to perform individually, then join en nasse for the traditional and cherised concert inding jam session. The concert was to be shown live lone night only) on a pay per-view basis on American table TV. Naturally, since cable is unavailable to lome, the concert would be simulcast on AM and FM Stations throughout America—not to mention the theatrical show via closed circuit. Duran Duran fans throughout the world rejoiced. This sounded bigger than Woodstock!

And then it was time for the bad news. Duran Duran announced in mid-November that they were dropping out of “Super Concert One.” The reason? The concert promoters had reneged on their contract, meaning that they failed to pay Simon, Nick, Roger, John and Andy the money they had coming to them. Once again, the controversial flames were aburst. Would the world ever see Duran Duran together again? Did this mean the end of one of the foxiest bands on earth?—a band that had built on the androgeny David Bowie spawned nearly a decade ago to create an entirely new fashion and look in the pop music world.

Fortunately, the Duran boys called a press conference shortly after announcing their plans to rop out of “Super Concert One.” The guys eased leir fans’ fear by saying that Duran Duran were not isbanding, and would in fact be recording a new 'burn in the very near future. Still, the rumors were lere. What about the Power Station and Arcadia?

/ill the next LP be the band’s swan song, their own srsion of the Beatles’ Let It Be?

Roger Taylor eased the fans’ worst fears by stating iat both the Power Station and Arcadia were efinitely outside projects. He also said that the projects hopefully revealed to the band’s detractors that the separate members of Duran Duran were indeed artists—and not some contrived band a la the Monkees of another era. So, yes, it looks like Duran Duran will survive. Although there are surely many outside projects in the future for the boys—who couldn’t imagine Simon, Nick, Roger, John and Andy as potential major movie stars?—Duran Duran is the top priority in these guys’ eyes. And you can bet that Duran Duran will be with us for a long time to come!