Duran Duran
Nov 21, 2011
Duran Duran's reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamourous sense of style. Without music videos, it is likely that the band's pop-funk -- described by the group as the Sex Pistols meets Chic -- would never have made the group international pop stars. While Duran Duran did have sharper pop sensibilities than their New Romantic contemporaries like Spandau Ballet and Ultravox, none of their peers exploited MTV and music video like the Birmingham-based quintet. Each video the group made was distinctive, incorporatin a number of cinematic styles to showcase the band as either part of the jet-setting elite ("Rio") or as worldly adventurers ("Hungry Like the Wolf").
While early videos like "Girls on Film" and "The Chaffeur" sparked controversy in England over their sexual content, their best-known clips were often based on hit contemporary movies. "Hungry Like the Wolf" uncannily recalled Raiders of the Lost Ark, while "Union of the Snake" and "The Wild Boys" brought to mind The Road Warrior. The clever videos helped make Duran Duran's rise to popularity remarkably swift. Between 1982 and 1984, they rocketed from underground British post-punk sensations to teen idols. But their fall from grace was equally fast. By the late '80s, the group's lineup had fragmented, and the remaining members had trouble landing hist singles. Nevertheless, the group pulled off a surprising, if short-lived, comeback in the early '90s as a sophisticated soft-rock trio.
Since the 1980s, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 and have, according to the Sunday Mercury, sold more than 100 million records. The group was formed by Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Stephen Duffy, with the later addition of Roger Taylor and, after numerous personnel changes, Andy Taylor and Simon Le Bon. The group has never disbanded, but the lineup has changed to include guitarist Warren Cuccurullo from 1989 to 2001 and drummer Sterling Campbell from 1989 to 1991. The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among the band's fans and music media. Andy Taylor left the band in mid-2006, and London guitarist Dom Brown has since been working with the band as a session player and touring member.
In November 2010, Duran Duran announced the worldwide release of their 13th studio album, entitled All You Need Is Now, that would be released on label S-Curve Records. The album was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Mark Ronson and mixed by Spike Stent, and was released exclusively on iTunes on December 21, 2010 and hit the #1 spot on download charts in 15 countries. The first single from the record, title track "All You Need Is Now", was free to download worldwide on December 8, 2010 exclusively in iTunes and peaked at #38 on the Adult Pop Songs chart. In March the band embarked on a concert tour in support of the album - called "All You Need Is Now" Tour.
