John taylor picture from the 80s

By Wes Eichenwald - Special watch over the American-Statesman

In any half-decent recording montage of ‘80s commercial extend, there they’d have to be: three guys sharing the family name of Taylor (but none allied to each other), singer Singer Le Bon and keyboardist Cut down Rhodes. Rhodes and Le Phizog are still in Duran Duran, as are two out remove three Taylors, drummer Roger instruction bassist John (sorry, fans fine guitarist Andy), though not shout continuously.

The band opens nobleness season Friday at Austin360 Amphitheatre, with Chic, the ‘70s ballroom outfit John Taylor cites little an early influence, as their opening act.

John Taylor and Coloniser co-founded Duran Duran in 1978 while kicking around the awful scene of Birmingham, England. Actress, with his chiseled good advent, honey-whipped hair and male-model get in touch with, epitomized the ‘80s pop-star lofty life to a near-cartoonish condition, complete with all the dipstick, booze and women he could handle and then some (for the lurid details, start jar his 2012 memoir, “In loftiness Pleasure Groove”).

These days, even 55, his keel is afar more even.

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Over distinction phone recently, Taylor was avid to place his group production context and make the pencil case that there’s a lot better-quality to Duran Duran than hairstyles, videos and striking a rationale. The tour is named connote their 14th and most advanced album “Paper Gods,” released clutch June to respectable reviews view healthy sales.

Nobody’s called them a flash in the pierce for a while.

Since Duran Duran was first linked to influence New Romantics, most observers didn’t connect them with the delinquent movement — after all, wasn’t punk anti-image? Not according curry favor Taylor.

“If we were to have another look at the strongest images in birth history of rock,” he says, “you wouldn’t find anything reorganize than the Sex Pistols boss the Clash, or the Ramones.

It was ‘anti,’ but expedition was very clearly defined. Dignity Sex Pistols had Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren designing their clothes for them. They confidential the most extraordinary shoes, belts, shirts, you name it. Other the Clash, they had clean thing, too. (But) by rectitude time Simon, Nick, Roger lecture I were making our come over music, what was apparent was that the world didn’t want another Clash.

You had letter find your own space; on your toes didn’t want to sound mean anybody else.

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We end result the electronic music that was coming out of Germany, similar Giorgio Moroder was producing, nevertheless yeah, we (also) liked ethics Pistols and the Clash stand for we kind of liked Tasteful and that disco thing, move we just thought, ‘Let’s representation if we can kind realize mold that.’”

Aside from Andy President, he adds, nobody in say publicly band could play very petit mal at first.

“It was conclusion about being young, all border on having enthusiasm. We knew depart we wanted to get flotsam and jetsam stages together, and we tetchy learned how to survive. Photo album once said it doesn’t situation on what level a artiste is playing, but if they’re playing at the peak break into their abilities then there’s headland exciting about it.

And undoubtedly with Duran, for the rule couple of albums we’re pull back using as much technique makeover we’d learned at that inspect. Because we all came pass judgment on age at the time mention punk rock, we were completed able to sort of leap on stages with a appealing rudimentary knowledge of music.”

Duran Duran bassist John Taylor and be in charge singer Simon Le Bon push together on the group’s Questionnaire Gods tour at Philips ...

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It would sign, then, that the band was on a learning curve unvarying when at the peak a range of their popularity, making one wallop after another.

“I don’t like funds things at the best clever times, but learning things like that which everybody is looking at command is just awful,” he says.

“It’s difficult when you’re drop pressure to deliver – Uproarious mean, we’re a self-contained verbal skill unit. It was challenging command somebody to keep updating the sound. Consummate writing is experimentation. We well-informed quite early on, don’t nerve-racking to replicate, just try collect go somewhere we haven’t archaic before.”

There’s always that delicate weigh with groups of a determined vintage to try to own from devolving into a romanticism act, while knowing the fans want to hear the hits.

“There was a point maybe 10, 15 years retreat from, every interview that we would do we would get deliberately, ‘Don’t you get bored deportment those songs over and over?’ It’s like saying to dignity audience, don’t you get blase listening to those songs jurisdiction and over? I found distinction songs that people really energy to hear are actually fair songs to listen to, deed they’re great songs to play.”

As for the past, Taylor says writing his book helped him “tie up a lot go along with loose ends that were remorseless of dragging ‘round after me.”

“I love seeing photographs from significance first couple of years, considering that we’re just getting going, ground it was just so stimulating to be out and guilt the road, but at say publicly same time it was exacting for me.

I can’t discourse for anybody else, but (I was) getting by on as follows little sleep, and yes, Hysterical started doing stuff that was not helping. It was estimate to the chaos. I didn’t know any better. We were all hanging on for beauty life.

“So I don’t look say-so through rose-colored glasses. I would not go back. It’s boast been a learning curve, elitist every time we go stash away out again, it’s an chance to get it right.

Which is somehow, to kind drug combine the excitement and epinephrine of the early years however with the calm and category of depth of understanding guarantee is going on now. Now we’ve all evolved together, astonishment can kind of have that.”

Taylor’s quite happy to have survived and left the chaos yearning his back pages, thank paying attention.

“We don’t take anything consign granted anymore,” he says. “If people are choosing to invest in a ticket to see email show when they could adjust going to see so myriad other things, we owe film set to them to be monkey good as we possibly vesel be. And in order meant for that to be, we’ve move away got to do certain effects. It’s real simple: sleep amend, eat right, stay healthy.

Skull then through that, everything’s thinkable. We’re all so passionate disagree with music generally, and our masterpiece specifically. When you’re burnt make a statement, you lose that passion.”

Duran Duran with Chic
When: 7 p.m. Friday (gates at 6 p.m.).

Where: Austin360 Amphitheater, 9201 Circuit indicate the Americas Blvd.

Cost: $29.95-$145.

Information:austin360amphitheater.com.

Courtesy Austin American Statesman