Duran Duran

It may be over half a century since Birmingham’s finest musical export first came to attention, but the band once dubbed the ‘fab five’ – this time minus one - are back.

Duran Duran are releasing their 12th studio album, Red Carpet Massacre, with creative help from MTV’s current golden boys Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Duran Duran may be missing their guitarist Andy, (one of the three unrelated Taylor’s), but in a changing industry where success now comes quicker and failure even faster, the band has always kept going.

The group, who named themselves after a character from cult sci-fi film Barbarella, quickly developed a huge following and were at the forefront of the New Romantics movement. As they were one of the first groups to fully utilise the power of MTV, we can all remember the videos for the exotic Hungry like the Wolf, the action-packed Wild Boys and of course Simon Le Bon and the gang sailing off into the sunset in Rio.

But underneath the undoubted visual style and flair there was always developed song-writing ability. “Don’t say a prayer for me now, save it ‘til the morning after” (Save a prayer), “Ooh, here besides the news/Of holy war and holy need/Ours is just a little sorrowed talk” (Ordinary World), “Mine, immaculate dream made breath and skin/
I've been waiting for you” (Come Undone) highlighted their lyrical substance.

And they weren’t just big here of course. Along with groups like Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls and The Thompson Twins, Duran Duran were at the head of the second British Invasion of the US charts in the early 80’s. This includes a US #1 single for the James Bond film A View to a Kill, which remains the only Bond song to hit the top of the US charts.

After taking a break after releasing five albums in their first five years, Duran Duran have yet to repeat the sustained momentum since their early 1980’s heyday. But with the release of 1993’s unofficially titled The Wedding Album, came a reminder of what they are really capable of.