Please, please
tell me now...
What did I wanna be
when I grew up?
I wanted to be adored.
Please, please
tell me now...
I was just, like,
perpetually excited in 1981.
It was just so much fun.
That's what New Romantic was...
Wearing that on the 50 bus.
What teenage
girl didn't have a crush
on every single guy
in that band?
This one person
threw three bras on the stage.
And two pairs of knickers.
I thought,
"She's definitely not wearing
any underwear now."
Girls on film...
Every time you tried to move,
there would be 200 teenage girls
trying to rip you apart.
Duran Duran is my life.
Waiting for them
outside of BBC...
They never noticed me.
Nobody really wanted to
give you credit for the fact
that everybody was
a great musician.
I feel like Duran Duran
is my second band.
Her name is Rio...
The demands on us
had become absurd.
It's like one of those
rat wheels isn't it?
And you just gotta be
King Rat sometimes and say,
"Bollocks. I'm jumping off."
The atmosphere
was completely toxic.
We'd just had a few years of,
like, "'80s band, '80s band."
I think they just saw
the boat going the other way
down the river
with all their money on it.
Imagine to be in
a band like Duran Duran
and have the career
that they've had.
That's, like,
the ultimate dream.
No-No-Notorious...
For me, all of our albums
define different stages
in our career.
The first album
was our game plan.
Only came outside
To watch the night
fall with the rain...
The way we are
on that first album,
we're all playing the best
that we could play,
and we're all just
playing every note we know.
Some New Romantic
looking for the TV sound...
"Planet Earth" was the energy
of rock music and punk,
and strong melody.
We all loved melodies,
good songs,
that was what it was about.
Look now,
look all around
There's no sign of life
Voices, another sound
Can you hear me now?
- Ooh, it smells old.
- Jesus!
The Decrepids.
Oh... Oh, come on, Rodge.
Come on. Let's get cozy.
- Snuggle up in the back.
- Put your seat belt on.
Well, if you're driving, I will.
- He's actually driving it?
- Oh, no.
That's what I said.
I'm in the danger seat.
You're fine there.
So it appears that in here...
our very first demo,
in Birmingham,
for our first album.
- It's "Faster Than Light."
- It is.
Oh, wow.
- The light
- Faster than light
- The light
- Faster than light...
I think the last time we were
in a Citroen was probably,
together, maybe 1982?
I don't know how we
came across the first Citroen,
but it was, like,
the perfect car for Duran Duran.
It was super fast
and it was super comfortable.
I don't remember where
we got the first one from.
- We bought the second one.
- Buying the second one
was a major commitment
to success.
We don't know
what else is on here.
Let's have a look.
- Andy's playing was...
- The car's shaking.
Andy's playing was very
economical, wasn't it?
Oh, yeah, but that was so great.
- He played essential guitar.
- Yeah.
That's a loud vocal. Wow.
I hate... The vocal's horrible.
- It's so loud.
- Horrible vocal!
Stop it!
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot,
a riot of our own...
Aah!
We really became brothers.
We were both single kids.
We didn't have any siblings.
We lived a few hundred meters
away from each other
in Hollywood, Birmingham.
There was a lot of other kids
at school that loved music.
But not as much as we did.
Or that's what we thought.
Blondie, Talking Heads,
Patti Smith, Roxy Music...
we saw lots and lots of times.
I took John
to his first concert.
It was in April 1974,
and it was actually Mick Ronson.
And it cost us 1.35 each.
Every time we went to a show,
John and I used to
count the trucks
outside at the back of the show
and figure out
how many lights they had
and how much sound, and think
how many we needed to make
what we were gonna do happen.
My dad was a manual worker.
My dad worked at the Rover.
So it was very much expected
that I would remain
a manual worker.
I didn't think it was
a great way of life.
I wanted to do
something different.
I had this dream
of being in a band.
Birmingham was a very small
world in those days,
and anybody who was
kind of any good,
you know, you'd hear about.
So I think that John and Nick
had heard about me,
and I'd heard about Duran Duran.
We were rehearsing at this...
this squat in Cheapside.
It was kind of like
the armpit of Birmingham
down here.
This is really,
it's the spiritual home
of Duran Duran right here.
Roger is the most likable person
you'll ever
meet in this business.
You know, and right away
we clicked.
Just set my drums up
and started jamming,
and they said,
"Come back next week,"
so I must have got
the gig, you know.
So this is really my moment,
is just walking through
that door right there.
Outside
Is there anyone out there?
At 19 years old, it was like
walking into a space rocket.
It took me all over the world,
and kind of everything
that I have,
really, that's good in life
is a result of walking
through that...
through that door there.
Look out of the window
Baby, you can call
by my name...
Birmingham at that time
might as well have been
the center of the world.
I don't feel like...
It was the center
of our world, wasn't it?
I don't feel like
we ever thought,
"Oh, man,
I wish we lived in London."
The Rum Runner was
like the sort of premier
New Romantic club
in Birmingham
where everybody went.
It had this really big
kind of entrance
that was like a big corridor
that was almost like a catwalk.
It really was just about
showing off.
It was about going out,
getting your photo taken.
It was just about
getting attention.
This is where we found
somewhere to rehearse.
This is where we found
our management.
This is where we found Andy.
This is where we found Simon.
This was like our Cavern,
in a way.
So I guess within about a month
of having gone
to the Rum Runner,
suddenly it's Nick,
me and Rodge,
and now we're planning
world domination,
although we don't have
a guitar player and a singer,
but this is, like, the...
This is the core.
We were looking
for a guitar player
that could play, like,
Nile Rodgers funk,
but could play, like,
Mick Ronson lead,
and there weren't that many
who could do that.
Andy came down from Newcastle.
We joke about his style,
you know,
'cause that wasn't his thing,
but he thought about music,
and he just right away brought...
He took us to another level.
Da-da, da-da
Groovin' now
to X-Ray Spex...
We all had jobs here
doing different things.
Nick got the DJ job,
John worked on the door,
I worked behind the bar.
And I remember Simon comes
walking down one day,
and that was our first meeting.
When he said his name was
Simon Le Bon,
we sort of didn't believe
that was his real name,
but anyway, turned out it was.
And he had a lyric book
with him.
Well, this was the holy grail.
There were things in there,
and we started reading through.
Wow! This would be perfect
if only he can sing.
All alone ain't much fun
So you're looking
for the thrill...
When he started singing,
it was crazy.
It was just one of those
fantastic "Eureka!" moments.
Don't say a prayer
for me now
Save it till
the morning after
No, don't say a prayer
for me now
Save it till
the morning after...
I thought, this guy's a star.
He was tall,
he was well put together,
and he was really smart.
I mean, he's a poet,
Simon, you know?
So at that time particularly,
he was always writing words.
The gold dust
of the music business
is words on paper.
Whatever anybody else
will tell you
about grooves or notes,
it's all about those lyrics.
Any other day
You might have gone
walking by
Without a second look
Any other way
But I'm still mystified
I'm just trying to
change my luck
Staring at the world...
I'm going to take you
to the church,
'cause we're gonna go
and see Mr. Turvey...
my old choir master.
And nobody knows
What's gonna happen
tomorrow...
This is the beautiful...
Church of St. John
the Baptist, Pinner.
This is where I was a choirboy
for four years.
This place had a huge effect
on my musical development.
I grew to love church music
and the intricacies of it
and the harmonies.
Hello. Long time.
- Nice to see you.
- It's been many years.
So this is where I spent
a lot of time sitting.
Right here. Yeah.
There'd be somebody there
who was better than me.
Until, for a very brief time,
I became the one
who sat... here.
So this is myself and you,
performing
"O For the Wings of a Dove."
In this particular place.
Yes, right. Right here.
O for the wings
For the wings of a dove
- Far away
- Yeah.
Far away would I rove
I didn't quite get
my breathing right there.
I was running out of breath.
Yes. There's a long note
coming up.
- Yeah. Totally out of breath.
- Yeah.
- Far away
- That's it.
Far away would I rove
I'm a little bit
ahead of the beat as well,
- I think.
- Just a fraction.
That's something
that I've worked
for decades to try
and overcome, actually.
Yeah, mm-hmm. Yeah.
Far away
-That's my favorite note in it.
- That one.
- You got it right that time.
-Yeah.
We thought we were
so great, didn't we?
We thought that we were
gonna take over the world.
But I don't think
we were arrogant, though.
Well, at the time,
we were young.
We were teenagers.
I was 17.
We were a lot more alike then.
We were really birds
of a feather, you know,
and we had a...
And our dress, really,
I think, helped
define us in a way.
Charlie, you had
some theatrical things.
There was some gray velvet thing
that you had made.
Gray velvet
with purple slashing.
It was right out of
Midsummer Night's Dream.
Yeah, it was.
Oh, my goodness.
- It had bells.
- It had bells on it.
You'd hear him coming down
the corridor with bells.
That was one of the things
that was great about
that period, actually.
None of us were afraid of color.
- Except Roger.
- Apart from me.
He just used to wear black.
I was completely
afraid of color.
Yeah, yeah.
You look like you
should be in Wham!
Very nice, Roger.
Baby, I'm your man.
- Ooh!
- Come fly with me
I don't think we better go
any deeper into here.
Music at that time
was kind of androgynous.
There was this crossover,
you know,
between girls and boys
wearing the same...
There were clothes
that crossed over,
and we kind of bought into that.
- We found 'em.
- Yeah, we did.
We used to trawl
the streets of Birmingham
trying to find, uh,
bits of clothing.
Ladies' clothes
that would fit us.
Yes, but we...
Then it was easier, right?
I can see you working
the bumper cars in that outfit.
- Yeah, really? Cheers.
- I quite like that.
Yeah, so do I.
Italian Vogue.
Old habit, you know.
Uh...
We were out at dinner
with Andy Warhol once,
and somebody asked Andy,
"Which do you think
is the coolest Vogue?"
And at the time, I'd made it
as far as Paris Vogue,
and I was really into
Paris Vogue, and he said,
"Oh, Italian Vogue,
definitely."
And we were like,
"Italian Vogue?
Is there one?"
You know?
Pictures of girls.
I first met
Duran Duran around 1980
when they came into the shop.
We became very good friends.
They had the balls to run around
with all the makeup
and the hair.
This lot didn't give a damn,
and they'd worked out
that women quite liked it.
So when they came along,
they were a breath of fresh air.
This is from the year...
- Well, that's probably from...
- Well, when you first started.
I think after the punk thing,
military was still very much...
Military was very happening.
But you, of course,
broke the mold for that.
You lot went in
waist-deep into it
I saw you
at the air race yesterday
April showers
get out of my way...
You obviously kept
all these over the years.
- How many are there?
- There's about 10,000 in all.
This was actually worn
in the "Planet Earth" video,
along with one of your suits.
The shirts were like this one,
because they had to be.
It's the low arm holes
and all of the rest of it.
That's your easy wear.
It wasn't easy wear
on the number 50 bus
from Birmingham.
That's what New Romantic was:
wearing that on the 50 bus.
So this one was from 1983,
and that's from the front cover
of the Seven
and the Ragged Tiger album.
This fabric's
happening now big-time.
It's everywhere on the catwalk.
Well, then, only 37 years
ahead of our time.
I remember
when you came to the shop.
We came because
when we finally got
our advance from EMI records,
and part of it was
a clothing budget for...
Which you insisted on,
of course.
- Of course.
- The first band to do that.
No, the hard work
was writing the songs
and getting all of that right.
- We know that.
- Finally, when you get to
sort of present it,
that's the fun,
sort of saying,
"How are we going do this?"
- Put it all in positions.
- It ends up like this.
There you go.
Well, perfect for shopping
in Oxford Street.
These are the epitome
of '80s over-the-top.
- Really? You think so?
- Oh, I think so, yeah.
I mean,
they're quite panto-y now,
but at the time they were right,
because they fused
military with romance.
We've got these
corseted-back trousers here
that were all laced up the back,
and then these hanging jackets.
- It's, uh, matador-ish.
- Yeah, yeah.
Somehow
we managed to make it work
because we all had such
individual and personal taste.
We could look at a rail
of clothes now and say,
Roger's gonna like that,
I'm gonna have that one,
- John's gonna like that one.
- Yeah, you could do that.
- Most of the band...
- You were pretty right
because you knew
all their tastes
even better than I did.
Any band,
if you think of anyone you...
Anyone in history
that's worth remembering,
they all have an image.
Elvis Presley, Madonna,
Prince, Duran Duran.
They were Birmingham's peacocks.
There was
this Smash Hits magazine,
and suddenly nobody was reading
any of the weeklies anymore.
There were these, like,
colored magazines
that came out every week,
and it was, like,
perfect for Duran.
It was like,
"There's a John cover.
It's a Roger cover.
It's Simon and Nick."
There was like an explosion,
and we made ourselves
very available to it.
We went on tour
behind Planet Earth,
and we played Nottingham,
and that show was reviewed
in the NME,
and it was the meanest review.
"A Ripple in a Stagnant Pool"
was the headline.
I can still remember it
to this day.
And the last line in it was,
"Duran Duran are gonna be huge,
and they really
don't deserve any of it."
And I remember
reading that, thinking,
"That's so mean. Why?"
You know, like, "Why?"
And then we kind of knew
that we were part of this,
and that was probably
after the Smash Hits cover.
And it was like,
so we were a threat
to that institution,
and they weren't
gonna be nice to us,
so we just had to swallow it.
But the NME never, never...
And it bothered me up until
about a year ago, I think.
The first time I think that
we recognized that something
different was happening
was when out of nowhere...
It was like a movie set,
and we got completely mobbed.
And we sensed that
something had changed.
I'm desperate to know
what it's like to be a pop star.
Do you think
it's all full of fast cars,
fast women, fast living?
Well, that's
probably part of it.
-It is, yeah. But...
I love boats.
I do have a boat
a bit similar to this.
It lives in a garage in Italy,
where she was built.
I think living the life
was very much
a sort of a part
of the rock star lifestyle.
We were objects of desire.
And people wanted to
have us at their parties.
So there was a lot of that.
See them walking
hand in hand
Across the bridge
at midnight...
Duran Duran were like...
It was glamorous.
It was, like,
hot, beautiful locations,
leggy blondes,
yachts and the limousines.
It was aspirational, I think.
That's why I think
people liked it,
because it was like,
you can come from Birmingham,
you can come from
southeast London,
but you can still have
a glamorous life.
I was just, like,
perpetually excited in 1981.
I mean, it was like...
I don't think I slept all year.
I mean, it was just...
It was just so much fun.
It was just... just this
crazy adventure,
and it never really stopped.
It did become the album
that was the most important
in launching our career.
You saw me standing
by the wall
Corner of a main street...
I remember really being worried,
just briefly,
that it wouldn't be
as good as the first album.
And I used to lay in my bed
and listen to the album,
and I rationed myself to
two entire listens a night
because I didn't want
to wear it out.
But I just loved it.
I thought it was so great.
- Don't say a prayer
For me now
Save it
till the morning after...
Everyone has that record,
and I think Rio was that record.
It was the sort of thing
that seals the deal.
I remember the sleeve.
I remember hearing the songs
for the first time.
And I think that Rio
was the album
that established Duran Duran
as a kind of global super force,
because it was like,
"Okay, they can write songs."
Rio was like a masterstroke.
The image on the cover
of that album
so perfectly represents
the sounds in the music.
Whether you're Bowie
or Kanye West,
it doesn't matter,
you're selling a fantasy.
Here we have...
the original Rio painting.
Yes. Still smiling
after all these years.
For our second album we thought,
"Why don't we stick a beautiful
painting on the cover?"
And actually,
to the credit of Paul Berrow,
one of our managers at the time,
who was an avid reader
of Playboy magazine,
um, he spotted these
beautiful illustrations
done by a Californian artist
called Patrick Nagel
and brought them and said,
"Chaps, do you like these?"
And we looked and said,
"Actually, yeah."
They've got a real energy
and a brightness,
and they represented
the period so well,
it's become a symbol
of that whole decade.
But for us,
she's got a very lucky smile
because that period was amazing,
and the Rio album
was really what established us
around the world.
This was the home
to Duran Duran in the '80s,
when we were in Los Angeles.
We've got all The Beatles here.
We've got John, George,
Ringo, and then Paul McCartney.
I know I wouldn't
be standing here
without those guys.
Then we go on to Buddy Holly,
but then they probably
wouldn't be there
without Buddy Holly,
so that's cool.
Moving on. Tina Turner,
and Tina Turner's bicycle,
which is a permanent show
here now.
I'm getting a warm feeling.
Capitol Recording artists
Duran Duran.
It's a big deal
in terms of, like,
where you're from, I guess.
I don't think many of my
schoolmates have got one.
We got a lot of prizes
in the early '80s.
I took them for granted.
I was like... you know.
But as I've gotten older,
I've come to appreciate them,
and display them, even.
And I think to know
where you come in the evolution
of, uh, popular music, you know,
contemporary culture, you know,
that we've got a place...
We've got a place in that,
it feels good.
They were such a seminal
band for me as a kid, you know.
Like, I really loved them.
They had great pop songs,
great melody, great band.
There's a reason that
they sold 18 million records.
They were just attuned
to writing
really universal, great songs.
What's your first memory
of being in this building?
I'm not sure they ever
really knew what to do with us.
EMI in London just kept
pressurizing Capitol
into basically making more
effort to break the band,
and it was really with Rio
that they said,
"Look, you've got to
make this happen."
To me, definitely
the first album
had a lot of the seeds
of what became, like,
the iconic early
Duran Duran sound,
but Rio is probably...
And also just 'cause
the level of songwriting
just went like this.
Do you feel like Rio
is where you sort of forged
- the Duran sound?
- Definitely.
It was a development
from the first...
All the basic ideas...
I mean, you just nailed it,
the funky rhythm section,
you know,
sort of Moroder-esque
synths, you know,
but also that kind of...
That chunky rock guitar.
- Yeah, Steve Jones guitars.
- Yeah.
And also, the other thing
is, like,
probably because your whole,
you know, pin-ups
and all this
kind of thing at first,
nobody really wanted
to give you credit
or the fact that everybody
was a great musician.
I think for all the excitement
of the punk rock era,
the post-punk era
was really exciting too,
because you had kids saying,
"I want to be a bass player."
Roger and I were like,
"We wanna be a rhythm section."
That sound, like, when I play
"The Chauffeur" in my head,
that sound of Roger's drums
on top,
locked into the sequence
of whatever Nick was doing,
and then you with that,
is such an important part.
I feel like "The Chauffeur,"
sonically
and everything about it,
if came out tomorrow
and you said,
"Oh, this is
a new Killers tune,"
you would believe it.
And watching lovers part
I feel you smiling
What glass splinters lie
so deep in your mind?
To tear out
from your eyes
With a thought to stiffen
brooding lies
And I'll only watch you
leave me further behind...
When we first came to New York,
I remember our managers
meeting with these guys
that were putting MTV together,
and they were like,
"Look, we can't play
'Stairway to Heaven' all day,
"like what happens on the radio.
"We need to get more
into new music,
"and it'd be great if you could
give us something really
kind of like
a James Bond film."
- Right.
- And our manager went away,
and that's where the Sri Lanka
video idea came from.
In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt
I'm after you
Smell like I sound
I'm lost in a crowd
And I'm hungry
like the wolf...
MTV was, like, such a big part
of my teenage life.
I mean, that's how
we got our music.
And I think Duran Duran
was such a perfect band
for this new way
that people were getting music,
which was through television.
Stalked in the forest
too close to hide
I'll be upon you
by the moonlight side...
They were really some of
the pioneers in music videos.
That was just the age where
we didn't know what to expect,
and anything could go.
And your skin
it's so tight
You feel my heat
I'm just a moment behind...
There was something
about it when we were there
that we knew
that it was new ground.
It was very exotic.
And we were very lucky to have
Russell Mulcahy directing,
because at that time,
he was the guy.
He had just done "Vienna"
for Ultravox
and all the coolest things
that were out there, really.
I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry
like the wolf...
With Duran, it was a bit
like being a tourist
with a big camera.
I howl and I whine
I'm after you...
I had very much
a cinematic vision,
they had a vision
with their music,
and the managers had a vision
about, "Let's make it big
and-and stand out
from the rest."
We just wanted to raise the bar.
On first glance,
it looks like a guy
chasing a girl.
It's slightly uncomfortable,
actually.
But it's us chasing our career,
trying to make it happen,
and we were so hungry.
We would chase and we would grab
and we would achieve.
And that is what
that song's about.
Then after that,
the travelogue continued,
and hence we ended up doing
the "Rio" video in Antigua.
That was wild.
I mean, we sort of...
That one we actually
just made up on the spot.
I would say in the morning,
"Okay, I need, um...
"I need a mirror,
I need a bed, I want
to put it on the beach."
Moving on the floor
now, babe
You're a bird
of paradise
Cherry ice cream smile
I suppose it's very nice...
The classic shot
eventually ended up being
Simon at the front of the boat
with the boys hanging off,
and the cameraman was sitting
at the top of the boat,
on the... whatever you call it...
With no harness, hand-held,
hanging on to the thing
like that.
Song blasting away,
the boys were all in their
sort of tailored suits,
very expensive suits,
getting splashed with seawater,
ruining the suits, of course,
and we just had a lot of fun.
Down to the Rio Grande...
The yacht was such
a powerful image.
With us all with the colored
Antony Price suits,
it really worked beautifully.
Doo-doo,
doo-doo-doo, doo-doo
Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo,
doo-doo...
Rio was a very hard record
to follow, in hindsight.
We made a classic album
with Rio.
And I think it was first time
that we really felt
the pressure of having to
follow something up.
The Ragged Tiger is that kind of
dirty but incredible...
charismatic animal
that is success.
I knew this was
a big mistake...
Hello, good evening,
and welcome to our show.
This is a dressing room,
and by the nature
of the word "dressing,"
it means everyone has to change,
so fuck off.
What we really want to tell you
is we're gonna do this.
Good night.
The demands on us
had become absurd
because I think a lot
of the business people
had smelled the money
everywhere that they
possibly could,
and they just wanted more
and more and more and more.
The union of the snake
is on the climb...
Our accountants were saying,
"You can't stay in England
because you're gonna pay
all this tax."
So we decamped
to the South of France,
and we end up in this chteau
in the middle of nowhere.
It was wonderful.
The scenery was fantastic.
And they had swimming pool
and tennis courts,
and we didn't get
a lot of work done.
I get up and...
have a bath and a wee-wee.
Have lunch.
- Play a bit of tennis.
- And then I wake up.
I mean, I was all
into the swimming pool
and the tennis courts.
John was bringing
his girls down.
Andy was getting a bit high.
John and Andy were funding
South American countries
with their, uh...
with their pocket money.
They were up very, very,
very late at night,
but not in the studio so much.
It was like, nobody was a saint
in that band.
I mean, why would you be?
There's so much being served up,
being offered to us.
You've got drugs,
you've got alcohol...
You know, there's
a whole load of things.
It's a...
It's a minefield, really.
And even in amongst
all of the fraternal
kind of fun and games,
there was loneliness as well.
So, you know,
I don't think anybody relished
sleeping alone
if it could be avoided.
The reflex,
fle-fle-fle-fle-flex
You've gone too far
this time
But I'm dancing...
The tour for that album
in '83-'84
was the height of
everything coming together.
All the insanity
from every single place
just came to meet us in America.
We couldn't hear what we were
playing most of the time
because the noise
of the audience
was just overwhelming.
And they were all teenage girls,
so it was all
this certain pitch.
It was like hitting...
very heavy weather
in an airplane.
And we were just looking
at each other, going,
"Whoa, whoa! Hang on! Hang on!"
I have photograph
upon photograph
of girls screaming and crying.
I wasn't prepared for the fact
that it was
the Beatles, effectively.
It was madness, carnage,
everywhere we went.
We were hemmed into the hotels.
We couldn't move at that point.
Every time you tried to leave
the hotel, there would be
200 teenage girls
trying to rip you apart.
Finding treasure
in the dark
And watching over
lucky clover
Isn't that bizarre...
It's absolutely incredible.
There's tons of people here.
I think there's about 2,000,
3,000, four million,
you never know.
Did you think they'd
have to bring in police horses
to keep the people quiet?
Have they got
police horses out there?
Oh, God, where are they?
The fans began to realize
that all they had to do
was phone the top hotels,
wait for my name, then they'd
know where the band was staying.
And I'd get the phone
call at 2:00 in the morning
asking how John was,
or the fire alarm would go off
and the whole hotel
then had to evacuate.
And that's how fans
got to meet the band.
Who's waiting by the park
The reflex
Is in charge of finding...
It was... wild.
I had somebody
in a wardrobe in my room.
I checked into my room,
and I opened the wardrobe
when I was unpacking,
and there was a girl in there.
It was like losing
your virginity, you know.
We were never the same again.
It was like... You know?
What a game,
he's hiding all the cards
The reflex is
in charge of finding...
I think by the end
of the U.S. tour,
we'd literally been
deep-fried daily
for months on end.
Of course, pettiness
and misunderstandings
had started to set in
within the band.
We really for the first time
had had enough of each other
We all kind of went...
John and Andy
wanted to be more rock,
and they did Power Station.
Me and Nick decided
we wanted to be more arty,
and we started Arcadia.
Roger didn't know
which bloody camp
to be in,
so he did a bit of both.
It was kind of like two boats
were sailing off
in different directions,
and I kinda had
one leg on one boat
and one leg on the other.
And I got kinda stretched
in between, actually,
which was a bit painful.
I know you've been here all day,
but if you've got
any energy left,
we'd like to see you dancing!
When Bob Geldof calls you
and says, you know,
"I'm doing this project.
It's gonna save millions
of lives in Africa,"
you can't say,
"No, we're on a break."
When we got together
in Philadelphia,
we were really in two camps.
The atmosphere
was completely toxic.
Nobody wanted to be
together at that point.
Which was quite sad, really,
because we'd been so close
a few years ago,
and suddenly it was like
we could hardly bear
to be in the same room
as each other.
Just got to the point
where I couldn't...
I couldn't deal with it anymore.
I got up every morning
feeling unhappy
with what I was doing.
I was sensible enough
at the age of 25
to think, you know, I'm gonna
walk away from this.
I remember when Roger
left the band just thinking,
"What a weird thing to do."
It just...
Who leaves a band when
they're that successful?
Because I sort of knew him.
I just thought,
he's obviously gone mad.
The new moon on Monday
And a fire dance
through the night
I stayed the cold day...
Notorious, notorious
No-No, notorious...
We were fighting for our lives,
you know?
Because the band
had had its moment.
I can't read about it...
We realized that
this was a real crisis.
It was survival.
I'll do fine without it...
Andy kind of, you know,
dicked us around
for about six months, actually.
We didn't know whether
he was coming or going.
Maybe he wasn't getting
his rocks off,
the music
wasn't speaking to him,
he was getting frustrated
with the style of the music
and the direction
the music was taking.
The three of us came together
in such an insanely...
Like, with our backs
to the wall...
But it was so galvanizing.
The desire to prove ourselves
was more powerful than
it had been at the beginning.
Whereas we were in two camps
at Live Aid,
six, eight months later,
the three of us
were in a new camp,
and it was our camp,
and it was the trio camp.
I heard you promise
but I don't believe it
That's why I did it again...
So as things have always
seemed to happen with us,
it was one door closed,
another door opened.
And standing in that doorway
was Sir Nile of Rodgers,
who came in and really oversaw
the Notorious project.
As soon as we met each other,
it was...
goddamn, like
love at first sight.
We had so much fun.
We were making music
the same way Chic makes music,
the same way
Luther Vandross makes music.
When you meet an artist,
and there's that kind
of connection right away,
you know that big things
are gonna happen.
Three, four...
He's fantastic to be around.
He has a great energy,
a joy, a joyfulness
about the way he plays
and the way he approaches
songwriting and recording.
That sounds like music
to me, man.
When we'd finished it,
and we were all pretty pleased,
we were just doing the mixes,
and we'd sent
an almost complete version
to the record label,
and they'd come back,
and they'd said,
"Uh, we've got a problem.
"We can't put this out.
"It doesn't sound
like Duran Duran.
It's-It's... Um...
It's far too urban."
But we just told them
we were changing direction,
and that was that.
I think they just saw the boat
going the other way
down the river
with all their money on it.
When your record's
not as successful
as the one before,
nobody wants to talk to you.
The press don't want
to talk to you,
the music press
aren't interested
because it's other things.
"You can't get
on the radio because
"you're old stuff, man.
You're old news.
We've got new stuff
we're playing here on Radio 1."
So you sit there
in your business manager' office
in New York City,
looking at the pictures of all
the other acts he's working on
and talking about,
"What can we do to save this?
What can we do
to make it work?"
The first time it happens,
it's really scary,
because you thought
it would carry on forever.
But it happens.
You get through it.
And the next time it happens,
it's not so bad.
And the next time it happens,
it's not so bad.
And then you just get
to a point where you think,
"You know what?
"Let's just relax
and do what we do.
"Do we believe
in the music we make?
"Yes, we do.
"Can we go in
and write new stuff?
"Have you still
got stuff inside you
"that you want to say?
Yes, I have. Yes, we can."
And you do it.
Notorious
No-No, Notorious
Hey, child...
At that time,
we were looking to move
into a new phase of the band
and what that band looked like.
We'd gotten away
from the early '80s,
and we were looking to
sort of redefine ourselves.
Who do you need
Who do you love
When you come undone?
We knew there was this guy,
Nick Egan,
and he did lots of cool stuff.
He's got that same interest
in art and music and fashion.
I've worked with the Clash,
I've worked with Bob Dylan,
I've worked with
Malcolm McLaren.
My first cover I did
was for the Ramones.
The greatest achievement
and the proudest achievement
of my working career is actually
working with Duran Duran,
because I find the fact
they stay relevant
and keep ahead of the game,
there's not many bands
that can do that anymore.
I think Nick was really
important at that moment
to help us realize
first the cover
and then
the "Ordinary World" video.
Came in from
a rainy Thursday
On the avenue
Thought I heard you
talking softly...
"Ordinary World,"
the song itself,
the thing that was the catapult
back into phase two,
if you like, when I heard it,
I just thought,
"This is a hit record."
And you don't often think that.
How did you guys feel as a band?
We'd had the biggest flop
of our careers
with the album before,
with Liberty.
We were kind of
a bit lost, really,
but I remember hearing
"Ordinary World" on the radio
and thinking,
"Thank you, God."
You know, that we'd just, like,
we'd got a foot into
another decade, you know?
'Cause we'd just had
a few years of, like,
"'80s band, '80s band.
They're done. They're done."
I think the success
of the single
took an enormous amount
of pressure off us.
So I think Simon's lyrics
were fantastic on that.
Most of Simon's lyrics
from the early albums
are kind of quite oblique.
You're not quite sure
what they are.
That's what makes them
so interesting.
But it kind of felt
at this point like,
maybe we just need to start
writing songs about emotions
and-and, uh, and see
how that works out.
But I won't cry
for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find...
"Ordinary World" is a song
about trying to get over
the death of a best friend.
And putting it in words
freed me, absolutely.
It really worked for me
emotionally and mentally.
Everybody who heard it
could apply it to something
in their life,
and it meant something to them,
but for a totally
different reason.
And it became such
an important song for us.
And I think it only had
that power to touch people
because it meant so much to me.
In my world
I will learn to survive...
I put my hand
Into the flame
Burning but
I feel no pain...
We get Andy Taylor back
as well tonight.
- Don't speak my name
Hold onto...
I was talking to somebody
this morning,
and they thought we got back
together to party...
or find another wife
or whatever, but...
Fuckin' rockin' show, dude.
Simon, the way
you came in the crowd,
I just wanted to
lick you all over.
People have been asking us
for 20 years by then,
"When are you ever gonna put the
original band back together?"
And we didn't know
that we would,
but nobody had ever
ruled it out.
I just thought,
if we ever
get a ball near a pocket,
this massive cheer's
gonna go up.
'Cause where I stop
that's where you begin...
Apparently, it was 18 years
- Wow.
- In between...
the last show that we were all
on stage together
and the first show
of the Astronaut project.
It was a gamble,
but we didn't have
a record company,
and we didn't have a manager.
I think we went in pretty much
with nothing to lose.
We've got this super hooky vocal
on the chorus.
-To D-minor.
Down.
- Does anybody know?
- I like that bit.
What's that chord?
It wasn't gonna be all about
what happened in 1983.
This was gonna be about
what we could do now.
So, play it... play it
from that first chord.
But I've gotta say, getting
the different personalities
to work again
was probably more challenging
than the music, I think.
That was the tough part.
Okay, clear the room, please.
Including you. Out.
You guys sang it differently.
- No, we didn't.
- Yeah, you did.
Absolutely, you did.
And we all noticed it.
You sang it... It was exac...
It was exactly the conversation
that we were having
in sound check.
You said that before,
but I can't figure out
what you mean.
You go to the last...
No, no. You're wrong.
You are wrong.
I don't think ever
was there a
more important "Lights!"
than that first show in Osaka
on the reunion tour.
Because that was the ultimate
"Shut the fuck up
and play your guitars."
And that was really what
we needed, because then,
all the politics just
"doof, schtum."
And then we go out and play,
and we remind each other,
"When we do this together,
this is what we get."
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands
into the big sky
You can touch the sunrise
Feel the new day
enter your life
Reach up for the sunrise
Put your hands
into the big sky...
After the Budokan shows,
we decided to do a tour
to support Astronaut,
and I think it was planned to be
about three to six months,
but in reality ended up
being around two years.
Tomorrow night
we'll do like tonight.
Tonight we'll do
like last night.
And tomorrow we'll do
like the night before.
We've got to shorten
"The Reflex."
Second show,
"Tiger Tiger's" out. Right?
What do we play
"Bedroom Toys" instead of?
We want to play that next
to "Notorious," don't we?
We could play "Night Boat,"
then "Chauffeur."
Her name is Rio
And she dances
in the sand
Hey, that was a great...
I'm feeling
job insecurity, Bill.
The last time
we were at the wheel,
we just drove it off the cliff.
And this time, you know,
wanting to make sure
that doesn't happen again.
I mean, we're all
quite driven now.
I think what the time did
was that it...
We all dug back in our
relationships with each other
and our feelings
for the band, you know.
I love you.
- That was worth the work.
- That was worth a year.
It was like, everything was set.
You know what?
Not a moment too fuckin' soon.
All the British gigs,
all the gigs we've done.
You know, to get it here:
just press the "on" button.
Boom!
- Aren't we smug?
- Yeah, right!
I hit a horrific bum note
on the guitar in "Astronaut."
Oh, someone had to
spoil it, didn't they?
Just when you thought
it was perfect.
Bop, bop, bop, bop
bop, bop, bop, bop
Calling Planet Earth
Bop, bop, bop, bop
bop, bop, bop, bop...
This is Planet...
And then we started
a pretty good two-year run
of working together.
It was difficult, though,
you know,
because everybody had
had a different experience
and was carrying
different stuff, baggage.
There was different things
in everybody's suitcases,
and honestly, I really
didn't want to know
what was going on,
but it would just come out.
It's a really big one
for the fans.
- It's a very exciting tour.
- Yes, it is.
Roger and I were
just saying that we thought...
You watched the reaction
plummet.
Are you joking?
The front three, four rows.
Watch all the way back.
They just went...
You're telling me you
can see people at the back?
- Of course I can.
- Bullshit.
This is really when
it all started going wrong
for Andy on that project.
I remember just seeing
how much he put into a show,
or rather, how much
it took out of him.
Andy was all or nothing.
You kind of knew
that he wouldn't be able
to keep it up.
If I don't come off,
and I haven't had a good show
or I haven't got enough,
I'm a bit burnt,
I get a bit dark
after 10 weeks on tour.
I'm a performer,
first and foremost,
and anything else for me
is a secondary incident in life.
I think he really missed
his family, as well.
Andy was, and still is,
a real family man.
When you're younger,
you don't have a home to call.
When you're our age,
home isn't just a house,
it's a...
It's a family,
it's your children.
And so you can get stretched
very thinly,
and those stresses can
also take their toll.
You can get very homesick,
in a nutshell.
We wanted to do everything.
We wanted to do more work
and more shows,
and we were happy
with the way that
the management was working,
and Andy wasn't.
It's like one of those
rat wheels, isn't it?
And you just gotta be
King Rat sometimes
and say, "Bollocks.
I'm jumping off."
And finally, the guitarist
with the pop group Duran Duran
has left the band
halfway through a world tour.
Andy Taylor, one of
the original members,
rejoined the lineup
five years ago,
after a 15-year absence.
The rest of the band
has described
the relationship with him
as "unworkable" and one
which couldn't be resolved.
Steppin' out
steppin' out
Steppin' out
and jumpin' up and
Steppin' out
steppin' out
Steppin' out
and jumpin' up and
Steppin' out
Steppin' out
Steppin' out
and jumpin' up...
We haven't been on Radio 1
for decades,
and we do another album
with Nile Rodgers,
with Mark Ronson,
Ben Hudson, and it goes top-10.
It's extraordinary.
Everybody everywhere
Feel it in the air
oh, yeah
It's time to take
the pressure off
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
it's up to you....
And it was just such
an uplifting experience.
When you see Nile playing his
guitar like that and grinning,
there's nothing quite
like it in the world.
It's up you, girl, it's time
to take the pressure off...
The four of us have
this extraordinary belief
in ourselves.
You know, we still believe we've
got important music to make.
You know, when everybody else
is going, "Pfft! They're done!"
You know?
And we... we have this sense
that there's a...
That staying together...
'Cause we've all worked
apart from each other.
We all tried that.
Eh. You know.
There's something that we have
when we're together
that's worth showing up for.
We accept, um,
who we are as people now,
who we've grown into,
including everybody's
faults and quirks.
I don't even know what's...
I don't know what's
in the future for us.
You know, I just know
it'll be interesting.
- Oh
- Bow to the paper gods
In a world
that is paper thin
The fools in town...
Getting to a 14th album is
a milestone. That's a moment.
It's not something
you even think about doing
when you start your career.
Think about anyone now
who's gonna make a 14th album.
On one hand.
Maybe not. One finger.
I actually think we've
proved the detractors wrong
in the last decade.
The fact that we're still here
40 years after we started,
that... that's the real proof.
Bow to the paper gods
In a world
that is paper thin
The fools in town
Are ruling now
Bleeding from paper cuts
From money for head shots
Fools leading
Who needs it?
- Yes!
- Yes!
- Charlie's first pot!
- Finally! Well done!