All you need to know about Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English rock band formed in Birmingham by Stephen Duffy (bass and voice), Nick Rhodes (Keyboard) and John Taylor (guitar and bass) in 1978. Over the next few years the line up of Duran Duran changed with the addition of Roger Taylor as the drummer, Andy Taylor on guitar and lead vocals from Simon Le Bon.
The band is named after Dr. Durand Durand from the science fiction film Barbarella released in 1968 and they released their first album in 1981 called Duran Duran which featured the bands first single 'Planet Earth'.
The band has released 15 studio albums, 4 live albums and 46 singles. In the UK, Duran Duran had 2 no.1 singles with 'Is There Something I Should Know?' in 1983 and 'The Reflex' in 1984. They had many singles in the top 10 including 'Girls On Film' reaching no.5 in 1981, 'Hungry Like The Wolf' reaching no.5 in 1982 and 'Ordinary World' reaching no.6 in 1993.
Only one of the bands albums reached no.1 and was Seven and The Ragged Tiger released in 1983. The album contains hits like 'The Reflex' and 'New Moon On Monday'. The Album Rio reached no.2 in 1982 and Decade reached no.5 in 1989.
The bands most recent albums have both made the top 10, Paper Gods reached no.5 in 2015 and Future Past reached no.3 in 2021.
Duran Duran are well known for their music videos and the MTV cable Chanel was launched around the same time as Duran Duran. The band were one of the first to have a music video shot with professional movie camera rather than on videotape and in 1984 were one of the first bands to introduce video technology into their live stadium shows by providing video screens above the stage.
Duran Duran have won 2 Brit Awards for 'Wild Boys' in 1985 with Best British Video and in 2004 for outstanding contribution to music. They have also won 2 Grammy Awards, 2 Q Awards, 3 Ivor Novello Awards and 1 MTV Europe Music Award.
In 2022, the band were enrolled into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1993 were inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Duran Duran are currently on tour in the USA.