Duran Duran to have low-key celebration after 'getting trashed' if they hit No1

Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor has confessed the band’s celebration plans now are completely different to during their heyday.

Roger spoke to the Daily Star about the band’s 40-year career, which included reaching No1 with their third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, in 1983, ahead of an epic chart battle this week – against the likes of Elton John – that could see the band reach the top of the album charts for the first time in 38 years.

Speaking of times gone by, he said: “What did we do when that got to No1? We probably went out and got completely trashed.

“They say if you can remember it, you weren’t there,” said Roger, as he recalled Duran Duran celebrating their chart topping album, which produced hits including The Reflex, Union of the Snake and New Moon on Monday, following their rapid rise to stardom after the release of the iconic Rio in 1982 and their self titled debut album in 1981.

Currently locked in a chart battle with Elton John, Lana Del Ray and Biffy Clyro, with only 4,500 record sales between Duran Duran and the No1 spot, if the band do reach the top of the charts, it’ll be their first No1 album since Seven and the Ragged Tiger – but Roger said they’ll probably have a much calmer celebration than they did back in 1983.

“We’ll probably have a Zoom call and get on to the next thing.

“Our secret is always to try and keep moving. We spend very little time in self congratulation. On to the next thing.”

Roger explained that Duran Duran are incredibly grateful to be in the race to No1, saying “We’re just happy to be here to be honest.

“You’ve got to be happy that people are still wanting to listen to your records, they still want to actually buy them.

“Although I’ve got to say Elton has a few years on us. I was just looking online and he released his first record in 1969, so he’s got a few years on us.

“That’s incredible isn’t it, that Elton is still doing it after 50 years? He’s amazing and I think if Elton gets to No1, it’s going to be a very worthy No1.”

Future Past is Duran Duran’s first album in six years, featuring collaborations with Giorgio Moroder and artists including Mike Garson on the beautiful track Falling, which Roger said is “a lovely way to close the album and almost an ode to our ultimate hero, David Bowie. I think it’s kind of become a tribute to him.”

Asking if he’d ever consider collaborating with the artists that Duran Duran are currently locked in the chart battle with, the answer is a resounding yes.

“Definitely. I love all the artists that we’re in competition with. Within a minute we’d do something with all them,” said Roger.

Roger Taylor started playing drums with Duran Duran when he was 19, but admits he never expected that 40 years later, the band would have the legacy that they do.

“I think at that age, I was only looking a week ahead,” says Roger. “I had no inkling this could be going on for the best part of half a century. It’s incredible. We’re just really happy to be in the race to be here.”

The band, consisting of Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor, rose to fame in 1981, along with guitarist Andy Taylor, becoming one of the world’s biggest bands and heart throbs to generations of fans.

Having started their career in their hometown of Birmingham, they were soon performing at venues including Madison Square Gardens and Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985.

Four decades later and the band are still continuing to sell out shows, most recently in their hometown of Birmingham, where they began their career at the Rum Runner Club, and in recent years, stadiums across the world for their tours including Diamond in the Mind in 2011.

Looking back on their career and the impact they had on so many generations of music fans, Roger said: “It’s incredible. I think when you become a musician or a songwriter, you kind of got this thing that you want to touch a lot of people’s lives.

“I think that’s why we all became performers, so to think that we’re still touching people’s live 40 years later, it’s unbelievable.”

The vision for their latest album also pays homage to Duran Duran’s earlier music, with nods to their Bowie and disco influences on tracks including Anniversary and Tonight United, providing instant floor fillers that sound just as incredible as songs from their earlier albums.

“It’s been a lot more about playing a little more back to the live Duran Duran, which was kind of Errol Alkin’s vision,” said Roger.

“Of course Giorgio Moroder, is in our musical DNA anyway, so as soon as Giorgio Moroder sits down in the studio and hits his keyboard, and I start playing along with John on his bass, and Nick starts playing his part, you’ve got – it sounds like Duran Duran, because he was such a big influence on us in the early eighties.”

The titular album track also showcases a retrospective side to the band as they both look back on their incredible career and move forward with their new record, with Roger saying: “There are some amazing, very introspective, deep lyrics on this record, and I think it was the fact that we started this record at the end of 2018.

“We thought we’d kind of finished the record after a few months, and then we had to go into lockdown like everybody else and I think it really gave time for Simon to really look into himself and become really introspective.”

Having already played shows in their hometown of Birmingham, in America and at the Isle of Wight Festival, Roger explains the reception to the songs has been just as phenomenal as the reaction to what they call their “classic” music, with the band now looking ahead to gigs including Hyde Park in 2022 following this week’s highly anticipated chart battle.

“Fingers crossed 2022, is going to be the big year,” he said, adding that the new songs in their set “sound really great, because they’ve already got that kind of live fan feel”.

He said: “I’ve got to say the shows were amazing. I think everybody is just ready for a gig again aren’t they?”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk