Duran Duran Tickets

Duran Duran is touring this spring behind their 12th studio album, "Red Carpet Massacre," released late last year.


Duran Duran is a British pop outfit that found massive success in the 1980s and 1990s, paving the way for boy bands such as Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Over the years, they honed their sound in a more mature fashion, bringing them success long after the gaggles of screaming girls grew up.

Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and Simon Le Bon are the mainstays of the group - the collective has never disbanded, though some additional members have come and gone over the years.

The group was one of the first bands to play with the notion of remixes, digital synthesizers and audio sampling. Their good looks and posh fashion sense brought out the ladies before they could prove that their music had bite. It was the third single from their 1981 self-titled debut off of the EMI label, "Girls on Film" that made it to the big time in the UK.

The bands second album, "Rio," really took off - it included the title track, "My Own Way," "Hungry Like the Wolf," and "Save a Prayer." Shortly after the release, British media dubbed the collective "The Fab Five." The group found U.S. success in dance remixes - the band embraced the up-and-coming outlet of music television.

By 1983, Duran Duran was a global force in the pop industry, paralleled only by Culture Club and Wham!. The bands sophomore effort included the hits "Union of the Snake," "New Moon on Monday" and "The Reflex." A live album followed, which also included the single "Wild Boys," which was popular.

The group took a turn for the worse in 1985 when John and Andy Taylor broke temporarily from the band to collaborate with rock acts. When the group got back together were no longer commercially successful, save "A View to a Kill" off of the James Bond film of the same name, and "Notorious" in 1986.

The band, however, made a come back after some time off. In 1993, Duran Duran released their second self-titled album, also known as "The Wedding Album." The sound was noticeably darker, following the lead of popular acts like Soul Asylum and Pearl Jam - hits from the comeback included "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone."

The band continued to release albums in the following years, but really found success with a "reunion" of the original lineup, including triumphant performances at the MTV Video Music Awards and a massive tour behind "Astronaut" in 2004.