Rio brava

Since Duran Duran’s classic line-up reunited a few years ago, the group have enjoyed a remarkable career renaissance.

Although the band are heavily associated with ’80s synth-pop in many people’s minds, they have never actually broken up at any stage, and the renewal of interest in their work is a fitting reward for an act who have been consistently writing classic pop songs for close to three decades.
Set to be one of the highlights of the Live At The Marquee festival, Duran Duran can count contemporary artists as diverse as Smashing Pumpkins, The Strokes, Scissor Sisters and The Killers amongst their fans. Indeed, one track on Duran Duran’s new album (to which they are currently applying the finishing touches) sees the band collaborate with another of their long-term admirers, Justin Timberlake.
“Yeah, we co-wrote and recorded together,” explains Duran Duran’s lead singer, Simon Le Bon. “Then I went over to LA later on and did the vocals for the track with Justin. What happened was that Nick and I were at a charity bash, and we ran into a guy who was looking after The Black Eyed Peas at the time. He said that there were a lot of guys in hip-hop and urban dance music who would love to work with Duran Duran. So we took a look at them, and ended up with Timbaland, which was pretty good going.
“Obviously, Timbaland is very close to Justin, and when he mentioned the collaboration to him, Justin said, ‘I love Duran Duran, there’s no way you’re going to work with them without me being involved’. The song is called ‘Nightrunner’ and it’s a very deep, heavy dance track. It’s not fast though, it’s hip-hop speed. Our styles merged together really well and it was a very quick collaboration. It was great.”
Although they’re back playing to appreciative audiences and enjoying their best critical notices for many years, Duran Duran have certainly had a few low points throughout their career. There have been periods when they have been severely at odds with prevailing musical trends, most notably during the grunge and Britpop eras. Did the group ever feel like packing it in at any stage?
“There were plenty of moments when I felt that way,” acknowledges Le Bon. “And there were plenty of moments when Nick felt that way, but never a moment when both Nick and I felt that way simultaneously. If there had have been, I think we would have jacked it in.”
In the book U2 bought out last year, U2 By U2, Bono noted that he felt very out of place amongst the London pop glitterati whilst recording the original Band Aid single in 1984. The one person who made an effort to make him feel at home, he said, was Simon Le Bon.
“That’s nice,” says Simon. “I remember when he sang his line on that track, Trevor Horn said, ‘Oh my God, what a voice’. And I couldn’t speak, because he just sang so beautifully. I really liked U2, and they’re still one of my absolute favourite bands. I was just normal with Bono really, and I was very happy to chat with him. We had a couple of mutual acquaintances, so we were able to talk about them. He’s charming and a really good person to be around.”
Speaking of musical icons, a good deal of Duran Duran’s 1995 covers album Thank You was recorded in Prince’s Paisley Park studios in Minnesota. Did the group meet the man himself?
“Not then, but I have met Prince on numerous occasions,” says Simon. “He can be tricky. His manner of communicating can be a little bit at confusing at times; you’re as likely to have a deep and meaningful conversation with him as you are to get a lollipop waved at you. But to him, it’s probably the same thing. He’s not rude, he just doesn’t really conform to what people generally regard as normal social behaviour. He’s very individualistic and very different to most people. He likes being Prince and he likes doing things Prince’s way.”
One of the most imaginative uses of Duran Duran’s music in recent times was Richard Kelly’s appropriation of ‘Notorious’ for the Sparkle Motion sequence in Donnie Darko, the cult movie which is among the finest films of the noughties so far.
“I loved it,” enthuses Simon. “Have you seen Layer Cake? They used ‘Ordinary World’ in that, but during a very disturbing scene. Rather than me explaining it to people, it’s probably best if they check it out themselves. It’s a really good film. It’s got Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller in it, two great reasons to watch any movie.”
Duran have enjoyed particularly good fortune when it comes to their songs being used in movies; their title-song for the Bond film A View To A Kill is one of the best tracks ever written for the franchise.
“Yeah, it still sounds really good,” says Simon. “It had a lot to do with John bumping into (Bond producer) Cubby Broccoli at a party, and bending his ear about how Duran Duran ought to do the next Bond theme. But those were the days when Johnny used to drink.”
I conclude by mentioning the promotional work that Simon’s wife, Yasmin, does for Newbridge Silverware. Funnily enough, this hack actually hails from the Co. Kildare town.
“Oh right!” chuckles Simon. “Yasmin was over a couple of weeks ago, wasn’t she? She was doing some stuff at Punchestown Racecourse. She had a great time, she absolutely loves coming over.”
And no doubt Simon and the boys will have an equally enjoyable time when they hit Cork on the 29.
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