New Romantics of the 21st Century

By Mary-Ann Russon • UrbanWire

Remember the hit 80s band Duran Duran, which took the world by storm with their New Romantics brand of electronic pop rock, refreshing art-house music videos and wild, stylish good looks that stole the hearts of millions of girls across the globe?

Well, 20 years on Duran Duran are back - complete with their original line-up of Simon LeBon on vocals, John Taylor on bass, Nick Rhodes on keyboards, Andy Taylor on guitars and Roger Taylor on drums (all Taylors are not related) - and look set to rock their way to the top of the charts with their new album Astronaut.

Looking Back
Getting Back Together
The New Album
Wembley Live 2004 DVD
The Verdict

Looking Back

It's been a rocky road for Duran Duran since their drummer Roger Taylor, exhausted from the band's highflying schedule of plane-hopping for months on end, quit in 1985 at the height of their fame to get married and live a quiet life on a farm in England. He was followed soon after by guitarist Andy Taylor (who went solo), leaving only 3 members left.

''I couldn't understand why they'd wanted to go. To me, it was all going so well,'' said LeBon in a New York Times interview in October.

For Duran Duran had achieved much in the 4 years from the debut of their first single "Planet Earth" in 1981. They produced 4 successful records (2 of which went platinum as soon as they were released) and garnered numerous Number 1 singles and Top 10 hits in both the UK and US, becoming some of the world's leading teen pop icons of their era.

And although Duran Duran (consisting of just LeBon, Rhodes and John Taylor) continued to produce albums with a succession of different guitarists and drummers, making a comeback in the early 90s with the hugely successful transatlantic hits "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone", they never managed to attain the same hype they'd enjoyed in their golden years in the 80s.

Getting Back Together

The story goes that 3 and half years ago, after Duran Duran announced to the world that they were planning to get back together, they met up in the south of France and began recording. First, however, they had to resolve old conflicts and reforge bridges that had been broken years before.

"We worked through everything," said John Taylor in an MTV.com article. "And that wasn't all sunshine. It was hard work."

With the re-forging of bridges came the knowledge that all the members had changed, and Duran Duran had to learn to work with each other anew.

''When you spend as much time together as we've done over the last three years, you get to know everybody's dynamic,'' Rhodes was quoted saying in the New York Times. ''Who's tired and grumpy that day. Who's suffering from anxiety because they've been on the phone to home. You just have to try to be patient.''

''You don't realize it when you're in your early 20's,'' he added, ''but it happens that we really got it right the first time around. With this line-up, it's all or nothing.''

But it seems to have been worth it, as John says in behind-the-scenes footage from the DVD accompanying the new album.

"[When you think about] how many drummers we taught Roger's parts to over the years, and now we've got a guy, and he's it! What a relief!"

The New Album

With such a long history behind them, Duran Duran is always going to have to fight against being branded as a band merely cashing in on the 80s revival. Thankfully, 80s nostalgia is exactly what their new album Astronaut is not.

Duran Duran have always stood out with their catchy electronic pop rock tunes teamed with soulful lyrics that belied the depth of thought beneath their playboy façade, and in this era where pop groups are mostly manufactured, with teams of lyricists and songwriters to produce their songs, the contrast is clearer than ever.

Just like modern boy bands, Duran Duran has 5 members (the perfect pop formula), but unlike typical boy bands of today, each member in Duran Duran forms an integral part of the puzzle.

Each track in Astronaut is lovingly crafted, and the synthesizers, keyboards, guitar chords and LeBon's voice come together in a brilliant fusion of sound, that retains the refreshingly familiar electronic sound of Duran Duran, while exuding a modern space age-like quality which will have you in no doubt of which century you're in.

And it's not just the sounds that have been upgraded. There's a sense of maturity to the tracks, which makes them so different from the teen-targeted songs Duran Duran released back in the early 80s.

Indeed, Duran Duran has been on a journey since 1981, gradually making the transition from teen pop idols to serious electronic rock band, a journey that can be seen by looking at their singles over the years - from their humble beginnings in 1981 with the catchy teen anthem "Planet Earth", to "New Moon on Monday" in 1983 (which was about revolting against the Iron Curtain), to "Skin Trade" in 1986 (a protest against animal testing and the use of real animal fur) to "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" in 1993 (which spoke about loss, desperation and the will to survive).

With Astronaut, Duran Duran seems to have completed the transition at last. The new album consists of a mixture of uplifting, catchy, fun tunes like "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise", "Want You More!", "Nice", "Taste The Summer", with songs of mature substance, moving away from lurve to themes of determination and inner strength - "What Happens Tomorrow", "Finest Hour" - and ballads that convey a sense of moody, contemplative wistfulness (half the songs were written after 9/11, the other half before), particularly "Point Of No Return", which carries a strong political message that the world needs to work together to prevent tragedies from repeating themselves.

Wembley Live 2004 DVD

Epic Records has released 2 versions of Astronaut. 1 is just the new album, and the other, which costs $7 more, comes with a 48-minute long DVD, which trailers the upcoming Wembley Live 2004 DVD. At press time, no release date has been announced.
An absolute must-have for Duran Duran fans, the DVD features lots of entertaining behind-the-scenes footage of the band messing around back stage, discussing concert song line-ups, rehearsing at Wembley and even discussing Bjork's outfits with their outfitter Jeffrey.

The music video of their new single "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" and 5 live performances are also included - 2 of them new songs from Astronaut while the other 3 are familiar hits from their Greatest Hits collection.

As performers, Duran Duran are definitely still in peak condition. Their live performances are interesting, to say the least, as the band look like they're enjoying themselves as much as the audience is. Expect to see LeBon leaping up and down the stage, singing with John Taylor and Andy Taylor on bass and lead guitar, jamming their hearts out.

"Duran Duran is a band that is designed to make people feel good, simple as that. Everything else comes down to that," says LeBon at the end of the accompanying DVD, and don't we agree!

DVD Track-Listing:

- "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise"
- "Hungry Like The Wolf"
- "What Happens Tomorrow"
- "New Religion"
- "Wild Boys"
- "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" Music Video

The Verdict

Duran Duran has definitely succeeded in producing an album they can be proud of. The band's back and they're proving to the world that they're just as good as before, if not even better. Astronaut is the perfect album for grooving to in the disco, perfect if you need inspiration or encouragement, and just right if you're in a mellow mood and want to relax with the lights turned down.

"We didn't get back together to play 'Hungry Like the Wolf," says John Taylor in an Associated Press article. "We got back together to see what kind of music we could create together, and oh my God, this is the sound that we've been striving for!"

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Astronaut album retails at Sembawang Music, Gramophone and Music Junction at $17.95.

The Astronaut Limited Edition album (including DVD) retails at Sembawang Music, Gramophone and Music Junction at $24.95.