DURAN DURAN are out on the tar plains once again, kicking off a series of European dates from June 3rd. From Finland to Sardinia, this latest tour sees the band playing sixteen shows, including two nights at Rome’s Circus Maximus, the Starlite Festival in Marbella, Dublin’s Malahide Castle on June 30th and Cork’s Virgin Media Park on July 1st.
It’s the latest chapter in an extended period of touring as the band has been extremely concert active since the release of Future Past in 2021 (also finding the time, of course, to make the Danse Macabre record along the way).
John Taylor tells me that a strong commitment to playing live regularly is of paramount importance to Duran Duran.
“We’re a working band, and that is something that means a lot to us. We like to know when we’re getting our next meal, and we like to know when our next live show is. Some bands can go for ages without playing, but I just couldn’t do that …I need to know when I’m stepping on that stage next. That’s why we’re always trying to upgrade our show, and we’re constantly reflecting on what it is that makes us who we are and what the story is that we’re trying to tell.
This run of dates is quite unusual for us as it’s the deepest European tour we’ve done in years – I mean we’re playing some cities that we haven’t played in for twenty years or more…so it’s very exciting !”
With more than four decades’ worth of hits to choose from, John knows that putting the set list together is a very fine balancing act. Keeping die-hard Duran fans happy and satisfying those who might be new to the party is no easy task. While I’d personally be shouting for “Late Bar” or “Last Chance on the Stairway” (or if we’re talking singles, “All She Wants Is!”), someone in that audience might have popped along out of curiosity to see what all the fuss is about and perhaps be demanding a rousing “Rio” rendition. You might be quietly hoping for “Laughing Boy” while the person beside you is screaming for “Save A Prayer.”
“Someone might be coming to see Duran Duran for the very first time, and in many ways, those are the people we are laser targeting. Those are the people you like to convince, you know? I mean the guy who kind of had a toe in and maybe liked this song or that song, but never would have imagined calling themselves a Duran Duran fan.
I think at this stage in our careers, since we have the catalogue, it’s really about us performing those songs in a way that is convincing and inarguable. Every show is like an opportunity to make a particular presentation, which is something we enjoy – we love debating which songs to include and in what order…it’s like moving pictures around in a gallery “.
John Taylor’s bass playing has always been a crucial and exciting element within the Duran Duran sound. He’s a ‘scenic route’ bass player – always coming up with a more interesting and entertaining way of getting from A to B.
In many modern records, the bass seems restricted to sitting tightly beneath the chord and behaving itself … to the point of simply being a necessary foundation, adding bottom end to the mix. Taylor’s bass lines, though, particularly on the first two Duran Duran records, almost assume the prominence of a lead vocal.
“I like that phrase ‘scenic route’”, remarks John.
“I suppose it has a lot to do with (growing up in) the 1970s because that was the golden age of rock instrumentation where you could be a keyboard player in a band and be a star, you could be a drummer and be a star and by the beginning of the 80s you could be a bass player and be a star too! Never in the history of music had a bassist had that much say in what went on in the music, and they don’t have that much say any more! Nobody is taking the scenic route these days – with most contemporary music, it’s more like ‘play the notes simply please.’ It was all about the flavours of the different instruments at that time, and that’s what made music of that era so exceptional. I was always trying to do more than I could do in a way, and I think, particularly on the Rio album, everyone was playing everything that they could play, using every bit of expertise that they had. It worked harmoniously, which wasn’t easy. That album could actually have been called ‘Everything That We Know About Music’! “
That harmony of flavours will be in full effect on this European tour, and no doubt the band members will be having just as much fun as the fans. After all, that’s the best part of the job as John explains …
“We do a lot of peripheral things, but when you bring it all back to the stage, it’s like the Americans say.. ‘that’s when the rubber hits the road!’
“There’s no faking it on stage, and that’s what I love most about it all. When I put that bass on my posture, it just clicks into place, you know? It’s like a limb …it’s like when Spiderman puts on his costume.
We’re very passionate about what we do. We’ve never dialled it in …and we’re not about to start now.“
John Taylor of Duran Duran joins John Kearns for a candid new interview — watch it in full here.
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