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ITV has exclusive access to one of the UK’s most iconic pop bands, Duran Duran, as they celebrate a unique milestone - 30 years in the music industry.
Guaranteed to be the hottest ticket in town, Duran Duran: One Night Only captures this multi award-winning band as they perform at ITV’s London studios before a live audience.
The one-off special will provide an invaluable insight into one of the country’s favourite acts, who have dominated the charts since they first formed in the early 1980s and who have sold more than 80 million records. Taking centre stage in this intimate venue, the band will perform their biggest hits from across their career, as well as tracks from their new, critically acclaimed album, All You Need Is Now.
Hosted by Christine Bleakley, the show will celebrate one of Britain’s biggest music exports as they share a rare insight into their career. With exclusive, never-before-seen archive footage, and in-depth interviews with each of the band members, the programme will provide viewers with a unique perspective on the band and their music; from the early years, when their photographs graced teenagers’ bedroom walls around the world, and the hysteria and mayhem followed them day and night, to the present day.
Speaking about the show Duran Duran lead singer, Simon Le Bon said today: “We are very excited to be a part of the One Night Only series – as we really like the format of the programme. We always enjoy performing in front of a live audience and this show will be the first opportunity for us to play a number of songs from the new album. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks in our rehearsal room working on the arrangements for all the new material and we are looking forward to the show very much.”
John Kaye Cooper, Controller of Entertainment said: “It will be a real treat for ITV viewers to see one of Britain’s most iconic and successful bands of the 80’s celebrating their musical milestone.”
Having exploded onto the charts in 1981, Duran Duran, (now with original band members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor in the group) were quick to make history with the first-ever extended music video, that they made to accompany the 12” dance mix of ‘Girls On Film’. Their second album, ‘Rio’, kept the band at the top of the charts with hits such as ‘Hungry Like The Wolf,’ ‘Save A Prayer’ and ‘Rio’, whilst the band broke new ground with the spectacular videos they were creating on location around the world.
One of the few British acts to break America, their continued success has seen them win a host of prestigious accolades, including Grammys, MTV Awards, Ivor Novellos, a glittering array of multi-platinum records, and no less than five Lifetime Achievement Awards, from MTV, the Brits, the Ivor Novellos, Q Magazine and the Spanish Ondas.
With their latest release – their 13th studio album – the band members have teamed up with Grammy winning producer, Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Adele, Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen) and have created a record that is being hailed as a ‘return-to-roots homage to Duran Duran’s most celebrated musical panache’. A nine track version of the album was first released exclusively on iTunes on December 21st 2010, and immediately hit the #1 spot on download charts in 15 countries (including the UK). An expanded, full length, 14 track version of the new record will be released in both physical and digital formats on March 21st 2011.
The band start an 11 date UK arena tour in May, with shows around the world to follow.
Duran Duran: One Night Only is a definitive celebration of one of the UK’s biggest and best loved bands whose contribution to music continues to influence the charts.
Duran Duran: One Night Only is an ITVS Production for ITV1. It is executive produced by Phil Mount, ITV Studios.
INTERVIEWS WITH DURAN DURAN
JOHN TAYLOR
Talking about the early years in the band, bassist John Taylor admits there was some healthy competition between the five of them. He said: "We became quite competitive amongst ourselves particularly over looks and who was getting what in the way of attention. For example, who was going to get the cover of what magazine. I remember there was shock when for the first time Smash Hits magazine didn’t use the whole band on the cover, and instead they used Roger and Nick. But the truth is, it was brilliant that fans were into each of us individually. There were the Roger fans, there were the Andy fans. It did make us a bit competitive, unconsciously so, which perhaps, affected the work a little bit, but it just happened that way; I guess that’s where a lot of the Beatles parallels came in: we just appealed to different people in different ways... the quiet one, the romantic one, the quirky one. We all had our strengths let’s put it that way!"
With the band currently riding high with their brand new album and an up-and-coming tour in the works, John admits that the dynamics in the band have changed; he said, "We get along really well now. We’ve really figured each other out and ourselves. We’re more respectful of each other and know when to give each other space.” He continues, “We spend a lot of time together in transit, in the back of a van, dressing rooms, aeroplanes, not exciting places to be and you've really got to be cool because it’s draining. We appreciate just how much energy is required to do what we do. We have a fantastic relationship today, all of us do. Back in the day we were all so much more self-centred, it was all about self, self and I think that’s the thing that has changed: how can we make it easier for the others?"
Currently celebrating 30 years since Duran Duran released their first album, John admits, "People latch on to our enthusiasm. We’re not cynical after thirty years. We’ve been through cynical phases but right now we’re not at all and I think that’s pretty cool at this stage in the game."
SIMON LE BON
Singer Simon Le Bon reveals the strong bond that keeps the band together and how he fell in love with wife Yasmin after seeing her picture on a magazine cover. "The unusual thing about Duran Duran is that we really don’t have a leader. John and Nick started the group and for a while they did kind of lead it, but with what’s happened over the years, with the different line-ups, it’s very much on an equal footing now, which I think is a really good thing for a band. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here thirty years later. With bands that have one leader, the rest of the group start to feel resentful after a while, especially if it involves publishing and song-writing, so we share everything and it works well for us".
He continues, "We were doing a photo shoot for Wild Boys at Mike Owen’s studio and I was looking through his portfolio of covers and it was for Nineteen magazine. It was this girl (wife Yasmin) looking over her shoulder; smiling and I honestly thought I could wake up next to that face for the rest of my life."
ROGER TAYLOR
Drummer, Roger Taylor reveals how the band coped with their sudden rise to fame and some of the weird encounters he’s experienced when meeting fans. "Duran Duran was overnight, it was zero to hero in six months and as kids that was quite a lot to take on board actually. Sometimes it felt like we were on a runaway train, and couldn’t get off it. We lost control of our destiny, which was sometimes a bit scary to be honest with you"
He continues, "The strangest fan moment I had was – I bought a house in London then we went off on tour for a few months. I came back into my kitchen and there was a note on the table and it says ‘Hi Roger, I’m your biggest fan. I broke into your house and I took a few things but I’ve not touched anything else’ and to this day, I don’t know what she took from the house but that’s the strangest thing. She broke into my house and took things, and that’s how the mentality was of the kids back then."
Roger also admits that there was competition with some of the other bands also topping the charts in the 80’s. He said "It was very, very competitive with other UK bands. The UK has always been like that - very tribal with music - and it was a really bitchy scene actually. We were kind of set up against Spandau Ballet for example, rather like the Stones were against the Beatles, but we found that in the end we kind of won the race because we made it in the US, and that was like the final victory over all of our competitors!"
Having reached the impressive milestone of 30 years in the music industry Roger reveals that they are all having so much fun and are working on future plans for the band, "I think we’ve still got a way to go. We’re all very forward thinking. We never really dwell on the past - I think when we walk into a room people see history so it’s very important to keep looking forward, and that’s one of the things we are great at. We’re constantly looking to the future. Nobody wants to retire just yet. We love it."
NICK RHODES
Fellow band member Nick Rhodes talks about life in the one of the biggest UK bands, he said, "We had the advantage of youth on our side, so we were able to stay up a little later and do a little bit more either end with the schedule, but undoubtedly, it took its toll, particularly on a couple of members of the band, who swam out a little too far sometimes and it was very worrying. I’ve seen a lot of other people in other bands, serious causalities, fatalities along the way and it’s always very sad when that happens and you certainly don’t want that happening close to home"
Admitting there was competition amongst his band mates, Nick admitted, "Well there was definitely personal competition on different levels. When the fan mail would arrive, it’d be in piles and piles and boxes and boxes. John always got the most. You know, John was always the one who was going to be on the cover of the teen magazines and things. I think for a while everyone was probably a little miffed about it, but at the same time, he was such a huge asset and you got used to it pretty quickly"
Speaking about the band's success Nick said, "It was an unbelievable experience and I wouldn’t swap it for anything but it’s also bizarre because you couldn’t do things. We’d get trapped in hotels for a couple of days and we couldn’t go out. I do know what all the kitchens are like in all the hotels, as we’d leave that way, so you’d know whether to order room service or not. We got banned from a lot of hotels because the kids would stay outside the hotel all night and they’d sing until 4 or 5 in the morning which the other guests were understandably not very thrilled about - so it was odd because no one had really seen these kind of things for a long time, not really since The Beatles and The Stones and The Doors."
Last edited: Thursday, 10 March 2011
