DURAN DURAN (New Wave/Pop-Rock)

(Thanks to Kaleid)

Origin: Birmingham, England
Genre(s): Rock,Pop rock, Alternative rock, New Romantic, Synthpop
Years active:1978-present

Site: http://www.duranduran.com/


Duran Duran are a British New Wave band notable for a long series of catchy, synthesizer-driven hit singles and vivid music videos. They were the most commercially successful of the New Romantic bands, and a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the United States. They are still often identified as an "Eighties band" despite continuous recording and chart success over their twenty-eight year history.

The band has sold well over 70 million records worldwide, and has had eighteen singles in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and thirty in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Is There Something I Should Know?", "The Reflex" and the James Bond theme "A View to a Kill" in the 1980s, "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" in the early-1990s, and "Sunrise" and "What Happens Tomorrow" in the 2000s.

Duran Duran was created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass), with the later addition of Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals); none of the Taylors are related. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991.

Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years. The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut in 2004.


Members:

Simon Le Bon
Nick Rhodes
John Taylor
Roger Taylor


Former members:

Andy Taylor
Sterling Campbell
Warren Cuccurullo
Stephen Duffy
Andy Wickett
Simon Colley
Alan Curtis
Jeff Thomas

Discography

Studio Albums:

* Duran Duran (15 June 1981) #3 UK, #10 U.S - 6 million albums sold worldwide
* Rio (10 May 1982) #2 UK, #6 U.S - 10 million
* Seven and the Ragged Tiger (21 November 1983) #1 UK, #8 U.S - 12 million
* Notorious (18 November 1986) #16 UK, #12 U.S - 5 million
* Big Thing (18 October 1988) #15 UK, #24 U.S - 3 million
* Liberty (20 August 1990) #8 UK, #46 U.S - 1.5 million
* Duran Duran AKA The Wedding Album (23 February 1993) #4 UK, #7 U.S - 6.5 million
* Thank You (27 March 1995, covers) #12 UK, #19 U.S - 1.5 million
* Medazzaland (14 October 1997) #58 U.S #19 CAN - 400.000
* Pop Trash (19 June 2000) #53 UK, #135 U.S - 300.000
* Astronaut (11 October 2004) #3 UK, #17 U.S - 2 million
* Red Carpet Massacre (19 November UK, 2007) (13 November US, 2007) #44 UK, #36 US

Compilations, box sets, live albums, and remix collections:

* Carnival (1982) - US#98; Remixes, not released in UK
* Arena (1984) - UK#4, US#6; Live album, 2xPlatinum US, 2xPlatinum UK Worldwide sales 10 million; singles: Wild Boys (worldwide) Save a Prayer (live) (only USA)
* Decade – Greatest Hits (1989) - UK#5, US#67; Singles compilation, Platinum US, Platinum UK Worldwide sales 5 million
* Greatest (1998) - UK#15, US#170; Singles compilation, re-issued and re-charted in 2004
* Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (1998) - Remixes
* Strange Behaviour (1999) - UK#75; Remixes
* Singles Box Set 1981-1985 (2003) - UK#183; Box set of singles, B-sides and remixes spanning 1981-1985
* Singles Box Set 1986-1995 (2004) - Box set of singles, B-sides and remixes spanning 1986-1995
* Greatest (2004) _ UK#4, US#146; Singles compilation, re-issue of 1998 collection,UK 2XPlatinum ,USA Platinum,Sales Worldwide 7 million
* Live From London (2006) - Live recording, reached #5 on UK DVD Chart
* The Essential Collection (2007) - Budget release