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Die hard Duran Duran fans know that Duran Duran
never ended nor even took an extended break for that matter.
The group that had a slew of hits in the early 80's which
included "Rio," "Hungry Like The Wolf,"
"Girls on Film," and "Wild Boys." The
group changed lineups in late 1985 when group members Roger
and Andy Taylor left the group to pursue other interests.
The group experimented with several lineup's in the years
that followed. Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor
worked as a trio for the late 80's releases "Notorious,"
and "Big Thing." Other line-ups followed
in the 90's and by early 2000 Duran Duran only consisted of
Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and former Missing Persons
guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, with no Taylor's in the
group any more.
In 2000, the group released Pop Trash. Critics and
some fans (Pop Trash has a strong fan base of it's own) might
agree that by 2000 the group was losing some of it's magic.
The following year in March of 2001 it was announced that
the original five members of Duran Duran planned to
reunite to tour and record a new album. |
With news that the original five members of Duran Duran were
all getting back together it was a dream come true for Duran
Duran fans. Fans would have to wait two more years before
the newly reformed Duran Duran would play any live dates and
another year for an album of all new material.
While waiting for the new album fans had a ton of new merchandise
to feast on. EMI released Duran
Duran Greatest-The Videos in late 2003. Duran
Duran-The Singles 1981-1985 was released in 2003. In early
2004 the concert documentary Sing
Blue Silver and the mini-movie Duran
Duran - Arena: The Movie/Making of Arena were
released. After the release of the new album a second box
set would follow. In late 2004, Singles
86-95 was released.
In 2004, with a major label deal with Sony, Duran Duran released
their 12th U.S. studio album, (not counting a live album,
two best of's sets and several remix albums and reissues).
Astronaut was release in October of 2004 with much fan
fare and debuted at #17 on the U.S. Top 200 Billboard Chart.
. The first single "(Reach Up) for the Sunrise"
was a hit with fans old and new and soon after the release
of the album Duran Duran launched a world tour.
The U.S. leg of the Astronaut Tour wrapped up on Wednesday,
August 3rd in Portsmouth, Virginia. The concert was scheduled
to begin at 8 P.M. It was a steamy night. The forecast stated
a low of 73 degrees but it felt like it must have been in
the low 80's outside.
The Merchandise
Prior to the show I popped my head into the forums at Duranduran.com
for the first time in at least 2 years. I feel so ashamed
for dropping in only when I needed something. The wonderful
forum members well prepared me for the selection and the prices
of items available at the show. The premium item at the show
was the Duran Duran: Astronaut: The Tour program. This
is not your average tour book. The hardcover book was priced
at $45. The book is sealed. When you open the book there is
a pop up solar system on one page followed by a page with
pop up Duran Duran members. It's quite the collectors item.
Inside are mini flip books, a Duran comic book, and a black
full soft cover tour book. The soft cover book includes musings
from band members, photocopies of handwritten lyrics, beautiful
pictures and much more. The tee shirts ranged in price
from $35-$45. There was also a track shirt or jacket which
was priced at $100. There were souvenirs in all price ranges.
A set of 5 buttons cost $8. These were not your 80's styles
buttons, they were nice pins shaped as members of the band.
A set of refrigerator magnets ran $16. Their were two styles
of mouse pads available for $10. One mouse pad had
the Astronaut CD cover art and the other one had a picture
of the five band members. A solid brass Duran Duran keychain
ran $12. Most of the officially licensed tour merchandise
can be purchased from Crew
Issue.
The Opening Act--Dragonette
www.dragonette.ca
A crowd waiting to see Duran Duran wants to see Duran Duran
so they aren't going to be immediately receptive to an opening
act that most haven't heard of. The pavilion was about half
full when the opening act, Dragonette took the stage. Dragonette
is a synth-pop band with a very commanding female lead singer
named Martina. They opened the show with their song "Shock
Box." They have a great sound and songs with great hooks
and simple melodies. They really reminded me of Missing
Persons, another all male group fronted by a female who
could shock and surprise the crowd--and Martina did that with
a see through skirt with her brief underwear in clear view
and several oft comments including the phrase, "This
is the song about when I fucked your boyfriend," which
she said before the group led into their song "Competition."
The group got a few more "Jesus Doesn't Love Me Anymore."
Some of the Southeast Virginia crowd seemed (at least in the
area in which I was seated) seemed to tune out at that point.
Dragonette seemed to perform all 6 songs from their current
EP. They wrapped up their set somewhere in the 8:30-8:45 and
the crowd was very ready for Duran Duran, even though by the
end of their set Dragonette had won over the majority of the
crowd. They have a real fresh high energy pop sound. They
also slightly reminded me of the 90's group Aqua.
Check out our Dragonette interview below.
The Show--Duran
Duran Ntelos Pavilion,
Portsmouth, Virginia
Final show on the U.S. leg of the Astronaut Tour
By the time Duran Duran took the stage the Ntelo's
Pavilion appeared to be packed for the most part.
When they took the stage the entire crowd rose to their
feet and stayed there for the entire evening. They opened
with the song "Friends of Mine" from their debut
self-titled CD. The song seemed so fitting since this
was the first time in such a long time that all of the
original members were together and touring with a new
album to promote. This show was also the last show on
the Astronaut tour. Duran sounded very complete. The stage
design was simple but not plain. The group members performed
in front of a well lit display that displayed various
images and lights and there were video monitors on each
side of the stage. This was my first show at the Ntelos,
Pavilion so those monitors may have been part of their
regular stage. However I must mention, Duran Duran was
one of the first groups in the 80's to include video monitors
as part of their stage show. The crowd was revved up as
the group launched into a string of classic songs--"Hungry
Like The Wolf" & "Planet Earth." The
fourth song of the evening was "Astronaut" from
their new CD. It's clear that a lot of Duran fans had
purchased the new album because many of the people in
the pavilion were singing along to this song. As a matter
of fact, before the evening was over Duran Duran would
sing a total of 5 songs from the new CD and they didn't
seem to lose the crowd at all during the new songs.
Duran Duran guitar player Andy Taylor
Prior to the show, critics speculated if there would be
room for the 1986-2000 Duran Duran songs on the set list.
Yes, these songs did have a place on this tour and many
of the songs from that era are considered just as classic
as songs recorded by the original line up of five.The
first song from the post-Fab Five era which was performed
this particular evening was "Come Undone."
At this point Duran Duran back up singer Anna Ross
had been on stage for awhile but this was the first
opportunity for her to really show off her vocal abilities
along side of the band in a major way. Anna Ross is a
beautiful African-American woman. She wore her black hair
long and straight and on this evening she was wearing
a business suit blazer with her cleavage exposed and a
short black skirt. She was also wearing a very nice shiny
necklace. She did a very good job during the evening and
seemed to win a few fans in the crowd. When Simon introduced
her at the end of the evening she had a fair share of
claps as Simon described she "sings like an angel."
However, she didn't get as much love from the crowd as
sax man Andy Hamilton. "Come Undone" was followed
up by "Chains," a slow ballad from the new album.
There were also a few wet eyes in the house when Simon
dedicated "Ordinary World" to the military
members and the ones they left behind. Being that Portsmouth,
Virginia is close to Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air
Station Oceana among other military installations, there
is a very large military population in that area. "Ordinary
World" was followed up by "Save A Prayer."
Whereas at one time the majority of the crowd held up
lighters during this song, on this particular evening
the lit up cell phones seemed to out number the cigarette
lighters.
Simon Le Bon during the show (Photo courtesy of Heather
Hatfield)
Overall, the set list was great. There was something for
everyone. There was just enough balance to please fans
old and new. I personally was glad to hear the songs "Sound
of Thunder" and "Friends of Mine." Sure
the Ntelos crowd missed out on "Is There Something
I Should Know," and "Skin Trade" (which
I am not was performed), but the show was just awesome.
It was great. During the band introductions Simon pulled
a blonde woman out of the audience to introduce him. By
this point in the show Simon was wearing the popular dark
colored 1978 tee shirt (not the shirt in the picture above),
which quickly sold out after the show. The group wrapped
up the show in the 11:15-11:30 range. The band looked
great, they sounded great and at the close of the show
Simon said, "We'll be back."
The Set List
Friends of Mine
Hungry Like The Wolf
Planet Earth
Astronaut *
New Religion
Come Undone
Chains *
Reflex
Sound of Thunder
The Chauffeur
A View to a Kill
Taste The Summer *
Ordinary World
Save a Prayer
Sunrise*
Notorious
Nice*
Careless Memories
Wild Boys
Girls on Film
Rio
*Songs from the groups 2004 release Astronaut
After The Show
Just days after the show lead singer Simon LeBon was photographed
by press from all over the world as he prepared to set
sail in a boat race as a member of the crew of his former
boat Drum. John Taylor was photographed with his wife
Gela Taylor at a Juicy Couture event. A fan posted in
the Duran Duran forum message board that she had heard
that Andy Taylor was in Ibiza at a nightclub. Nick Rhodes
and Roger Taylor are probably somewhere enjoying their
time off. So just days after giving the crowd a wonderful
concert performance, the Wild Boys were off on their own
for awhile--until the next big show. They will be performing
a few Japan shows in August and a few dates here and there
before the year ends. The group plan to return to the
studio in September of 2005.
Discuss
this feature in our brand new Forum today!
Newsflash-
Live
From London DVD Review
What's Next
Coming Home Studios announced that they will be releasing
the DVD-Duran Duran Live From London. This is not a live
DVD of the Astronaut tour but it is a release of two late
2004 concerts the group played in London.
Duran Duran Live From London Release dates-
UK Release Date: November 7, 2005
European Release Date (excluding UK): October 31, 2005
North American Release Date: October 25, 2005
DVD details--From Coming Home Studios--
SINGLE DISC DVD PACKAGE 1 DVD
Disc Bonus features will include:
Documentary
Photo Gallery
4 page booklet
Audio-track voice-over on ten of the songs (two by each
member of the band)
DOUBLE DISC BOX SET 1 DVD
Disc Bonus Features will include: 10 song live CD (featuring
the hits) 'I Don't Want Your Love'
3D Bonus Song
Documentary
Photo Gallery
12 page booklet
Audio-track voice-over on ten of the songs (two by each
member of the band) Deluxe packaging
For additional details about the DVD track list and the
bonus CD visit the official
Coming Home press release.
**Reunion timline info confirmed with a real cool website---http://www.durandurantimeline.com/
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