I'm doing this journal entry with my real name because; it's a long and personal story.
Duran Duran 1987
By Tara Taylor
My love affair with the band known as Duran Duran started in 1983 when I was 8 years old. The first video I saw was "Hungry Like the Wolf". After that I guess you could say I was hooked. I begged my parents to buy me Duran Duran tapes, posters and magazines with their pictures on the cover. I was an obsessed fan by the age of nine. I would sing their songs, knew all their birthdays and told myself "One day I will meet them". By the way every one had a favorite member of Duran Duran. My childhood heartthrob was Nick Rhodes.
Duran Duran's music helped me escape from the world of the 1980's. It was a world that I should not have been aware of at such a young age. You know the Brian Mulroney, Ronald Regan, Iran Contra and the starving children of Ethiopia.
In 1986 my brother was diagnosed with Leukemia and that set my reality into a strange place. I was hyper-aware of the possibility of death, which made me grow up too fast. At that age music and choosing to escape out of my world into the world that these songs created gave me hope and salvation. That's what Duran Duran did for me.
My first Duran Duran concert was in 1987. The band had gone through the "split" of 1985. That was when Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor (with guests artists like Grace Jones, Sting, and Yusami Tuchia) formed a project called "Arcadia". At the same time John Taylor and Andy Taylor teamed up with Robert Palmer (who passed away recently due to heart failure) and Tony Thompson former drummer for Chic formed "Power Sataion".
**As a side note singer Michael des Barries replaced Robert Plamer when the band started touring.
In 1986 Duran Duran re-formed but with out two members (Roger Taylor who left due to personal reasons) and Andy Taylor (he was coaxed in to a solo project that fizzled and ended up touring with Belinda Carlisle former lead singer of the Go-Go's). So three out of the original five were left. Warren Cuccurullo signed up to take over Andy's position and they never really had a steady drummer after that. Famed producer Nile Rogers came on board and the "New Duran Duran" was born and the new album was called "Notorious". In the late 1980's Duran Duran lost it's luster with the (fickle) mass audience and the "die hard" fans (like me) stuck around. Back to 1987.
The city where I am from is called Winnipeg and let's just say the bands didn't come by to play. That was until David Bowie announced that his "Glass Spider Tour" decided to do one show in Winnipeg. The opening band on the bill was Duran Duran. So here I am 12 years old seeing this huge story in the Winnipeg Free Press which said Duran Duran is coming to town opening for David Bowie. I freaked out and shrieked like 16-year-old fan of The Beatles.
I asked my mom if I could go see the show. She said I could if I bought her ticket. So I saved up all of my babysitting money and I bought the two of us a ticket (I didn't know she was kidding). The price for each ticket was $29.50. I still have my ticket. So, in July of 1987 my mother and I saw Duran Duran for the first time. It was my very first first concert and I'll never forget it.
Stay tuned for Duran Duran 2005........
Duran Duran 1987
By Tara Taylor
My love affair with the band known as Duran Duran started in 1983 when I was 8 years old. The first video I saw was "Hungry Like the Wolf". After that I guess you could say I was hooked. I begged my parents to buy me Duran Duran tapes, posters and magazines with their pictures on the cover. I was an obsessed fan by the age of nine. I would sing their songs, knew all their birthdays and told myself "One day I will meet them". By the way every one had a favorite member of Duran Duran. My childhood heartthrob was Nick Rhodes.
Duran Duran's music helped me escape from the world of the 1980's. It was a world that I should not have been aware of at such a young age. You know the Brian Mulroney, Ronald Regan, Iran Contra and the starving children of Ethiopia.
In 1986 my brother was diagnosed with Leukemia and that set my reality into a strange place. I was hyper-aware of the possibility of death, which made me grow up too fast. At that age music and choosing to escape out of my world into the world that these songs created gave me hope and salvation. That's what Duran Duran did for me.
My first Duran Duran concert was in 1987. The band had gone through the "split" of 1985. That was when Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor (with guests artists like Grace Jones, Sting, and Yusami Tuchia) formed a project called "Arcadia". At the same time John Taylor and Andy Taylor teamed up with Robert Palmer (who passed away recently due to heart failure) and Tony Thompson former drummer for Chic formed "Power Sataion".
**As a side note singer Michael des Barries replaced Robert Plamer when the band started touring.
In 1986 Duran Duran re-formed but with out two members (Roger Taylor who left due to personal reasons) and Andy Taylor (he was coaxed in to a solo project that fizzled and ended up touring with Belinda Carlisle former lead singer of the Go-Go's). So three out of the original five were left. Warren Cuccurullo signed up to take over Andy's position and they never really had a steady drummer after that. Famed producer Nile Rogers came on board and the "New Duran Duran" was born and the new album was called "Notorious". In the late 1980's Duran Duran lost it's luster with the (fickle) mass audience and the "die hard" fans (like me) stuck around. Back to 1987.
The city where I am from is called Winnipeg and let's just say the bands didn't come by to play. That was until David Bowie announced that his "Glass Spider Tour" decided to do one show in Winnipeg. The opening band on the bill was Duran Duran. So here I am 12 years old seeing this huge story in the Winnipeg Free Press which said Duran Duran is coming to town opening for David Bowie. I freaked out and shrieked like 16-year-old fan of The Beatles.
I asked my mom if I could go see the show. She said I could if I bought her ticket. So I saved up all of my babysitting money and I bought the two of us a ticket (I didn't know she was kidding). The price for each ticket was $29.50. I still have my ticket. So, in July of 1987 my mother and I saw Duran Duran for the first time. It was my very first first concert and I'll never forget it.
Stay tuned for Duran Duran 2005........
I never saw her in concert during my lust though, it wasn't until lollapalooza came through town in the mid 90's that I saw her and she was pregnant and married by then.