Is There Something You Should Know? Duran Duran Are Now 60 Somethings And Can Still Rock An Arena!
All Words and Photos – John Hayhurst
Ok I’ll admit it, Duran Duran are one of my many guilty pleasures, growing up in the late 70’s early 80’s they were everywhere, and whilst I was also seriously into Heavy Metal and Punk Rock of the day, there was always a place somewhere in my collection for a bit of New Romantic Pop. The crossover was solidified when music programme ‘The Tube’ showed a live concert one evening and I realised that those boys could actually play as well as lip synch on top of the pops. So I bizarrely find myself some 40 odd years later stood in the pit waiting to photograph the first 3 songs of this band.
However, first up was support acts LIA LIA and Jake Shears. LIA LIA starts to some backing tracks and what looks like a dead rabbit guitar player slumped against the marshall amps, it turned out to be her musical partner in crime tonight.
Lia Wang is dressed in a short tartan skirt, white blouse and black tie with a pilots outfit and long floppy ears. She turns into a Japanese Bjork, complete with her own world, eccentric mannerisms and shriek like tones, I’m not sure she is hitting the right notes, or in the right order, but it worked as a piece of art set to music.
‘Im a Moth’ ended her short set, but this was enough for me to want to see more another time.
Jake Shears I know all about, Scissor Sisters main frontman is everywhere on this stage, and thankful to be playing an arena again. He dusts off all the hits for his support set and shows why he should really be playing this place in his own right.
‘Laura’, ‘Take Your Mama’ and ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’ are belted out with full dancing from side to side of this massive stage.
Contrary to his biggest hit ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’, Shears just doesn’t stop and it is completely infectious pop, exactly what this audience came for.
I would never claim to be a full New Romantic although I did buy ‘The Reflex’ on 12” picture disc back in the day, but Duran Duran were certainly recognised as one of the most iconic bands of that era, and pre Blur/Oasis it was always Duran Duran/Spandau Ballet that were the rival bands people argued about.
The clear winners of that match were on stage tonight, showing impeccable form and style, and still promoting new music as they celebrate the latest album ‘Future Past’ by playing 3 tracks from it ‘Invisible’, ‘Give it all Up’ and ‘Anniversary’ slotted very carefully inbetween some of their biggest hits. Meanwhile Spandau Ballet are left with the scraps of the 80’s retro festival circuit and celebrity gogglebox.
At first glance they arrive spacelike at the top of the stairs with some dramatic light making them appear to be fresh off the time machine and then bounce out on to the stage looking very trim and fresh, Simon LeBon may have added a few pounds here and there, and only close up can you see the natural wear and tear of a 40 year career – lets face it we have all aged since 1981, and some of the attendees here weren’t even born then.
The key members Simon LeBon, John Taylor, Roger Taylor (not related) and Nick Rhodes are supplemented by two backing singers, a saxophonist, and guitarist Dom Brown who has been filling the Andy Taylor slot on and off for quite some years now. To say they have had limited opportunity to play recently, it sounds remarkably tight and professional and LeBon’s voice is definitely up to par.
They play a couple of big hits early in the set to get the crowd really hyped up – ‘Wild Boys’ and ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ had a few sound problems particularly with Le Bon’s earpiece but as all pros do, they carry on.
Throughout tonight the band produce an age defying display of big songs with huge smiles on their faces, knowingly confident that this crowd will sing all the words back – Simon even tries to get them to join in with another new slice of ‘Future Past’ but it is the more well known hits like ‘Save a Prayer’, ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Girls on Film’ that really lift the roof off as you would expect.
A special mention for ‘Ordinary World’ that takes on completely new meanings and LeBon does a nice intro to the tune which gives it some extra poignancy.
A mix of ‘Girls on Film’ and the Calvin Harris ‘Acceptable in the 80’s’ worked really well, although most people here were laughing at the “I’ve got love for you if you were BORN in the 80’s” refrain – some people here clearly changing it to 60’s or 70’s!!
Even during their slightly dodgy cover version of Grandmaster Flash’s ‘White Lines’ they get the audience to put their hands in the air, for the “Get Higher Baby” bit, it felt a little like panto season had started early – but we were seriously past caring at that point, it was a party after all.
The Duran Duran boys did enough tonight to cement their status as one of the best 80’s pop rock bands and they still have it live, and will probably do at least another 10 years before retirement.
Duran Duran Setlist:
Night Boat
The Wild Boys
Hungry Like the Wolf
Invisible
A View to a Kill
Notorious
Give it all Up
Lonely in Your Nightmare / Super Freak
Is There Something I Should Know?
Friends of Mine
Careless Memories
Ordinary World
Anniversary
Planet Earth
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)
The Reflex
Girls on Film / Acceptable in the 80’s
Encore:
Come Undone
Save a Prayer
Rio
