Tag Archives: Power Station

side projects

Ultimate Box Set: Side/Solo Projects Part 1

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The Duran Duran Ultimate Box Set finally reaches the last category.  Since winter, fans/readers of this blog have voted on singles, album tracks, b-sides/demos, and live tracks.  Now, we begin voting on the last type of Duran song to be included in our box set.  This category really isn’t Duran but songs written and recorded as part of a side project or by a member on his own.  Before I get into how I will split up this last category, let’s look at which live songs were chosen.

After starting with the 50 most often songs played live, we narrowed down the choices to 35 then 21 before picking 7.  Here are the winners:

  1. New Religion
  2. Careless Memories
  3. The Chauffeur
  4. Rio
  5. Wild Boys
  6. White Lines
  7. Planet Earth

If you notice, many of those songs are played at the majority of shows, including Rio, Wild Boys, White Lines and Planet Earth.  Although, that last song was notably absent at some spring shows!  Anyway, I’m sure that there will be some fans who read this blog and participate in these fun polls who will want to determine which version/arrangement of these live tracks should be included.  I agree.    Yet, I will do those polls as part of our daily questions.  I’ll have to determine how many different live versions exist for each one, but that voting should be fun.

Meanwhile, we move on to the side/solo projects.  Clearly, this category is a large one with many bands (Power Station, Arcadia, Neurotic Outsiders, The Devils, TV Mania, Freebass, etc.) as well as solo songs by Simon, John, and Dom.  Here’s the deal.  I considered including Andy and Warren’s projects but opted not to for two reasons.  First, I needed to limit the category somehow and, second, I decided to stick to current members only.

Like other massive categories, I didn’t want to include all songs by all side/solo projects all at once.  Talk about overwhelming!  Therefore, I had to break them up, somehow.  My plan is to stick to similar projects while attempting to balance the number of songs.  Thus, this week we will start with Power Station and Neurotic Outsiders.  Both projects featured John Taylor and had more of a rock style.  In case, you aren’t familiar with these projects, I will help on that front.  I have put together YouTube playlists to help.

Here’s Power Station:

Here’s Neurotic Outsiders:

Now, hopefully, you are all ready to pick the 7 songs out of the list that should be considered for the side/solo project songs on the Duran Duran Ultimate Box Set!  Let’s vote:

-A

Duran Duran, history, Roger Taylor

Duran Duran without a drummer?! Roger Taylor leaves the band in 1986.

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Nearly every Duran Duran fan I know has a favorite. It is one of the first questions we asked one another when we met, as though it’s some sort of way to identify one another. “Oh, that’s Suzie—she’s a Simon-girl.”

Well, my favorite original band member is Roger. My friend Lori believes it’s like imprinting, once you pick a favorite – that is it, he’s your favorite for life and it isn’t as though you really have a choice. It just happens. I can’t really say for certain that is the case, but I can tell you that my “favorite” came about in exactly that way. I saw him in a picture or on a video, and that was that. I really liked that within my group of friends, I was the only Roger-girl, and I didn’t have to “share” him, even if that meant I was only having to share pinups or posters out of the magazines we’d look through during breaks and lunch at school!

It was a happy existence, right up to when the Sing Blue Silver tour finished and I stopped really hearing much about Duran Duran for a while. I stopped seeing as many articles about them in the teen magazines, and instead heard little blurbs about how there was Arcadia, and Power Station…and then I saw Live Aid, and then nothing. By then, rumors were really circulating that Duran Duran was done or that some of the members were quitting. I didn’t really know what to believe, but I knew I didn’t like what I was hearing.

The one thing most Duran Duran fans will tell you is that throughout our history with this band – fans find out the news first, and then the band will finally come out with a statement. It does seem to be a pattern, even if I have more understanding now of why it all happens that way.  I think most fans knew something wasn’t right with Duran Duran way before they ever announced Roger wasn’t coming back, but hearing the words – reading the words, made it real.

I can remember hearing about Roger leaving the band on the radio. I couldn’t tell you what station I was listening to, or even who said the words, but my heart sank that day in 1986. I don’t think it was really a surprise to me when I heard the news, it just felt real. I knew things wouldn’t be the same after that. I still followed Duran Duran for decades (obviously!), but from that day up until 2001, there was always a little hope that he’d return. I remember hearing rumors of a breakdown, and wondering what really happened.  I never collapsed into a fit of tears or anything quite that dramatic, but the magic of Duran Duran just didn’t feel the same after that.  Silly me – every time I’d see them in concert, I’d hope Roger would make a return. Hope springs eternal, right?

For me, the worst part was not Roger’s absence, but the questions of why he left—which have all been answered. Sometimes, I don’t think the band necessarily understands THAT piece of it – that for fans, it isn’t the fact of whether or not someone left, it’s the why.

I wouldn’t say (necessarily) that it’s because we want to intrude on their personal lives—although I can understand why some would assume that we’re just nosey, but the reasons are much more complicated.  In order to understand, I think you have to recognize that to a fan like me—I’ve “known” the band for many years now. (Seriously, I have known and loved Duran Duran longer than any other person in my life, other than my parents and sister. Think about it.) For example, Duran Duran have been in my life for so long now that I assume I know them. How can we not be family?? As family, we all feel like we have the right to know what’s going on….except to the BAND….they don’t know us at all. I mean, there’s only a handful of fans that they generally know. This goes back to general math: five of them, thousands of us, you get the idea. Even so, our relationship (as fans) with them, is really intense. It’s personal. We feel like they’ve saved us, or we’ve cried over life with them in the most intimate of moments. That isn’t crazy behavior, it’s just being a fan.  Many of us have been fans since we were very young. On some basic level, It is unconscionable to us that the band (or their representatives) wouldn’t explain full reasonings to us when things happen.

Sure, as an adult, I get it. I don’t NEED to know why Nick left the tour last year, for example. It’s none of my business. I understand privacy and I respect his. But back when Roger left the band, I would have given anything to have been told why – and not just a pat answer some PR genius wordsmiths together – but a real reason. Yeah, I wasn’t even quite 16 at the time. I still lived in fantasy land and loved it.

I quietly shut the book on fairy tales until some point in 2001, when I  read something about a reunion and nearly fell off of my chair. I can remember saying as much to Roger a few years later at a signing for the Astronaut album, as I told him he had always been my favorite and thanked him for coming back to the band. Thankfully, he didn’t make me feel like a complete imbecile that day, and instead said it was sweet of me to say. I swooned all the way home.

-R

history, Power Station

Still Screaming “Like a Girl”, Thirty-two Years Later

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Without knowing it at the time yesterday, my blog was timely!  In 2010, So Red the Rose was remastered and released, and on today’s date in 1985, Some Like it Hot peaked at #14 in the UK.  I wrote about both Arcadia and Power Station, describing how for me – I like both.

Since Arcadia never toured, I didn’t have the opportunity to ever see them live. On the other hand, Power Station was my very first concert. I was fourteen and went with my cousins, who were much older.  We sat in loge seats on what would now be called “John’s side” at Irvine Meadows. (My first and last shows at Irvine Meadows —which has been torn down since Duran appeared just this past August—had John Taylor on stage, which I realize no one else cares about, but I think it’s cute – particularly since I didn’t even think about it at the time!) I sat in my chair (yes, sat. My cousins were too cool to stand I guess?) and wondered what it would be like in the front.

I wondered about the front for a long, long time…apparently!

Anyway, I’d love to tell tales about how fantastic the show was or how I was so bowled over. I don’t remember much. I do remember the band coming on stage and being annoyed that Robert Palmer wasn’t with them.  I also remember screaming at John Taylor until my oldest male cousin told us to stop “screaming like girls”…whatever that meant. We were girls. We screamed. And??

I also remember walking the ridiculously long way back to our car that night and seeing limos pull out away from the venue with girls chasing them.  I don’t even know if that was really the band in there. Back in that day, I think they were still using decoy limos at times. I can remember wondering about that as we walked. Again, that same older male cousin telling me that “…only groupies follow the band, Rhonda.”  I didn’t even know what that meant at the time, only that being called a ‘groupie’ must be a bad thing, and to my cousin, most girls were groupies.

Live and learn, I guess.

Regardless of my poor memory, 1985 does not seem so long ago…until I start really thinking about it, and then I realize I don’t remember a lot from that time. Only then do I recognize it was thirty-two years ago, and that seems painful.

Am I really that old?

Nope!!!  I just came back from seeing Duran Duran last week and screamed “like a girl” for my favorite.  Not only am I young, I’m pretty damn proud to say I’m still screaming, whether for Power Station or Duran Duran.

-R

 

 

Arcadia, history, Power Station, side projects

So Red The Rose: Arcadia or Power Station?

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I don’t think I’ve spent much time writing about Arcadia or Power Station. I suppose to begin with, this site is dedicated to being a Duran Duran fan, so there is that. On the other hand though, Arcadia, Power Station, et al, have all been stops along my way. On this date in 2010, So Red the Rose was remastered and released. So, it seems appropriate to write a little about Arcadia today.

On the purely frivolous side, I loved Simon’s look during this period. Nick’s hair, longer than mine has probably ever been, was beautiful too.  It was as though they took whatever they’d done in Duran Duran and turned it up a notch with just a tinge more darkness. I loved it.  Their style was part of their branding, and I loved the whole package. The videos? I still watch them whenever I get a chance.

For me, Power Station was all about the music. It’s not that I wasn’t a John-fan or an Andy-fan, but I don’t know that I would say style was as much the focus as the music.  Many people describe Arcadia as an art project. Well, Power Station was a rock band. I embraced that.

This is the point where the discussion gets trickier (for me). Arcadia checked all the same boxes for me as Duran Duran. I loved the feel of the music, it was unique and different and nothing like anything else I heard on the radio. It was recognizable and comfortable to me because of Simon’s voice, but I cannot lie – I dearly missed John and Andy.

On the same token, I enjoyed Power Station. In the same way that I dearly loved AC/DC…Led Zeppelin….and just about any hard rock band of that era, hearing Andy and John lay it all out on the line in a way that Duran’s music did not allow was fantastic. But I missed the keyboards.

It was as though Power Station and Arcadia were the results of a very involved surgery to separate conjoined twins. Each could survive without the other, but should they? They weren’t quite the same on their own. Both bands were great, don’t get me wrong. I loved them both for their individuality, but if I could have smooshed them together to create one band, I think it might have been perfect.

Oh wait.

I see the debate anytime the subject of one or another comes up.  It always starts out by asking, “Which was your favorite?” For me, it depended on my mood and it still does. Yes, Roger was my favorite, and so you’d think I would have given the edge to Arcadia. Some days, I did. On other days though, I longed for that seemingly reckless guitar and deep bass groove. I never really had a favorite between the two of them. Sure, I loved the video for Election Day (who doesn’t?!?), but I also really liked Some Like it Hot. That guitar solo? Yes, please!  Invariably the discussion dissolves into who “left” the band and why, as though those facts alone should determine allegiance. It is just music.

In a nutshell, the Arcadia/Power Station debate is a very good metaphor for my own musical tastes, even today. On one hand, there is nothing like a great Duran Duran concert.  On the other, I really just want to stand in front of Dom while he’s playing his own music. I love Duran Duran. I also like Metallica. It’s not necessarily this OR that, but both…and why not?

So let’s watch some videos!

 

 

Enjoy!

-R

 

 

 

Duran Duran, Uncategorized

Survey Analysis

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Yesterday, I posted the results to some surveys I created regarding Duran fans and their collections of their albums as well as side/solo projects.  I promised to do a little analysis about what I thought about the results.  (You might realize that I like to do this sort of thing.  I tend to analyze a lot.  It is the social scientist in me, I guess.  Plus, I like to try to figure out the Duran fan community the best I can!)  If you want to read the full results, you can read the post here.

Duran Albums Owned:

In looking at the results, I figured that most people reading this would own Rio.  Heck, it is probably the most owned Duran Duran album out there as I am willing to bet that there are a lot of non-Duranies who own it.  Quickly following Rio was Seven and the Ragged Tiger, The Wedding Album, Self-Titled, Arena, and Paper Gods.  Again, both Seven and the Wedding Album included significant hits for the band, which means it is logical for those to be owned by many.  Paper Gods might be the only odd album in there except that it was the most recent one.  Rounding out the top of the albums owned list was Astronaut, All You Need Is Now, Notorious and Red Carpet Massacre.

After that, the number of fans who own Greatest, Big Thing and Decade dropped.  An even greater drop happened with the albums of Thank You, Liberty, Medazzaland and Pop Trash.  In fact, the least owned studio album was Pop Trash.  That does not surprise me in the least.  Actually, I am not surprised by the last 4 studio albums of Thank You, Liberty, Medazzaland and Pop Trash.  Why is that, though?  Are those albums hard to find or do fans not want to spend money to buy them?  What I found interesting, though, is that there are not many fans who own Live from London and A Diamond in the Mind.  This leads to another question.  Is it these fans don’t own the DVDs or that they bought the DVDs without the CD?  I’ll ask those questions in later surveys?

Duran Albums Heard Completely:

I have to admit that the results of this survey surprised me a bit.  While it wasn’t the order that make me think, I was just surprised that so many fans haven’t heard entire albums.  For example, there were a number of fans who participated who haven’t heard the whole Big Thing album or all of the Self-Titled debut.  While I can understand Big Thing, but the 1st album?  All of songs off of these albums are available on YouTube so cost isn’t the reason.  It isn’t that I’m judging.  I’m just trying to understand.  If you haven’t heard all of the Duran albums completely, can you please share why?  I would like to know.

Side/Solo Projects Owned Completely:

Again, I could have predicted the results to this one.  I knew more fans owned Arcadia and not many would own Roger’s Freebass.  The only one that sort of surprised me was that there were a lot less fans who owned Power Station in comparison to Arcadia.  Is that because of the second album of Power Station?  I could ask more questions to find out.  Again, though, I would like to know why fans own what they do, especially after seeing the results of the side/solo projects heard.

Side/Solo Projects Heard:

The results of the side/solo projects heard completely almost matches the side/solo projects owned.  Most fans have heard Arcadia completely.  Few fans have heard Freebass completely.  Yet, the list changes when you look at side/solo projects that people have heard some of.  In that case, more fans have heard some of Simon’s followed by Andy and John.  In that case, I can conclude that many Duranies have heard some of the individual songs by Simon, John, Andy, etc.  Would those fans want to hear more of the solo projects then?  Lastly, a lot of fans haven’t heard Freebass at all.  The same is true with Dom’s stuff and many of the side projects created in the 1990s and beyond.  Do people want to hear those projects?

Those are my thoughts about these surveys.  Every time I use surveys like this I learn something more about our fan community.  What did you think of the results?

-A

albums, side projects, solo careers

The Survey Says…

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Last weekend, I did a little blog in which case I questioned the depth of fans’ Duran Duran collections, which you can read here.  In that blog, I asked fans to participate in 4 surveys, including the Duran albums they own, albums they heard completely, side/solo projects they own and side/solo projects they have heard completely.  As people participate, one factor became obvious.  I should have probably listed the extent of the side and solo projects.  For example, Power Station had two albums during their existence.  Thus, the results might not be as accurate as they could be. That said, this was all in fun so not a big deal.

Duran Duran Albums Owned:

For this survey, the question was asked:  Which Duran Duran albums do you own?  The results surprised but also did not surprise me.  The most commonly owned album?  Rio.  I would expect everyone who identifies as a Duranie to own that one.  Here are the results by most owned to least owned:

Rio
Seven and the Ragged Tiger
The Wedding Album
Self-titled/Arena/Paper Gods
Astronaut/All You Need Is Now
Notorious/Red Carpet Massacre
Greatest
Big Thing/Decade
Thank You
Liberty
Medazzaland
Pop Trash
Live from London
A Diamond in the Mind

I will describe my reaction to this list tomorrow, including when/where the big drops in ownership were.

Duran Duran Albums Heard Completely:

Ownership is different than having heard albums.  For example, some fans might have heard various albums but never bought or no longer own certain albums for whatever reason.  Unlike albums owned, there are not huge gaps between albums heard and albums heard a lot less.  Again, here is the list of which albums people have from the most to the least:

Rio/Seven and the Ragged Tiger
Astronaut/Paper Gods
Notorious/The Wedding Album/All You Need Is Now
Self-titled/Red Carpet Massacre
Big Thing
Medazzaland
Liberty/Thank You/Pop Trash

Like the first survey, the results surprised me and did not surprise me.  More reactions from me to follow on tomorrow’s blog.

Side/Solo Project Owned Completely:

Like the previous two surveys, the results both matched and did not match my expectations.  When I made the list, I left out Warren’s solo work simply because I forget about him (and I’m not really a fan).  Perhaps, if he had been included, the results might have been different.  Here are the most owned to the least owned by fans:

Arcadia
Power Station
John Taylor
Neurotic Outsiders
Devils/Simon Le Bon
Andy Taylor
TV Mania
Dom Brown
Freebass

Side/Solo Project Heard:

For this question, I asked fans which side/solo projects they have heard completely, have heard some of, and have heard none of.  Let’s start with the ones fans have heard completely from most to least heard:

Arcadia
Power Station
The Devils
Neurotic Outsiders
John Taylor
Simon Le Bon
TV Mania
Andy Taylor
Dom Brown
Freebass

Have heard some of from most to least:

Simon 
Andy
John
Power Station
TV Mania
Dom Brown
Neurotic Outsiders
The Devils
Arcadia
Freebass

Have heard none of from most to least:
Freebase
Dom Brown
Neurotic Outsiders/The Devils/TV Mania
Andy Taylor
Simon Le Bon
John Taylor
Power Station/Arcadia

All in all, I found the results fascinating.  I will dive into the results and give my reaction in tomorrow’s blog.  Before I do, what do you think of the results?

-A

albums, Duran Duran, side projects, solo careers

You Have to Make a Choice

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Last week, I blogged about diffuser.fm’s ranking of Duran Duran albums, which you can read here.  While I wrote the blog, I began to wonder if all Duranies who read this blog own all of the band’s albums.  The hypothesis that I created in that blog is that there are some Duranies who do not actually own all of the band’s albums.  For example, I suspect that there are some who don’t own Medazzaland and Pop Trash.  Instead of just guessing that, I figured that I would create a survey to find out if my guess is accurate, which is below.  In the survey below, please click on all the albums you OWN.

Are there fans who don’t own the albums but have heard them?  Let’s find that out!

Beyond the band’s albums, I also wonder how many of the band’s side and solo projects fans have, too.  Maybe they have heard more than they own?  I want to know that, too, so I created more surveys to find out!

After I give everyone a chance to participate, I will do another blog to share what I learned or what I think I learned.  Of course, if you have predictions (and I bet you do!), please share them!  What will we find out with these surveys?

-A

P.S. If I have forgotten a side/solo project, just let me know.  I’ll add it with a separate survey.

birthdays, John Taylor, videos

Happy Birthday John!

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June is a very busy birthday month!  Today I get to wish The Bass God (that’s John Taylor, in case you lost track) a very happy birthday!!

I have only met John once, during an album signing for Astronaut. (I own the disjointed voice he may or may not have heard from somewhere in the crowd say, “It’s a beautiful album, John!)  My partner-in-crime has been in vicinity to him a few more times than I  Once even close enough for him to sign our In the Pleasure Groove books (mine has a lovely doodle of an American flag in it, too. :D).   She even has a picture with him, which still thrills me!  However, today is my day to blog, so there’s not really any exciting stories to tell.  Maybe next year! 😉

So, we’ll celebrate with some special John Taylor videos instead.

Let’s see…

Gotta go with the JT cameo to begin with, because his grin cracks me up.

In fair play, I must also choose a Power Station video…which led me to Get it On.

 

That got me thinking about John’s solo career, and one of my very favorites is Hey Day.  I wonder why?  🙂

And while I was thinking about Hey Day, I remembered riding the train from Birmingham to Edinburgh so that I could go to the Glasgow show.  A little known fact is that one of my very favorite songs to watch John play is Careless Memories.   That bass line just doesn’t stop.  He’s brilliant.

Naturally, as one does….while I was thinking about watching John, I remembered how much, er…enthusiasm….he brings to Danceophobia.  Because really, if you’re gonna play that song, you’d better sell it, right?  And John does.  So this is from the Berkeley show I went to in the fall of 2015. I am not sure if this shows John (YouTube was misbehaving for me today so I couldn’t preview it first), but if you ever have the chance to see the band and they play Danceophobia….he dances with more enthusiasm in his pinky finger than I do in my entire body. 🙂

Lastly, I couldn’t help but give my John-girls what they really want.

He’s strapped to a car.   You’re welcome.

The happiest of birthdays to you, Mr. Taylor…with many years of health, happiness and music to come, I hope. Cheers!!

-R

 

 

 

 

 

Arcadia, birthdays, Power Station

Happy Birthday to you…So Red the Rose turns 30!

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This month marks the 30th anniversary of the release of So Red The Rose, the lone album from Duran splinter group Arcadia. Several years ago, in one of my first guest blogs for Daily Duranie, I wrote about my love for this album (you can read that blog here). I don’t want to replicate that blog today, but offer some quick thoughts on Arcadia and this 30th birthday.

They’re still getting back together, right?

Do you remember what it was like to try to get news about the band in 1985?  I was 13 years old. There was no internet, no social media, no Ask Katy…there were magazines, newspapers, and MTV News. I do remember hearing on MTV News about Roger and Andy’s departure from the band and being devastated. I do not remember the exact timing–I want to say that would have been in 1986.  Regardless…put yourself back to 1985, when the Taylor “brothers” were jamming with Power Station and getting all sorts of airplay, and Arcadia dropped this album. I remember not being sure exactly what was going on, but hearing Simon’s voice, deciding I would just go with it, and buying the cassette on the strength of “Election Day.”  (I was so in the dark that I didn’t even fully realize what the project was about. I didn’t buy the “Tiger Beat” magazines or whatever they were called and while I watched MTV, I clearly missed something).   So it was in that context that I first encountered So Red The Rose, devoured the liner notes, realized what it was, and immediately fell in love with it. Can you imagine that scenario today? I would be absolutely going out of my mind trying to figure out what the heck was going on with Paper Gods…!

Don’t be scared of what they say:  

I love when Duran Duran doesn’t try to write hits, and just puts out material that they want (the song “Paper Gods” is a great example of this).   That’s why I love So Red the Rose.  Here is are three-fifths of the biggest band in the world recording “the most pretentious record of the decade” (Simon would later be quoted), and yet, they apparently didn’t care.  They wrote the music they wanted to, got the guest artists (what a lineup!), and created a masterpiece (in my opinion).

The John Problem:

I have only met the band once, and that was just Simon and Nick for about 30 seconds outside of a venue in New York city in 2001. But if I ever got the chance to sit down with them and actually talk, my first question to John would be about a comment he made in 1986 that Power Station “worked” and Arcadia didn’t, and that’s why the band went in a  funkier direction on the Notorious album. I know he’s the Bass God and all that, but…how dare he! I really like The Power Station album and some of those songs are great to blast if you’re working out or doing yard work. And I love Living in Fear, their obscure second album. That being said…come on, John! Everyone knows Arcadia is better than Power Station!!! (You can flame me in the comments below if you disagree.)

So..it’s been 30 freaking years?!?!?:

This anniversary really hits me. Obviously, since 2011, we’ve been cycling through the 30th birthdays of each Duran album.  But now I’m really processing how much time has passed. I think that’s because I was younger for the original albums; my experience with them was largely via radio listening. I didn’t own a cassette player until…1985! (I literally realized this as I was typing). So, this is really not just the 30th anniversary of So Red the Rose, but the 30th of my Duran fandom expanding beyond the singles! In the summer of ’85, I bought all the cassettes of the first four albums (including Arena). So Red the Rose marked the beginning of buying Duran albums as they were released. It marked the beginning of waiting for the new album, wondering what the single would be, what direction they would go. In essence…my concept of Durantime started 30 years ago this fall!

A final thought:

If you had told me in 1985 that, 30 years later, we’d still be talking about and analyzing So Red the Rose in the larger context of Duran’s catalogue and legacy, I would not have been surprised. But consider this: We can’t have the 30th birthday party for Paper Gods until 2045!

Regardless…happy 30th , So Red the Rose!

-C.K.