Welcome to July, everyone! For those in the United States, I hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day! My brother has been visiting the last week and he left this morning so my day is pretty low key. Yesterday, though, we played some games, ate good food and enjoyed each other’s company. I feel like we celebrated a day early, in a way. Anyway, what did this week represent in Duran history? Let’s take a look.
July 4:
- Duran Duran played City Hall in Newcastle in 1981.
- The Devils official website was launched on this date in 2002. If you are not familiar with this side project, it features Nick and Stephen Duffy, the lead singer before Simon! You should check it out as it gives you some idea of the first Duran songs.
July 5:
- Power Station played Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland (with Dez Dickerson) in 1985. Did anyone see that show?
- In 2009, the band played at Marymoor Amphitheatre in Redmond, Washington. This show was part of shows played in between Red Carpet Massacre and All You Need Is Now.
July 6:
- Duran Duran played at the Concert Hall in Toronto in 1982 as part of the Rio Tour.
- In 2012, the band played at Earth Open Air in Thessaloniki, Greece.
- The Paper Gods Tour led the band to Nashville to play at the Ascend Amphitheater in 2016.
July 7:
- Duran Duran performed at Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan, in 2003. It was the first reunion gig.
- In 2007, the band played at Live Earth in London in 2007. They were the only band to do both Diana tribute and Live Earth. That’s a fun fact!
- Duran Duran played at the Fox Theater in Oakland in 2017. We were there. Were any of you?
July 8:
- A Diamond in the Mind streamed live with commentary and a question and answer session in 2012. I went to a friend’s house for a Duranie get together. It was fun!
- The Paper Gods Tour brought Duran to Chicago to play at Ravinia in 2016.
- In 2017, Duran performed at the Masonic in San Francisco.
July 9:
- Duran Duran played at the Rum Runner in Birmingham in 1980. It was the first gig of the classic line-up.
- Simon attended the British Grand Prix and took part in a Go Cart Race in 1999. That must have been quite the scene!
July 10:
- Duran Duran played at Parkwest in Chicago in 1982.
- In 2009, the band performed at the Pearl at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2009.
Overall, this week in Duran history is full of shows! Apparently, July is a good time for the band to tour. Did you attend any of these shows?
-A
Hi. I attended 3 of the ‘Reunion’ shows in 2003..Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya. Osaka was quite interesting (the first show), Andy made a few mistakes (understandable), but it was the first time to hear the new songs!