

Latest Release

- NOV 17, 2023
- 1 Song
- Rio (Collectors Edition) · 1982
- Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) · 1993
- Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) · 1993
- Greatest · 1981
- Rio (Remastered) · 1982
- Rio (Remastered) · 1982
- Rio (Collectors Edition) · 1982
- Greatest · 1981
- Duran Duran · 1981
- Greatest · 1981
Essential Albums
- Seven and the Ragged Tiger is the sound of a band fully embracing their superstar status. Duran Duran's third album finds the Brits sanding off their quirkier edges and moving toward a more overtly commercial sound. Not that their earlier albums were exactly avant-garde, but the artier, more obscure cuts on the first two records find no parallels here. This album is a straight-up radio-friendly pop party, from the earworm "why-yi-yi" hook of "The Reflex" to the cosmopolitan funk groove and serpentine, sensual vibe of "Union of the Snake." That the band pull it all off with such class shows the level of pop mastery they'd achieved.
- Duran Duran’s second album elegantly and audaciously tests the boundaries of synth-pop, fleshing out New Wave guitars and disco grooves with shimmering keyboards and some of the '80s' catchiest hooks. "Rio" pits Simon Le Bon's suave voice against a sleek, driving pulse, while "The Chauffeur" sets him adrift among ethereal pads and pan pipes. John Taylor's muscular basslines propel "Last Chance on the Stairway" and "My Own Way"; "Hungry Like the Wolf" plays hard rock riffs off delectable vocal harmonies. The melancholy "Save a Prayer" sounds tailor-made for slow dances in the distant future.
- Duran Duran used to say their early goal was to merge the sounds of Chic with The Sex Pistols. While their debut isn't particularly punky, it does yoke a post-punk/new wave edge to dance grooves, with a dash of the artier end of glam rock. The results were tagged "New Romantic" by the press, and in the early '80s this style was all the rage. The atmospheric synths and thumb-slapping basslines of "Girls on Film" and the Eurodisco grooves plus rock guitar on "Planet Earth" became '80s archetypes. The pure pop glory of "Is There Something I Should Know?" (a post-album single added to the tracklist after the initial pressing) points toward the band's impending pop-idol status.
- 2023
- 2022
- 2011
- 2007
- 2004
- 2023
- 2023
Artist Playlists
- These wild boys defined a decadent decade.
- The New Wave stars were masters of visual style.
- A sexy pop blend of flashy New Wave and suave romance.
- Showcasing their love of the classics and the cutting edge.
- The synth innovators and rock alchemists who inspired their pop.
Live Albums
Compilations
- 2003
- 1998
- 1989
- 1982
More To Hear
- The Duran Duran star discusses the band’s biggest hits.
- Jenn revisits Rio, the multiplatinum hit LP from Duran Duran.
- Bassist John Taylor on the band's upcoming LP ‘FUTURE PAST.’
- The planet and environment in focus.
More To See
About Duran Duran
In a career that’s spanned decades, Duran Duran have always steered pop and rock music in futuristic directions. Formed in the late ’70s by childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes, the Birmingham, England, band settled on the lineup that would make them New Wave stars in 1980 with the addition of guitarist Andy Taylor, an avowed hard-rock fan, and theatrical frontman Simon Le Bon. Duran Duran were initially lumped in with the UK’s New Romantic movement, owing to their fashion aesthetic and their shimmering 1981 debut single, “Planet Earth.” However, their 1982 breakthrough LP, Rio, established them as sonic trendsetters, as the hits “Hungry Like the Wolf” and the title track paired fresh dance-floor grooves and an optimistic lyrical outlook with inspiration from David Bowie and Roxy Music, the vibrant rhythm section of disco stars Chic, and a dash of punk bravado. After Rio’s globe-trotting videos received heavy MTV support, an entirely new universe opened up to Duran Duran: mainstream pop stardom. They earned two No. 1 singles in the U.S.—a Nile Rodgers-helmed remix of “The Reflex” that boasted a funkier sound, and the sultry James Bond theme “A View to a Kill”—and became known as a dynamic live act. The group kept moving forward amid lineup changes (most notably, guitarist and Missing Persons cofounder Warren Cuccurullo spent 15 years in the band), leading to new generations of fans discovering Duran Duran via their 1993 self-titled album and its hit power ballad “Ordinary World.” Across the decades, they have continued to collaborate with modern pop icons (Justin Timberlake, Janelle Monáe) and innovative producers (Mark Ronson, Giorgio Moroder) while reinforcing their roots; an elegant 2021 cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years” captures the original’s wistful vibe through a bittersweet modern lens.
- HOMETOWN
- Birmingham, England
- FORMED
- 1978