As a result, Duran Duran knew they could straddle experimentation and convention with Notorious. However, that appetite to go for the sonically adventurous wouldn’t leave them.Įxploring out from under the weight of the Duran Duran moniker with their side projects wasn’t only a freeing exercise, it was a necessary learning experience in navigating commercial and artistic spaces. Their third set was an admirably daring collection, but the group tripped ever so slightly over its own ambition with it. More than happy to dive headfirst into the creative unknown, Duran Duran opted to make a clean break from where they’d left off with Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983). This left the trio (and many of their contemporaries) to either adapt or die. At the midpoint of the 1980s, the New Romantic movement that birthed Duran Duran had receded and in its void other trends competed for the attention of consumers.

But there weren’t only fluctuating interpersonal dynamics to contend with-changing public tastes also loomed. In the meantime, Le Bon, Rhodes and Taylor soldiered on through the writing-recording process for Notorious. A formal reunion for this line-up of Duran Duran wouldn’t occur until the summer of 2003 ahead of their eleventh album Astronaut (2004). Andy Taylor initially joined with his bandmates until tensions arose due to his solo ambitions-he soon departed the fold leaving semi-finished vestiges of his touch on the final product. Workshopping for Notorious, as their fourth outing was to be called, moved on without Roger Taylor, who bowed out of the industry altogether. By the time Duran Duran were thrilling the Live Aid crowd in July, “A View to a Kill” had impacted at radio and retail with a bang shortly after that pivotal gig, only three men were left standing. Emerging between these two disparate long players that spring was “A View to a Kill,” the John Barry assisted single and theme to the James Bond flick of the same name. Their respective records The Power Station and So Red the Rose made critical and commercial waves in 1985, but Duran Duran remained the priority. Simon Le Bon (vocals), Nick Rhodes (keyboards/synthesizers) and Roger Taylor (drums) went the esoteric pop route with Arcadia. Taylors Andy (guitar) and John (bass) formed the rock-funk clique The Power Station with Robert Palmer and Chic players Tony Thompson and Bernard Edwards. The quintet split into two camps during this period.

Several months prior to receiving their Live Aid invitation, and under the politesse of pursuing separate projects, Duran Duran decided to embark on a brief respite. A competent, if fractured performance ensued, denoting that all was not well within the ranks of Duran Duran. A manic four years of blockbuster albums and sell-out concert dates had taken its toll. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia in front of an audience of 90,000 answering the noble hail of charity-specifically for Live Aid-the British outfit launched into a blitz of their smash charters.

On July 13, 1985, Duran Duran took to the stage at the John F. Happy 35th Anniversary to Duran Duran’s fourth studio album Notorious, originally released November 21, 1986.

Notorious duran duran