RAZZ POP: BACK ON TRACK TRACK
Dec 9 2005
DURAN Duran are back with the original line-up of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and the T aylors - John, Roger and Andy. Back with a No.3 album Astronaut. Back with sold-out shows across the globe. And back at the SECC, Glasgow, next Friday - the first time since April 2004's stunning show at the same venue. The biggest band of the early Eighties had a string of hits including Rio, Save A Prayer and Bond theme A View T o A Kill. Here singer Simon and keyboard player Nick discuss wild nights out, being gay and joining the classic cool club
By Rick Fulton
Q WHAT would your 20-year-old selves think if they could see you now
Simon: I love what I'm doing now. Don't get me wrong, but I think at the age of 20 I'd have thought I'd be living it up on a beach somewhere, unattached, with a string of beautiful women vying for my attention. In a wet bikini competition. And here am, married with three kids. What the hell went wrong?
Nick: We still aspire to the same things. We're always trying to hide some of Simon's clothes that we don't like.
Q You were the original Eighties playboys. How hard was it to come back now?
Nick: think because we started in the Eighties, some people will always think we are synonymous with it. don't mind coming up with the acts that came up in the Eighties. Madonna, Prince, U2 - like all those acts. But we've had hits in three different decades now, so I suppose it rather spoils the cynics' argument.
Simon: Once we'd got the Brit Awards (for Outstanding Contribution) and then played the UK shows, suddenly it changed from "desperate has-beens" to "maybe they're the next Rolling Stones".
Q Do you think that you're fashionable now?
Simon: I think we've transcended fashion. I think we've got into that classic cool club like the Rolling Stones.
Q As a band who were such pin-ups, how does it feel to be getting older in the public eye
Simon: Older, fatter and uglier.
Q: What about a nip and a tuck here and there?
Nick: I'm terrified of taking aspirin so the thought of cosmetic surgery doesn't fill me with glee
Q What do you think of pop music reality shows like The X Factor?
Nick: Good luck to the kids on the shows. They're only trying to get a break and, from that point of view, I'm not so critical. What I don't like is the cynical marketing of everything and shoving it down people's throats. These acts are clogging up the charts and don't inspire anything. But I'm happy now to see bands like Franz Ferdinand, the Scissor Sisters and The Killers coming out.
They are a bit more edgy, have actually got something to say and have got a vibe about them
Q: Pop stars these days are pretty tame compared to you lot, aren't they? How crazy did it get... waking up face down in a pool of your own vomit
Simon: I'd say boring, actually, a lot of the time. No, worse than that. Face down in a pool of someone else's vomit.
Q What did you think of the INXS Rock Star programme?
Simon: It's sad. I really miss Michael. It made me miss him a lot because he was a very, very good friend. But having said that, the band need to work and they have great songs. They should get out and sing them.
Q Nick, you're known for wearing make-up. Do people think you're gay?
Nick: Sometimes people do, but it doesn't bother me at all. I've got a lot of gay friends who absolutely adore, who are hilarious and fabulous and I support their culture completely. The fact that I prefer women is fine.
Q Do you see yourselves doing this in another 10 years?
Simon: I'd like to be. I'd like to have a job in 10 years and not have retired. In fact, I'd like to not retire at all. But I don't want to die on stage. I'd like to die at my home with my family, not in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, or somewhere like that. God, what am I saying.
Courtesy The Daily Record
