DURAN DURAN STAR is 'Born To Rock'
Nick Rhodes Joins Bono, Phillipe Stark, Karl Lagerfeld & Bryan Adams, Among Others, To Design Exclusive, 'RockCouture' Guitar
DURAN DURAN keyboardist, Nick Rhodes, has joined BONO, PHILLIPE STARK, KARL LAGERFELD, BRYAN ADAMS and a host of other stars to design and create his very own customised guitar, which will be on display as part of the 'Born To Rock' exhibition at HARRODS in London, from this coming Friday, February 2nd until Saturday, March 3rd, 2007.
This stunning exhibition, which was launched at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and then played to record-breaking crowds and rave reviews at the National Museum of Ireland for eight straight weeks, gathers together over 150 priceless guitars, many of which have been either specially designed and built or never displayed before.
Divided into three stunning categories: 'Born To Rock' showcases:
o More than fifty unique and individually customised pieces, which together form the RockCouture collection
o An unprecedented collection of rare and vintage guitars - including the world's first electric guitar known as the Frying Pan (1931); and
o Legendary guitars that have been played by many of the world's leading rockers, including Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher, the Edge, Marc Bolan, Neil Young, and blues great Rory Gallagher.
Amongst the most inventive and spectacular displays, the Nick Rhodes' Guitar is a stunning state-of-the-art masterpiece, for which a Fender was hollowed out and the entire front of the body was replaced with a digital screen that allows customized film footage to play across the entire surface. This has created something that is both visually dynamic and unique - and that, in itself, was a technical challenge, that required design engineers in both the US and UK for the customization. Now an absolute one-of-a-kind, the guitar has a hefty price-tag attached to it - and promises to raise a significant amount for the exhibition's charitable causes when it is auctioned off later this Spring
Commenting on the guitar and forthcoming Born To Rock exhibition Nick Rhodes said; The Fender Stratocaster is a true design classic, visually it has remained much the same since it was first launched in 1954, so it was a real challenge to create a new interpretation. As a keyboard player, I was thrilled to be asked and decided to turn the guitar into a TV monitor. Since this had not been done before, I encountered numerous unexpected technical difficulties, but with the help of an expert team we were able to carve out the interior of the guitar body and pack it full of pixels. We then replaced the front plate with a semi translucent material so that the images generated would shine through. It was also very important that you were still able to play the guitar, so it simply has one additional cable which links to the computer providing the video content. When I curated the film we are using, it became evident that stark, graphic visuals and psychedelic patterns worked best. I am proud to say that this is the world's first TV guitar, I named it The Pixelator.
Within the exhibition, the Nick Rhodes Guitar will feature as one of the RockCouture collection, alongside customised guitars, personalised and uniquely designed by a veritable who's who of artists and designers from the worlds of art, fashion and pop, including Bono, Bryan Adams, Phillipe Stark, Patrick Cox, Sir Peter Blake, Lord Richard Rogers, David LaChapelle, Jennifer Lopez, Graham Coxon, Philip Treacy and society jeweller Theo Fennell. Following the exhibition, these guitars will be auctioned off by Christies, with a view to raising over £1,000,000 for a number of different charities, nominated by the individual creators, including Keep A Child Alive, Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres, and Amnesty International.
Both the RockCouture collection and Born To Rock were conceived and curated by Ian Spero, the CEO of leading music marketing agency BigTime.TV.
DURAN DURAN are currently in the final stages of writing and recording the follow-up to their multi-platinum 'Astronaut' album (2004). The new album, which is due for release in the Summer, will feature a collaboration with Justin Timberlake and three tracks produced by Timbaland (Missy Elliot/Jay Z/Justin Timberlake/Snoop Dog).
DURAN DURAN will join Sir Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Joss Stone and Pharrell Williams amongst others to perform at the Concert For Diana on the 1st July at Wembley Stadium. The band are expected to tour again later this year.
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