Duran Duran's new moon rises

By Patrick MacDonald

Duran Duran are now officially hip.

Even when they ruled the radio and video airwaves back in the '80s with their romantic disco/pop, the pretty boys from Birmingham, England, got no respect — except, of course, from giddy schoolgirls. It was easy to take pot shots at the band then because of their haughty airs and sugary music. They, of course, laughed all the way to the bank, with sexy models on their arms.

When they broke up after only three albums, and their style of music was buried by grunge, it felt like Duran Duran would become just a glittery memory.

But, with grunge safely out of the way and corporate rock back on top, Duran Duran reunited in 2003 for a successful series of tours and a moderately successful album, "Astronaut." By then, their glamorous '80s excess had become au courant, mirroring hip-hop's love of high-living bling.

Duran Duran finally became hip last year when Timbaland and Justin Timberlake came on board to co-produce their second reunion album, "Red Carpet Massacre." Those two titans of hip-hop lent massive credibility to Duran Duran, to the point where they don't seem so much like a nostalgia act anymore. Their music is back in the clubs, back on radio and back on tour, which comes to the WaMu on Wednesday. It's like they never left.

The current tour features cuts from the two new CDs, but the show concentrates on what fans want to hear — the hits. So expect "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio," "Girls on Film," etc.

Opening is Your Vegas, a new band from Leeds, England, whose "A Town and Two Cities" album will be released May 20.

Courtesy Seattle Times music critic