Guilt-free 80s trip with the Wild Boyz
REVIEW by Emma Turton
WHEN you go to see Duran Duran live, you expect a party - and a full-blown rocking rollercoaster of a party was exactly what we got.
Some may think the foursome, who hail from Birmingham, are well past their 80s heyday, but I - and the encore-chanting hordes - would beg to differ.
Although Nottingham's TrentFM Arena wasn't sold out, the band managed to fill the venue from start to finish, during all two hours of a hit-packed set.
Duran Duran, still made up of its four original members - Simon LeBon, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes - began the night with several minutes of foreboding music, dramatic claps of thunder and searchlights sweeping the crowd.
When the band appeared, all streaked hair and bondage trousers, it's like being transported back to the 80s, only with a few more wrinkles.
We were there to listen to those tracks we know and love, to return to the carefree times of our schooldays, when Duran Duran were at the peak of their success.
No gimmicks here. No pink fluffy cowboy hats on sale a la Robbie Williams and Take That.
No. DD are here to remind you that they are, in fact, a really strong act, made up of really talented musicians, with some really strong sounds.
As a nostalgia act, DD have it by the bucketload. We were thrilled by Hungry Like The Wolf, Planet Earth (of course), The Reflex, A View To A Kill, Save A Prayer, Girls on Film and Wild Boyz.
In between they showcased tracks from latest album Red Carpet Massacre (the name of the tour) and performed a Kraftwerk-style electronic set.
And, of course, no gig would have been complete without Sunrise, Notorious and Rio.
I just don't think the Brummie four can be faulted. They may all be pushing 50, but they know how to work a crowd and they are still many, many years the right side of looking stupid on stage.
Most of the crowd, like me, were 40-plus, but there was a healthy proportion of younger fans, proving that DD and their music are still appealing almost 20 years on.
They've never been a band to play down their own importance - and quite right too.
Courtesy Burton Mail
