Hi Katy, I have been on a mission to find the famous Melody Maker ad for a 'Livewire Guitarist' which Andy replied to. It says in the Duran Duran timeline that the band placed the ad in April 1980.

In Andy's book, it says he was on the train from his home town to Birmingham for his audition, when Blondie was at No1 with call me, which I found out was the week of 26th of April and it was at No1 for that week only. So therefore the ad must have been placed before this date. I have all the copies of Melody Maker from March and April 1980, but no sign of the ad. I thought of trying May but there were no copies of Melody Maker printed that month due to a strike. Could it be possible that the ad was placed in February or earlier?? Have posted on the forums but nobody has seen the ad or has a copy of it.

Can any of the band members recall it? Please can you help!! Kind Regards, Grant.

Nick says:

"It appears, like every good researcher, you are slowly zeroing in to find the truth. It is entirely possible that the ad was placed in February or possibly even January of that year.

I am fairly sure we must have a copy in the archives somewhere, but we're not in a position yet to have instant access to be able to put you out of your misery. Do let Katy know once you find it. Good luck, Nick"

and...

Hola Katy!... What are your thoughts about collecting on an artist musical career such as Duran Duran's ...Thanks a lot, Guille

"Guille, We have a lot of empathy for collectors as the band do have fairly extensive archive, but of course it would be impossible to gather everything. Because there is such a vast amount of material, we tend to focus on the significant items. Needless to say, the archiving has become a full time job for several people. Nick"