Roger Taylor spoke of his sadness U2's Larry Mullen Jr can't tour, but the band are recording new material with original guitarist Andy Taylor after his terminal cancer diagnosis
Duran Duran’s Roger Taylor has paid tribute to Scots rock legends The Sensational Alex Harvey Band as he made a pitch for his band to record the new Bond theme.
The group – who in November were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – are the only act to have their Bond song go to No1 in America.
A View to a Kill hit the top spot in 1985 and is the theme tune of Roger Moore’s seventh and final appearance as 007.
Taylor revealed: “If we were asked that question we would do it. It’s one of the highest honours in music to be asked to do that.
“You’ve got all your awards, your Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, your Brits, your Grammys but getting asked to do the Bond theme is the top of the pile and the biggest award a musician can get I think.”
But ahead of playing Glasgow OVO Hydro on May 9, Roger revealed a surprising influence on the band formed by John Taylor and Nick Rhodes in 1978.
The group have always said their DNA was punk and funk, with influences ranging from David Bowie, Roxy Music to Kraftwerk.
They also have a tartan tinge though with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Simple MInds as early influences.
But drummer Roger, 62, revealed: “When we played the Glasgow Apollo in 1982 it was very special to me because my favourite band growing up was the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
“I was a crazy fan of them. When I got to play the Apollo, which was very much part of their history, that was a big moment for me.
“I loved the way they used electronics combined with rock. They used these sequencers, heavy guitar, Zal Cleminson had full make-up.
“It was glamorous but had an edge as well as Alex who was very street. It was a mash-up of styles, music and technology. Duran has a bit of that.
“We managed to combine many of the same ideas. He was certainly an influence on Duran and a huge influence of me.”
Sadly Alex died from a heart attack in 1982 a day before his 47th birthday.
Roger never met him but did see SAHB at the Birmingham Odeon. He said: “I was 16 and I remember it being extremely loud.”
For many, Duran Duran –Roger, Simon Le Bon, Andy Taylor, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes – created the best Bond tune and one that is still played around the world today.
It’s a mark of the band’s longevity that after 43 years they are still a musical force.
Dame Shirley Bassey is the only singer to perform more than one Bond theme – Goldfinger in 1964, Diamonds Are Forever in 1971 and Moonraker in 1979.
Despite big name modern stars being given the honour – the songs haven’t hit the mark and are largely already forgotten.
While Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall for Spectre in 2015 went to No1 in the UK, it only reached No 71 in the US and most recent song No Time to Die by Billie Eilish also went to No1 in the UK but only reached No16 in America.
Even big hitter Adele’s attempt, Skyfall reached No 2 in UK but only reached No 8 in America.
In the 80s Duran became the biggest band on the planet – huge in America as well as in the UK thanks to tracks Hungry Like the Wolf and Rio.
Drugs and fame, though, pulled the group apart and after performing at Live Aid, Roger quit in 1986.
The band carried on with varying degrees of success until the five original members reformed in 2001 and went on to release Astronaut in 2004.
While Andy Taylor left in 2006 they had hoped to reunite when the group were inducted into the Hall of Fame in November.
But on the night it was revealed that the 62-year-old was terminally ill with stage 4 cancer. Roger said: “We had the rehearsal studio booked and ready for Andy to come and play and get ready for our performance.
“We found out two days before the show. It was a total shock.
“But the silver lining is he’s back playing with us. He’s playing on this new record we are doing which we are already working on. We are doing more work on it next week.”
They aren’t in the studio together as the band are resting in different parts of the world ahead of their latest tour and working on the album remotely.
It starts in Manchester at the end of the month, playing the UK, Ireland and, from the end of May until September, the North American leg.
Roger said: “It’s not a full-blown album but it’s a really interesting collection of songs.”
Being the drummer in the band Roger knows from experience that long tours are particularly gruelling on the body.
That was exemplified by U2’s Larry Mullen Jr who was ruled out of drumming for a year due to injuries to his elbows, knees and neck.
Roger revealed: “I was incredibly sad about Larry.
“I always thought if Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones can do it. I can do it. Then sadly he passed away in 2021. So I thought well if Larry is still playing then I can.
“So that was a real shock and very sad. Hopefully he will come back.”
Roger thinks he’s lucky thanks to genetics as his dad is 88 and still riding a mountain bike. He laughed: “I hope that I’ll walk in the footsteps of my dad.
“It’s all about looking after yourself and keeping generally fit.”
Speaking via Zoom from America, Roger, who has three children with his first wife and one with his second, is happy that the band can reunite once again.
Especially on the back of the Hall of Fame induction after years of being mauled and dismissed as mere preening peacocks by their detractors.
He said: “Being inducted there was an element of sticking two fingers up at the detractors who dismissed our band.
“It was also extra special because it was affirmation from the music industry which we didn’t get in the early days.
“We were always the band that the press liked to stick their boot into.
“But our first couple of albums were more than just poppy stuff.
“We knew that we had more under the bonnet than we were given credit for.”
He reckons that they were often dismissed because, on the wave of the New Romantics and the band’s chiselled cheekbones, they found a teenage girl fanbase.
Roger admitted: “The critics couldn’t quite see through the teenage following.
But finally the music has had the last word.”
● Duran Duran play the Glasgow OVO Hydro on May 9. Tickets: duranduran.com/tour
