I find their music interesting, the music videos well done. What do people think of them today? And, they attempted a revival-how did that work out?
We went to see them a couple of years ago (we’re both children of the 80’s), and we loved them. The band was tight musically, Simon LeBon’s voice was very good, and they were just plain entertaining (Simon is an excellent front man).
Today’s kids take videos for granted, but when Duran Duran were at their height, music videos were very, very new, and they could legitimately be considered pioneers of this milieu.
Posting this while listening to their 2004 album, “Astronaut.” Which, by the way, is quite good.
I don’t follow them but think they are fine - they are a real band and their music is well constructed and melodic, if not to my taste. They had always been around, but just Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes, with various other players including Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons). But John, Roger and Andy Taylor (none related) reformed with the other two a few years ago for an “original lineup” tour.
It went okay - they put on a good show and still appeal a ton to the girls like Princess Diana who loved them heart and soul. But I think Andy left pretty early on. Fine by me - of all of them, he was the weakest link - same tinkly D riff on every song and jabby, 80’s-toned power chords with a little whammy shake on the end - ugh. The Power Station stuff he did with Robert Palmer - who I love along with the drummer from Chic - Bernard Edwards? - simply doesn’t stand up to a later listening because of Taylor’s crappy guitar work.
They seem to be the only one of the New Romantic bands that truly crossed over to commercial and lasting success. Cool for them.
I think their music went well with the '80s New Wave lifestyle. It just seemed to be more stylish back then. Sort of ‘Let’s dress up like our parents, only ironically.’ Part of the fun of being young in the '80s was dressing up. You dressed up in your skinny tie and sport jacket and shades, your hair was carefully unkempt, and you went out to dance and drink and see and be seen. And probably get some play.
Rio is an ode to a sexy woman. The Chauffeur is about cruising in your glide with a woman. Save A Prayer, casual hook-up. To me, Duran Duran is about being young and on the prowl, looking good and having sex or looking for sex. So as someone from that time, I think of them as ‘the good old days’. Nowadays I have a regular job and a mortgage. A lot of people my age have families. Duran Duran just doesn’t seem relevant in the context. I mean, how creepy would it be for a 40-something guy to dress in the current style and hang out in clubs? (OTOH, a 24-year-old girl I met in New Orleans last month thought I’m sexy. I have no problem with that! 
) Anyway, for me Duran Duran is nostalgic.
Music has changed. Grunge was OK, but it seemed ‘angry’ in a way. I missed the optimism of New Wave. Today there’s Emo, Electronica, Rap etc. I still like the New Wave, and I especially like the instruments and how they’re played by Duran Duran. But ‘kids today’ have different tastes, and I never hear them listening to the oldies. I listen to an alternative station (KEXP, Seattle) that plays to the current crowd. Good stuff. I love the station. But they seldom play New Wave.
So. Duran Duran was a band of its time. I still like them, but I don’t think they’re relevant.
…and, to beat everyone else to the punch:
I also hear they have a CD called Rio.
That would be Rio, by Duran Duran.
We went to see them on their tour with the original line-up at the Tower Theater near Philadelphia. We had a great time. The first cassette I ever bought was Seven and the Ragged Tiger. I think I wore that out…
I didn’t follow them closely at the time but I knew some of their stuff. IMO they were good musicians, not just posing for the cameras in the latest fashion.
My favorite band from the 80s, and one of my 10 favorite bands of all time. Musically, lyrically and production-wise, they were at the top of the heap. I saw them several years ago twice within 3 months, and they were two of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. My criteria for a great live performance is if the songs sound as good or better than the studio versions, and DD never disappointed.
Lyrics, optimally, should tell a good story. Only U2, REM and The Police are even in the same league, IMHO.
And their videos set the standard in the early days of music video–a standard that very few have matched since.
Then again, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Durannie, so I may be a bit biased in my opinion. 
In the 80’s, Duran Duran was very much considered to be light pop. Not a ‘serious’ rock band. They had blow dried hair and appealed to 16 year old girls with sexy videos. Serious critics hated them. They were considered to be one of those bands who wouldn’t be much without music videos.
Like Bon Jovi, they’re a band whose stock has risen over the years. If you asked me in the 80’s to pick two bands who would have lasting endurance and be remembered a great bands of the decade, Bon Jovi and Duran Duran wouldn’t have been anywhere near the list.
This doesn’t mean they were bad - in retrospect, some of their music is pretty good. Maybe they were just underrated then because they were such a phenomenon among young girls and were ‘pretty boys’. So they suffered a bit from critical backlash. The same is true for Bon Jovi. Looking back, their old stuff is probably a lot better than ‘serious’ music fans gave it credit for being.
I can remember Duran-mania from the release of “Planet Earth” to the last “classic” DD line-up single, “View to a Kill.” You’d be hard pressed to find an adolescent male that would admit to liking DD because they were so pretty and teenaged girls were always gushing on about them. They were on Top of the Pops pretty much nonstop during my early teen years.
Impossible to ignore - so I knew all of their big songs. It wasn’t until much later, when I bought the double CD Strange Behaviour - a collection of remixes - that I really started to appreciate the band. When I took up bass guitar I found a hero in John Taylor - truly an underrated bassist, able to play funk, disco, and rock and with an impeccable sense of timing. Musos try to slag off Duran Duran but how many bass players can play like John Taylor - not many.
As a fan of Chic I appreciate DD and INXS moving the funk/disco/rock hybrid forward. DD went through a rough patch after the Taylors (Andy and Roger) left, though Big Thing and Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) were really good. Warren Cucurillo did a fine job as axeman, and if I’m not mistaken, actually logged more time in the band than Andy Taylor did. I saw them in Atlanta during the “Pop Trash” tour and felt the band and their music had aged well. They’ve worked with amazing producers as well.
DD were so exotic as a kid. They looked like they were from another planet… little did we know they were from Brum up the road. The “Rio” video says it all, doesn’t it? ABC thought they were toffs but they were obviously not able to keep up the image. Plus the lead singer’s name is “Bon… Simon Le Bon” (to quote him from the “A View to a Kill” video).
Love them. They are the coolest.
I have a couple of their songs on my I-Pod:
Hungry Like the Wolf
Ordinary World
I didn’t like them very much during their heyday. All the other girls in junior high school were squealing over them, and they just seemed awfully light compared to other stuff that was big at the time, like Van Halen (1984), ZZ Top (Eliminator), and Def Leppard (Pyromania).
But at this point I’ve really come to appreciate them. They’re just a great rock/pop band. Their songs still sound good today, especially compared to other similar bands of that era.
One of the things I dislike about that early/mid '80s sound is the overuse of cheesy synthesizer. Duran Duran doesn’t really have that problem. Ironically, I can’t even stand to listen to Van Halen’s “Jump” because of the cheesy synth. Go figure.
And as far as I’m concerned, Hungry Like the Wolf is one of the bestest songs EVAH!
My sister and some of her friends really liked them, though one of my sister’s friends said that if Nick Rhodes were a dog he would be a poodle and my sister was a mite peeved by this comment.
That animal cry towards the end of “Hungry Like the Wolf” used to give me the willies.
They’re not my favorites, but I like “Reflex” and “Girls on Film.”
What I like about Duran Duran is that they have a very consistent sound. I have about 20 of their songs on my iPod; half are from the 80s, and half are from 2004, and I honestly forget which songs are from which decade.
You mean orgasm cry, right?
I’m not sure what you mean by “relevant.” Are they still one of the most popular bands in the world? No. Are they still putting out excellent pop music? I’d have to say yes.
Anyone know how the group’s name was chosen?
Incidentally, I saw the MV on youtube (RIO) -quite interesting!