In the 80s Duran Duran were the most successful new romantic band of the “second British Invasion”, helped by their stylish and sexually charged videos which received heavy play on MTV.
Formed in 1978 by John Taylor (bass) and Nick Rhodes (keyboards) in Birmingham, England, their most successful line-up also included Simon Le Bon (vocals), Andy Taylor (guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums). Between 1980 and 1983 they released three albums, Duran Duran (1981, re-released in the US in 1983), their best LP Rio (1982), and Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983). These three albums spawned eight hit singles, most notably “Girls on Film”, “Rio”, “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “The Reflex”. They also released two other hit singles: “Wild Boys” was the only new song on live album Arena, and “View to a Kill” was the theme from fourteenth James Bond movie A View to a Kill. This was the final release with this line-up and was the pinnacle of their success.
The band continued for many years in different forms until 2004 when the original line-up released Astronaut, which acted as a minor comeback as it hit No.3 on the UK album chart and spawned two hit singles. Duran Duran released their 12th studio album, Red Carpet Massacre, in 2007, featuring production on three tracks by Timbaland, and one by Justin Timberlake.
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