Duran Duran Launch World Tour at SXSW Festival

John Taylor

by Cindy Robinson

When Duran Duran gets it right, they really get it right. The band kicked off their world tour at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, TX last night to a crowd that left singing the band’s praises as part of the SXSW Music Festival.

The 80’s megastars have just begun to saturate the music market with their 13th album, All You Need Is Now, which is available now as a 9 track EP via iTunes with the deluxe CD package coming to a store near you on March 22nd. You can also pre-order the deluxe version from Amazon now, with delivery expected the day of release. 

Produced by Mark Ronson, their latest album takes the listener on a synthesizer infused journey down memory lane with Nick Rhodes to the height of 80’s pop music while the grooves of drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Taylor keep us dancing in modern times. Singer Simon Le Bon, who has often been criticized in the media for his quirky voice, sounds smooth &  melodic, demonstrating his vocal skills and a voice that has stood the test of time.

As a producer Ronson carefully guarded the bands existing, unique sound while moving them forward into new territory at the same time. He doesn’t try to make a band sound like his own records.

Duran Duran will hit Los Angeles next week for a round of appearances on American TV shows the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Night with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The band will also play a one-off concert in Los Angeles to kick off the 2nd season of the American Express Unstaged Concert Series which will be directed by critically acclaimed director David Lynch and broadcast live online courtesy of YouTube and Vevo.

All You Need Is Now

Duran Duran have proved their staying power with tickets to a handful of North American warm-up concerts selling out in mere minutes as the band criss-crosses the USA in preparation for their slot at the upcoming always sold out Coachella Music & Arts Festival in Indio, CA April 15-17, 2011. The massive music festival which annually draws approximately 90, 000 visitors to the California desert will also offer a live webcast of music acts throughout the weekend.

They will then head home to the UK & Europe for concerts in May and June, and a tour of Australia in December with more worldwide dates to be announced as they become available via Duran Duran’s website. You can also check in with Duran Duran’s Roger Taylor, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon on Facebook and Twitter as they check in from their daily lives, from rehearsals and on the road.

Duran Duran announce UK tour dates

by Cindy Robinson

Duran Duran are set to return to the stage with a number of tour dates set for May this year. The British band have revealed 11 dates where they will be performing across the UK. It’s the bands first tour of their homeland in a few years and looks to be a sellout. Fan club pre-sales begin later this week via the bands site.

The band featuring Simon le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor will begin their worldwide tour with a handful of special performances in the USA including the The VH1 Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam on February 3rd, in Grand Prairie, TX and the famous Southern California Coachella festival on April 17, 2011.

Duran Durans new album is called All You Need Is Now (produced by Mark Ronson) and is available now on iTunes. An extended edition physical CD is expected in March 2011. The 80’s hitmakers still have a massive fan base and have remained popular through the decades with great albums like the Wedding Album in the mid 90’s with the massive hit Ordinary World and more recently with the Astronaut album. Their new album All You Need Is Now looks destined to be another of their smash successes craftily blending sounds that could easily have come from their early hit album Rio while incorporating a modern twist to the music.

The full dates are as follows:

• 18th May 2011 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
• 19th May 2011 Glasgow SECC
• 21st May 2011 Birmingham LG Arena
• 22nd May 2011 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
• 23rd May 2011 Liverpool Echo Arena
• 28th May 2011 London The O2 Arena
• 30th May 2011 Brighton Centre
• 31st May 2011 Bournemouth International Centre
• 1st June 2011 Cardiff International Arena
• 3rd June 2011 Manchester MEN Arena
• 4th June 2011 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Duran Duran Shares New Single FREE on iTunes!

image courtesy of iTunes and Duran Duran

British band Duran Duran is offering up there latest single, All You Need Is Now for FREE via iTunes today! Hurry and download your copy now because it may be a limited time offer. The band will release their 13th studio album, All You Need Is Now via iTunes on December 21st, with a longer CD version available to fans early next year.

The Mark Ronson produced album has been generating a lot of buzz with talk that the super producer has taken the band back to the sounds of their Rio album.

Their last release, Red Carpet Massacre, seemed to be just that, a Timbaland massacre as he turned it into something he would put out rather than enhancing the sound of Duran Duran. To be fair though, the album did translate better as a live show.

Duran Duran has already begun some European promotion of the album with American promo slated to begin this week. They will be launching a full scale tour in 2011 to support All You Need Is Now. The 1st single has a catchy chorus and early previews of the album indicate it will be a strong album for Duran Duran definitely taking us back to the days of Rio and My Own Way.

The band is also running a contest via their Twitter. They recently tweeted these instructions “Tweet what you love about All You Need Is Now using #aynin. 5 tweeters will win the album FREE on Dec 21. Must follow this account to win.”  

 

 

Simon le Bon