(laughter) That was very good.īack in July, the band had a promotional event scheduled in New York that was canceled because of COVID concerns. Le Bon: Well said for a man wearing a pair of duvets on his feet. When we came back after lockdown, I felt that those lyrics, particularly “ Invisible,” spoke to the moment, because the last 18 months have really been about intimacy politics. Many of the songs are about emotional crises, or long-term intimacy issues, let's call them. Most of the lyrics were written before we went into lockdown. “Future Past” is a very emotionally deep album. You'd be hard-pressed to get away with a lyric like that today. Taylor: One of the most oblique lyrics to ever reach No. “The Reflex” is an extraordinary lyric and one of the most - what was the word you used? Esoteric? Look, I don't think I appreciated a lot of the work Simon was doing in the ’80s. Taylor: It's very cartoon-like, very manga. Taylor: Just think Marvel Universe and a sort of vengeful wife. I've listened to “Hammerhead” a few times, and I have no idea what that song is about. Le Bon: (laughs) I'll be back in a few moments. John, do you need to know what a song is about when you’re recording a bass part? Simon sometimes has what one could call an oblique approach to writing lyrics. I've just kind of cast my mind back to the session, and we came up with so many ideas so quickly and he conducted it all. He's probably one of the artists we respect the most. But we were very deferential and polite with him. You have to have a strong stomach to work with a band. Taylor: (laughs) I can understand where he's coming from. Guitarist Andy left for a second time in 2006, and the absence of his power chords has left room for a renewed focus on electronic sounds.ĭisco great Giorgio Moroder produced two of your new songs, “Beautiful Lies” and “Tonight United.” When I interviewed him a few years ago, he said disdainfully, “Life is too short to work with bands.” Why were you the exception? The lineup that recorded “ Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Girls on Film,” “ Save a Prayer,” “ Union of the Snake,” “The Reflex” and “ A View to a Kill,” each a huge hit, reassembled in the early 2000s.

In recent years, Duran has amply integrated guest musicians and producers into albums, and the credits on “Future Past” include Giorgio Moroder, Graham Coxon of Blur, Mark Ronson, Tove Lo, British rapper Ivorian Doll and Japanese pop group Chai. For an “’80s band,” they sure have lasted a long time. They’ve made great albums, uneven albums, terrible albums (1995’s “Thank You” included ill-advised versions of Bob Dylan and Public Enemy songs), and a snappy and snazzy new album, “Future Past,” their 15th. There’ve been plenty of changes to the lineup of Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and the three unrelated Taylors (bassist John, guitarist Andy and drummer Roger), but they’ve never broken up. Unlike a lot of supposed 1980s bands, they had hits well into the ’90s (in the U.S.) and the 2000s (in the U.K.).

Next year will be 40 years since the “Rio” video, and Duran Duran is still around.

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