two taylors

anyone who knows me well at all knows i'm a lifelong, die-hard fan of duran duran. and even after all these years, sometimes i see pictures i've never seen before. it probably goes without saying that The Internet Age has dumped probably hundreds of rare shots into my lap since i got my first machine. this shot is a prime example. it shows the lovely square-chinned john taylor in the background, looking all sensuous... lurking behind those dark magenta bangs. and in the foreground is roger... who always rocked the same kind of bangs, regardless of what era was going on. yes, two taylors... the ones that provided the thumping backbone to that 'gotta dance' duran duran sound. and they both still look great. but without the internet, i wonder if i ever would've seen a shot like this.

so early duran

this is a very early picture of simon le bon, john taylor, and andy taylor of duran duran. i don't know who ever told andy that blonde haystack look was a good look. it wasn't. and john was blind as a bat. he was either wearing funky contacts, or he just couldn't see. i always liked that dark haircut on simon. nick's not in the picture, but he was also rockin' a bleach job that didn't do him any justice. jean-luc took this screen shot... right on the edge of the 80's. and to this very day, they're still turning out world-class pop.

mmm, nick

ahhh, sweet nick rhodes. what a face. all the time i was a teenager, and hopelessly in love with nick rhodes, i knew there were countless pictures of him and the rest of the duran guys that i thought i'd never see. and now, thanks to the magic of the computer age, i am able to see so much hot duran deliciousness. like this shot of glam nick rhodes.

guess who owned this book?

well, i guess technically, jean-lucien and i still DO. i even have a clearish memory of the day we talked our mother into letting us buy it from a record store that was at the top floor of the four seasons mall in greensboro, nc. i don't remember exactly the name of the shop... i think it was 'the record bar.' i DO know, that by the time i moved from there, there was an optical thing in its place. i know, because i got some contact lenses there. but, back to the duran book... i remember after we saw that book on the rack, we literally came right out and asked our mother to buy it for us. (something we almost NEVER dared to do.) i don't remember if she relented that day, but i DO know that we ended up with the very excellent book, (which was almost completely in japanese... but hey, we didn't care... we just wanted it to worship the pictures.) i remember we also got a similar book, with same glossy-type cover, but it was more like, red and orange-schemed. i'd love to have that book in my hands right now. man, i was so in love with those guys. (well, three of them.)

red and ragged

alright, this one's gonna be short and sweet. here we have the 'important' three duran's in their early days headlining in Birmingham's 'Rum Runner.' okay, first, let's get the horserace out of the way. and, from where I sit, its an easy one. john. mr. nigel john taylor wins this one pretty handily. simon looks very 'don't talk to me, i'm 'in between looks.' and nick seems to be saying, 'don't look at me, this is the worst look i'll probably ever have.' john looks a little vacant and pale, but doesn't seem to be ashamed of his look. in the interest in full disclosure, i admit i cut roger and andy completely out of the picture. because, let's face it, they were never really in the running to begin with. in closing, i would like to point out that they're all sitting at a big giant mirror. umm, all the better to 'chop chop' that white powder on, no doubt.

stars and hits

i've gotta give my brother jean-lucien big credit for this one; on account of he found it, tricked it, and sent it to me. again, its a super-cool magazine cover, and once again, its hard for me to remember if i had this one. i know i probably had at least one friend who had it. if jean-luc and i did have it, it was early enough that we were more concerned with getting the pin-ups on the wall, and less concerned with preserving the magazine intact-for-the-future. obviously, the duran duran lads are the big stars here. and real quick, while we've got the lads in front of us, let's see who wins the horserace! mmm, you know, i might meet some differences of opinion on this one, but i'm gonna have to say nick. yeah, in my opinion, sweet nick rhodes wins the prize. but it should be said that its a pretty good picture of all of them. okay, judgement out of the way, let's see what other features this issue boasts. hey, according to the upper-left corner, we get a groovy pull-out of the lads in spandau ballet. and for some reason, i think its funny that the words 'sony walkman' are on the cover at all. like as if a walkman was a dude. dig it. (click to enlarge)

nick on film

yeah, i think i mentioned a couple of nights ago that i threw in my duran duran dvd to get some screen captures from. and this is one of them. here we see the genius lad, mr. nick rhodes, using a 'switch-comb' to fluff up those scarlet locks. i've never stopped loving nick rhodes. he takes being part of duran duran very seriously. and i just love that, because i think duran duran are a very serious part of pop music history. he's an extremely bright man, a talented musician, and above all... a tireless artist. and he's cute, too. so, here's to the glorious 'total package' that IS mr. nick rhodes. hey, boys on film... am i right, girls...? and its so decadent with that silver fur hanging on in the background. (click to enlarge)

planetary scream

hey, its hard for me to imagine a time when duran duran's videos were desperately hard to come by. fortunately, i was able to own a copy of their first video album on VHS almost as soon as we got a vcr... which i think was like, sometime around mid-85. so, i was able to watch, over and over again, gems like 'planet earth,' 'my own way,' and 'waiting for the nightboat,' ...videos which i don't believe i ever saw on MTV at that time. (back when MTV was 'the only game in town,' remember kids...??) so, fast forward to the bizarro year of 2009. all i had to do was reach for my shimmery, space-age dvd of duran duran's collected videos. all of them. all i had to do was hit a certain button when i wanted to freeze the picture. and keep it. thus, this groovy shot of simon in the band's first video 'planet earth.' sure, after i froze it and stored it, i cropped it a bit... fine-tuned the color and contrast, and here you have it. wow... sometimes it 'freaks me serious' when i think about how far we've come, as a society, technologically. so dig it, the space-age pop-rock artistically-altered freeze frame. (click to enlarge)

john taylor...

... for those of you who don't know john taylor. okay, i'm posting this shot because, according to me, it falls into that all-important category of 'unintentionally hilarious.' sure yeah, he looks handsome enough, he looks cute enough... i mean he's smiling and he's got that vital, healthy 'tan-that-money-can-buy,'... but i'm actually posting it for a reason beyond mere 'cuteness.' yeah, i know its a smallish picture, but if you're able to enlarge and look real close, you'll see the patch on his right-hand side, just above his pocket... like, where a soldier's name should be, it reads... i'm almost positive it reads: 'stay rude.' huh? i mean, what the hell...? his 'goal' or rather his 'mission' is to 'stay rude?' well, good luck with all that... i guess. how exactly do you do that? i mean, do you just go out and make a point of causing trouble and...like, being really free with the insults and the breaking in line and stuff? do you make sure you curse a lot and 'talk shit' about people's mothers and sisters and stuff? do you leave crappy tips and frequently use the following phrase with indignation: '...hey, do you know who i am??? does 'hungry like the wolf ' mean anything to you??' do you cuss out desk clerks and let the 'eff word' slip out during important interviews? well, whatever it means, something tells me john taylor would have very little difficulty living up to his daily quota of 'rude.' (click to enlarge)

ragged fireworks

hey, i'm very glad to say i got some help today from jean-lucien. he sent me a few great duran shots that are very 'horserace-worthy,' if i do say so myself. now, i'm pretty sure i remember having this shot in a pin-up, back when my walls were papered with the blokes. now, there's quite a few things i find remarkable about this shot, so lets just dive in and evaluate, shall we? okay, who's 'bright idea' was it for the lads to pose with 'in-motion' sparklers in the first place? like, did some bonehead photographer just happen to have some hanging around the studio? or did he come up with the concept like, at an earlier time, and thought it was such a groovy idea he went out and bought a bunch of 'em like, just for the photo shoot? i can just hear the guy now, like shouting out, '...okay lads, move those things around! yeah, faster! look alive there, lads! really like, move 'em around!' seems like, lame, when you think of it that way. and hey, i think this might be the only shot of i've ever seen of simon with a cigarette in his hand. i mean, when he knew his picture was being taken. well, i may have seen one other, but i know its like, rare. but i digress... who wins? like, 'looks-and-sexiness'-wise? ummm, roger and andy couldn't be more out, out of the running. john looks like 'hating life' is job #1 at the moment. nick looks like he's just on the brink of falling over backwards, plus, he dorkily has one hand in his pocket... not exactly committing to the whole 'frolicksome pop star' vibe. so, the winner? simon le bon it is. he's got a cute smile going, and i'm a sucker for those 80's black and white horizontal striped shirts. hey, where can i get one?

d2 three-way

hey, it sounds a bit sexier than it looks. i realize we haven't had a duran-related horserace in a little while, so here's a shot i found a few days ago. and man, just one word about the clothing... namely, nothing says 'late 1980's' like quilted, shimmery, oversized blazer-jackets, complete with insane shoulder pads. and hey, like, let us not forget, that all-important staple of high style, the 'useless fancy brooch!' yes, back in 1986-to-88, nothing said 'i'm in style and i know it,' like a cheap-ass, non-genre-specific, mall-bought, glitzty brooch! man, i can't even begin to estimate how many jean-lucien and i had over just those few years. hey, going out to meet some friends in early 1987? well then, time to don your 'taiwanese' synthetic satin oversized shirt with the lonnng untucked tails... and, the cherry on the top of your fashion 'don't?' ...well, everyone in 'the know' knew it was a 3-and-a-half-dollar 'distressed' metal fantasy brooch, with a swirly or vaguely military-fied design, complete with some hot pink or golden amber plastic cabochons stuck in. yes, pin it just beneath the chin of your 'all the way up' buttoned shirt, and you were ready to create 'fashion jealousy' with every step!

oh wait, i'm supposed to be talking about duran duran. well, to make a long story short, john wins. again. and it looks like he knows it, too.

fan book, fan book!

yes, before there was the internet, there was the glossy and glorious 'fan book,' and i daresay no other band (except maybe culture club) had as many fan books as those hot boys from birmingham, the pretty lads of duran duran. most of the best fan books, (not surprisingly) were made in japan, and was full of that cute indecipherable japanese writing. but the pictures needed no translation. they were big and glossy and glorious, and in many cases, 'never before seen.' i had several of those wonderful d2 fan books myself, but i can safely say i never had this one. so i have no idea if it was worth 'the bucks.' but i dig the cover... from the hot pouty shot of le bon, to the cheesy and barely adequate red lettering. i'd love to get a look at the pages. looking back on it, living in the sleepy small southern town i grew up in, its surprising that i got my hands on any decent fan books at all. so um, here's to fan books. perhaps lucynell can tell us if there were similar books released of her two main fave 80's bands, U2 and the police. how 'bout it, lucy? any decent fan books there?

old duran

hey, i know the poster is a bit old and faded, but i thought we could still get a horserace out of it. i never had this poster on my wall, i can testify to that. i had dozens upon dozens of D2 posters, but i know i never had this one. and its from 'way back,' like maybe 81, or somewhere around there. so hey, let's take a look. mmm, as per usual, roger and andy are out, out. so who's left... sadly, i think i have to cut nick at this point, too. so its down to simon and jt. mmm, hey... i'm kind of torn here. simon looks rather butch and sexy up there with his uncharacteristically dark hair. and john looks like he's having a bit of a hair gel overload. hmmm, i think i'm gonna give it to simon. i love that old school striped shirt. and i know john can look a lot better. the 'planet earth' era was not his best look. so i guess simon it is. (mmm, i don't sound like, super-enthused about it.)

new old duran duran horserace

hey, here we go again... once again, you must choose! but choose wisely. (mmm, who am i...? the old knight at the end of 'last crusade?' all of the sudden?) okay, so we're not picking out a holy grail, but we are trying to decide who has the most 'righteous' good looks in this mid-80's pin up of simon and the rest of the duran lads. first of all, let me say that this particular photo shoot was very familiar to me. like, it is distinctive because of that tacky-ass red white and blue smeared paint background. i know i must have encountered at least a dozen slightly different shots from different publications, but all with the same ugly wall, the same clothes, and the same 'standing order.' i'm sure this happened with other bands. like, i'm sure lucynell could tell me the same kind of thing about sting and the police boys in almost-identical poses on the same like, military airstrip or something. but, all that aside... we need to choose a winner here. so um, let's see... as usual, can we eliminate vom-faces andy and roger? umm, yes. yes we can. andy looks hung over, and roger looks cold. so that leaves the middle three once again. simon loses some points right away because he looks like he's in the middle of saying something, which is almost never a good look on anyone. and i have to dock nick some points, because he can't even be bothered to look at the camera. (actually, maybe we should give him some credit for that... like, for being 'too cool' for the photoshoot.) and so that leaves john. you know its sad when john can look like a dykey high school girl named melissa who wants to kick your ass after gym class, and still beat out his buddies for the 'best looking' crown. so its nigel john taylor once again. congratulations john. you made it. (click to enlarge)

duran glam

here's a duran horserace-made-a-bit-easier... that's because uggos andy and roger aren't even in the picture. so, from left to right, we have, of course; mr. nicholas james bates-rhodes, mr. simon john charles le bon, and mr. nigel john taylor. so, who wins? unfortunately, i think we can dismiss nick right away. he looks like falling asleep is 'job one.' and simon, well... i never did care for that spiky-on-purpose bleach-tipped haystack look. i mean, he looks happy and all, but still. so, facially, i guess the honors go to sleek and lanky john-john. at least he's like, fully awake, you know? and he's also not trying too hard to be hot; like he's just letting his popstar good looks speak for themselves. so, john wins... but before i move on, i've got to say one thing: what is UP with the 'theme' of their stage clothing? its like, ill-hewn band uniforms meet 'club clothes.' not their best look, if you want my opinion. and the togs don't even look like, particularly well-made, sewing-wise. so yeah, john wins. and you can expect yet another tiger race here on the planet sometime soon. (click to enlarge, somewhat)

le bon not included

hey, it appears to be 'horserace nite' here on the planet. here's a tricky one. it IS duran duran, minus one very important and often sexy component; yes, we're missing mr. simon le bon. so its a four-way race. so, umm, quickly, lets take stock of the 'man-meat' in front of us. (duran duran as 'man-meat?' wow... without simon, i can hardly say that phrase with a straight face.) so, real fast lets take a look at the remaining four. hmmm... well, three out of the four of them are 'actively' holding alcoholic beverages. they all look reasonably happy. even boring old roger is managing to have a smile on his face. man, looks-wise, he does absolutely nothing for me. and i think we can count andy out too. i mean, he looks like he's having a good time, but other than that, bag it, the face. so, as it often is, its down to nick and john. its not a tough choice. john wins, hands down. he actually looks very cute. very tall... very cool. so here's to you, mr. nigel john taylor. you win this one... for now...

duran...depressed?

okay, i've got another horserace for you guys. first of all, let me say that i once owned a glossy, well-produced 'fan book' back in 'the day' with this exact picture on it. on the cover, i mean. i'm pretty sure it was japanese. all the best duran fan books were japanese. anyway, if i remember correctly, this book more or less focused on stills and shots taken while the band were on location 'in-and-around' the tropics, fliming videos like 'save a prayer' and 'hungry like the wolf.' but man, do they look depressed here or what? yeah, i know they were probably hot and tired, but you'd think maybe they could work up at least one sincere 'pose' for the cameras. then again, this shot was probably only one in a hundred that were taken that day. okay, before i even make my 'horserace' desicion, i need to point out something i've always noticed, like since 1984. namely, dig roger's crotch area. yeah, is it just me, or does it look like he's very purposefully positioned his 'junk' on the end of that bannister, like he's full-out 'displaying' it? i mean, its resting right on there like its taking a break, you know? oddly, for some reason i don't think roger taylor is 'randy' and-or 'scandalous' enough to be thinking, '....hey, i'm gonna give the little girls at home a thrill, by drawing some serious attention to my Birmingham swag.' i don't think roger is mentally capable of being that calculated. that being said... the official winner of the horse race... hmmm, i'm gonna have to give it to simon le bon. sure, he looks like, super-bored, but other than that, very nice. only, i don't know how somebody can wear a blazer over bare skin, but hey... it was 'miami vice' era, and we are talking about simon le bon. (as if that makes any sense.) dig it.

striped tigers

guess what folks? this is the second duran horserace in a little less than 24 hours. last night, i had them in the snow, and tonight, we've got the boys in a far more temperate setting. i think i even see a jive-ass potted 'california plant' on stand-by. most of you should be able to tell that this was taken on the cusp of the rio album. (john's hair is still a little plum-colored.) annnd, not surprisingly, it looks like a solid three-way horserace once again. to this day i have no idea what planet andy was pretending he was from with that no-style white-bleached fright-wig look he held onto for a few years. i mean, he's not a good-looking guy to begin with, you'd think he'd make every effort NOT to look even more like slow-baked shite. and roger looks like his deep 'motivation' for this photo shoot was to fall back on that old stand-by, '...the sun is in my eyes.' or, more specifically, in roger taylor's case; '...the sun is in my eyes, and i have no idea why i ever agreed to be in this band, i'm miserable.' so... who's left? john looks cool... and if i didn't know any better, i might guess by his body position that he was the lead singer. i give john 7 out of a possible ten. and then there's nick. not bad. i know the hair looks a little discolored and bouffy, but i happen to know that, in different lighting, that was actually a very good look for him. facially, he looks alright, but its pretty clear he's totally bored, maybe thinking about how much soft-core porn he's missing on the good old american 'cinemax.' 8 out of ten. and then we come to mr. le bon. okay, i'm giving him the win. he's managing to do something pretty tricky; namely, not looking like an idiot. nothing special, but yeah, if i passed him in the mall looking like that, i'd probably turn around for a second look. (just for the record, i've always loved those 80's striped shirts. i wish they'd come back in style. they look incredible on jean-lucien.)

ragged snow

yeah, you know... when i hear the word 'snow' in connection with duran duran, i don't immediately think about the kind that falls from the sky. (if you know what i mean, ... 'disco sugar' is what i'm hinting at.) that being said, lets concentrate on this shot. first of all, i think i can safely say that i've never seen it before. secondly, it looks like we've got a ragged horserace on our hands. and in this case, its not exactly a difficult call. i'm gonna have to give it to mr. taylor. which taylor, you may ask?? and i answer, ultra-sarcastically, "...which one do you think...??" yes, i'm givin' it to mr. nigel john 'JT' john taylor. he looks damn cute over there, smiling his skinny, 'sugared-up' ass off. it also looks like mr. john taylor was the only one who didn't get the memo that they were gonna be shooting pictures in sub-zero arctic conditions that day. everyone else has a coat on, and looks reasonably dressed for it. john on the other hand, looks like he just clocked out for his fifteen minute break at 'merchant's.' i also noticed how, from like, 'left to right,' the boys look progressively less happy as you move on down the line. john looks ecstatic, and by the time you get to roger, its very much like, '...who died?' in any case, i thought a shot of the boys in the snow was fitting for the 'season' or whatever.

d. d.

man, its a lot harder than one might think to find some decent shots of early-era 80's duran duran out there. like, 'nick rhodes headband' era. i was hoping to find a scan of the photograph on the inner sleeve of the original 'rio' album. but hey, apparently that was too much to ask in this hi-tech sleek ultra-modern 'information age.' apparently all the duran fans from the 80's have better things to do than to spend any time making high quality scans of all their memorabilia. hey, thanks for nothing. anyway, here's a shot of 'DD' from one of their more interesting eras. dig it.