Duran Duran confirms ‘special new project’

Project follows 2022 Rock Hall induction

Duran Duran have confirmed a “special new music project” is in the works, set for release later this year through BMG. “The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former band mate Andy Taylor who will join the iconic group on guitar on a few tracks,” the band shares in a social media statement.

Taylor is terminally ill with stage 4 prostate cancer. He was unable to attend the group’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last fall due to his condition.

Additional album details to follow.

The group, sans Taylor, is continues its The Future Past Tour this spring. Twenty-six dates span North American arenas throughout the year with both Bastille and Nile Rodgers & Chic joining them as special guests across the entire run. Produced by Live Nation, the trek begins May 28th in San Jose, CA and will make stops across Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Austin, New Orleans, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, and Tampa before concluding the first leg in Florida on June 18th. The tour will pick up again on August 24th in Sacramento, CA, with dates in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Detroit, and Toronto amongst many more. Dates in New York City and LA will be announced soon.

2022 served as something of a landmark year for Duran Duran that included a summer live season of epic proportions – headlining London’s Hyde Park in front of 60,000 people, performing at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace and closing the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in their home town of Birmingham, along with a North America tour that included sold out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and three nights at the Hollywood Bowl.

The cinematic release of their new docu-concert film, A Hollywood High followed, before the band capped off the year with a spectacular performance in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, counting fans down into 2023 in front of a live audience of over one million people on the streets of Manhattan.

All this after the huge success of new studio album Future Past, hailed as Duran Duran at their best by critics and fans alike, four decades into their rich and storied career.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn