Duran Duran to reunite with ex-bandmate Andy Taylor on new project

Duran Duran to reunite with ex-bandmate Andy Taylor on new project

The guitarist, who was diagnosed with stage-4 metastatic prostate cancer last year, will join them 'for a few tracks', the band wrote on Monday.

(From left) Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon at the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. (AFP pic)
LONDON:
British band Duran Duran announced on Monday that they are to reunite with guitarist Andy Taylor for a new project.

The band said Taylor, who was diagnosed with stage-four metastatic prostate cancer last year, would join them “for a few tracks”.

Taylor, whose rock- and funk-inspired riffs drove dance floor hits such as “Girls on Film” and “Rio”, left Duran Duran in 1986 to pursue other projects.

He had been due to reunite with his former bandmates for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the US last November. But instead, frontman Simon Le Bon read a message in which Taylor revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Duran Duran – comprising Le Bon, keyboard player Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor – said they were “thrilled” by Monday’s announcement.

The new project is due for release later this year, they said on Twitter.

“The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former bandmate Andy Taylor who will join us on guitar for a few tracks,” they said.

Duran Duran, formed in Birmingham, central England, in 1978, enjoyed huge success in Britain and the United States, and have been seen as innovators in the then-new medium of music videos.

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