Duran Duran is an English new wave band formed in Birmingham in 1978 — Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and three unrelated Taylors — who became defining stars of the MTV-era new romantic movement. Rio (1982) is the essential one, all synths and funk-driven bass, and the band has kept releasing records across four decades. Shop Duran Duran vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Duran Duran formed in Birmingham, England in 1978. The classic lineup of Simon Le Bon (joining in 1980), Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor (the three Taylors are unrelated) signed with EMI and released their self-titled debut in 1981. Their second album Rio (1982) and its iconic music videos shot in Sri Lanka and Antigua established them as a defining MTV-era act. Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor both departed in 1986, with Le Bon, Rhodes, and John Taylor continuing through a series of lineup configurations. The classic five-piece reunited from 2001 to 2006 for a touring and studio reunion. Andy Taylor's terminal cancer diagnosis was made public in 2022. The band has continued releasing material across multiple decades.
Duran Duran's sound combines new wave, new romantic, synth-pop, pop rock, and dance-rock, with extensive synthesizer work, John Taylor's funk-influenced bass playing, and Le Bon's distinctive vocal delivery. They are widely cited as defining figures of the 1980s new romantic and new wave movements.
Original EMI and Capitol pressings of the Duran Duran catalog are widely collected. Multiple anniversary editions, including 40th anniversary editions of Rio, have been released.
Listeners new to Duran Duran typically start with Rio (1982).
