Duran's New Golden Age

My friends, we are living through a golden age of Duran fandom. This is an historically significant period, up there with the greatest 5-year periods in their career.

When comparing innovation, creativity, product and availability to fans, the period 2021-25 has been a joy to experience.

Let’s consider this period an historical context using two of the more fanous five-year periods as a bench mark:

1981-85 (of course)

Original albums: Duran Duran, Rio, Seven and the Ragged Tiger

Extra albums: Carnival, Arena

Spin-off albums: Arcadia, Power Station

Added value: You know this bit: iconic videos, imaginative marketing, world domination.

1993-97

Original albums: The Wedding Album, Medazzaland

Extra albums: Thank You

Spin-off albums: Neurotic Outsiders, Power Station, Warren solo, John solo.

Added value: World tour to new areas (Eastern Europe, South Africa, South America), first download (Electric Barbarella), MTV Unplugged.

2021-25

Original albums: Future Past

Extra albums: Danse Macabre

Spin-off albums: First vinyl releases (Hammersmith ’82, Medazzaland, Pop Trash, Greatest), Future Past deluxe 2LP, Danse Macabre deluxe 3LP, Andy solo.

Added value: Exploring the festival circuit to maximise reach, Hyde Park, Commonwealth Games, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Ibiza ‘22, New York News Years Eve, live shows 5 years in a row in the UK, owning Halloween.

It is worth having a wider look at the Duran touring strategy in this period. Previously, since 1984, Duran would usually only turn up in your local big city when they had a new album to promote. This meant various dead zones of live performance. For example, after the December 2015 Paper Gods concerns in the UK, they did not perform another show until 2021 (it would have been 2020 but for Covid). Since then they have played at least one UK show in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

How have they done this? By piggy backing onto ‘events’ – this week they play in Exeter and Chelmsford, two towns they have never played before. Each of these provisional areas has a ‘live weekend’ each year, and Duran are this year’s headliners. They did the same in Scarborough and the Isle of Wight in 2021. Suddenly it is not just the usual big cities who get a show. Leicester, Inverness and Halifax have had a visit. The locals are excited. We are excited to go to new venues. This is clever.

It is also a lesser spotted outcome of Covid. Joining the 2022 festivals meant that the chances of costs associated by Covid-cancellations fell. The band could turn, play and leave – without the whole ‘on tour’ paraphernalia. You get a lot of bang for your buck with festivals – they do all the hard work with promotion and ticket sales and the audience generally are in the mood to be relaxed and entertained.

And it’s not just in the UK. Belgium, Finland, Croatia and Portugal have had the Duran bus roll into town for one night. And this seems to have inspired the band. Deep cuts have started turning up more frequently. Oh look, it’s Perfect Day, Skin Trade, Faster Than Light and Nite Runner! Here comes Anyone Out There, What Happens Tomorrow and Tel Aviv!

And then there is the Duran annexing of Hallowe’en. It takes some effort to remember that this just started as a fun event in Las Vegas in 2022. Then followed a whole album in ’23 (featuring the return of Andy and Warren), then MSG in ’24. Each year the band promise there will no more. Each year it gets a little bigger and more exciting. Now we are on the fourth year in a row, anything seems possible next.

These are special moments for us all.  See you at the shows!