The great vinylluver ebay sale (well its not that great really)

I am selling some things on ebay and if channel 9 can cross-promote tv shows like no tomorrow - I don't see why little bloggers like me can't! its a mixture of stuff that has been sitting in my spare room for ages, so its time to have a little sale. 

• KIM WILDE PROMO POSTCARD from 1995 
• ERASURE PROMO POSTCARD from 1995
• BOY GEORGE CDS FUNTIME THE CRYING GAME
• JESUS LOVES YOU BOY GEORGE 7 INCHES x 3
• MORE PROTEIN 7 INCHES SUN MACHINE LOVE ON LOVE 

Nick Rhodes gets the Polaroid Camera out for BEI INCUBI

My favourite popstar Nick Rhodes has got his Polaroid Camera out for a new exhibition in London titled 'Bei Incubi' or 'Beautiful Nightmares'. The exhibition features 20 polaroids and will coincide with the release of his TVMANIA project. Nick released a book of abstract polaroids titled 'Interference' back in 1984.

Read the press release on the Duran Duran website.

The exhibition will open at the Vinyl Factory Chelsea, 91 Walton St, London SW3, UK from the 8 March to 5 April 2013.

Happy 50th Birthday Nick Rhodes

Nick Rhodes, my favourite member from Duran Duran and one of the best popstars of all-time celebrated 50 years yesterday. Happy 50th Birthday Nick! You can read my previous post about Nick when he sent me a postcard. I HEART Nick Rhodes.You can see his 50th Birthday message below. 

The Arcadia years

Nick on the cover of Italian Harpers Bazaar in the 90's

I'm off to see Duran Duran

Sorry to be quiet of late but life/work has got the best of me this past week. This is a quick post to share my excitement about seeing Duran Duran this weekend in the Hunter Valley. Also looking forward to getting away for the weekend and visiting some wineries (already have a dinner and boutique food and wine tour booked). I think the reason I am excited is that I think the ALL YOU NEED IS NOW album is one of the best albums they have made for a long time. So many amazing songs. I am glad they are singing THE MAN WHO STOLE A LEOPARD which is my favourite song on the album. I am hoping that they will also sing MEDITTERANEA but don't think thats going to happen. I was hoping to do some more posts on Duran Duran this week including my Top 17 Duran songs but that will have to wait for another day. I will of course write a detailed post about the concert next week. In the meantime you can revisit my Duran Devotion post.

Here are some cool Duran performances of late. Starting with an amazing performance of NOTORIOUS featuring the one and only Beth Ditto from The Gossip from the Duran Duran UNSTAGED concert directed by David Lynch. 

From the same concert, FRIENDS OF MINE which was an album track from their first LP - DURAN DURAN which I absolutely love. A classic! 

Here is another early track which is also one of my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE DURAN DURAN SONGS - THE CHAUFFEUR. This was an album track on the RIO album. I ask you, who could possibly make a song like this in 2012? This is from when Duran appeared on SONGBOOK.

Duran Devotion

I have been a MAJOR DURAN DURAN fan since 1984. Thats 28 years of DURAN DEVOTION. I will be the first to admit that my DURAN LOVE has wavered at times (lets just forget about that POP TRASH album, shall we). They will commence the Australian leg of the All You Need is Now Tour tonight in Brisbane! I am seeing Duran Duran at the Hunter Valley on 31 March 2012 and am highly excited about hearing the songs from the fantastic ALL YOU NEED IS NOW album being played live. Its a great album with some of their best songs in recent times. I am hoping to hear GIRL PANIC, THE MAN WHO STOLE THE LEOPARD, MEDITERRANEA and ALL YOU NEED IS NOW. So this post is a little bit of my history with the boys from BRUM. Brace yourself for a mega-post (as one vinylluver reader put it on a previously long post) and make yourself a green tea!

 

1. I have met the band ONCE and that was in 2004 at a HMV record signing for SUNRISE in London. I left work early to get in queue as I knew it was going to be crazy. I was one of the lucky ones to get in. I managed to get my RIO tour program and SUNRISE CD single signed. John ignored me when I made a comment about his hair in the RIO tour program but other than that it was an amazing moment.

Autographed Rio Tour Program.

2. I once was involved with running an Australian fanzine called OUR BIG THING (it was circa 1991 and the album BIG THING had been released a few years earlier). It was created with a number of other Duranies in Australia but fortunately only lasted 2 issues. I was responsible for the Merchandise page (ie the best places to buy Duran merchandise) and the Buy Swap Sell page (where fans can write in to off load their unwanted Andy Taylor records (should they want to). We gave it our all for those 2 issues! GOOD TIMES!

Our Big Thing - Issue 2. I love a fanzine!

3. I was present at the Sydney Hard Rock Cafe when Duran performed their famous concert "This is No Ordinary World Tour" which was performed in LA at Tower Records and beamed to Hard Rock Cafes around the world on 15 May 1993 in support of the WEDDING ALBUM. I caught a bus from Adelaide to Sydney, thats 24 hours on a bus to be there, to see them on a video screen! I met up with some other fans who had travelled from Melbourne. I was in Sydney for 1.5 days and then caught the bus back to Adelaide. It was totally crazy but great fun, things you do as a crazy Duranie. I got chosen to ask the band a question as part of the Q/A at the end of the concert but unfortunately some other cow actually asked a question from Sydney. There were a bunch of us who were chosen and I think Richard Wilkins from the Today show was there as the media person, if memory serves me correct.

Stolen Press Release from the Hard Rock Cafe. 

4. My favourite member will always be NICK RHODES. He is funny, witty, intelligent, talented and the most adorable man in POP. He loves lists, has never worn jeans and wears lipstick. See my From Nick Rhodes With Love post for further reason of my love of this man.

 

5. When I moved to London in 1999, I moved earlier than I had originally planned to because Duran Duran were playing Earls Court that December and I had to see them! It was the first time I had seen them live as they had not toured Australia since 1983! See Number 9 for further details of my Duran live experiences.

6. I once wrote to Maynard at Triple J (Australian national radio station) to play COME UNDONE, 2nd single from the WEDDING ALBUM (as my role as Duran's unofficial PR in Australia)! Well, he rang me at 5.30am in the morning one Saturday to speak to me about it while ON AIR. OK so no-one was listening at 5.30am but I was being interviewed ON AIR by Maynard. Thanks to the 30 minute time difference between Sydney and Adelaide, I was able to tape it and I still have it on cassette to this day. It was another amazing Duran moment!

7. When Duran splintered in 1985 into POWER STATION and ARCADIA, I preferred Arcadia. Where Nick goes I follow! The SO RED THE ROSE project was quite amazing. It is one of the most underrated albums of the 1980's. Some great musicians and singers contributed to the album including Grace Jones, Sting, Herbie Hancock and Carlos Alomar to name a few! Linda Evangelista is in the video for ELECTION DAY!  THE PROMISE is one of my all time favourite songs by Duran Duran.

 

8. I used to collect crazily and obsessively on Duran Duran, particularly from 1986 to 1996. I mean I had to have every picture, every record, every CD, just EVERYTHING (please see numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 for obsessive fan behaviour related to this) To this day I still have 6 copies of A VIEW TO A KILL on 7inch because each one is different because it was pressed in a different country. I am no longer a major collector and I don't begrudge those that still are. I would rather focus my energy on other areas of my life such as this blog and home decorating. I still have my scrapbooks though (haven't been able to part with them) but have sold large parts of my collection on ebay. If anyone is looking for a copy of NEW MOON ON MONDAY on 7inch from the Netherlands, you know who to contact!

9. I have seen Duran Duran LIVE 6 times, mostly when I was living in London (1999-2007).

• 8 December 1999 Let it Flow  Tour - Earls Court Arena - It was the first time I saw Duran and it was magical if only for the experience.
• 11 December 2000 - Pop Trash Tour - Manchester Apollo - My sister was visiting me from Oz and we were travelling all over the place and I was not in London for their concert so we travelled to Manchester to see them!
• 14 October 2003 The Reunion Tour - The Forum - I had to lineup at the Astoria (legendary music venue now closed) early in the morning to get these tickets. This concert was one of the best with the original line-up. They were ON FIRE!
• 13 April 2004 The Reunion Tour - Wembley Arena - We were like in the 2nd to back row and I swear we could touch the ceiling of Wembley. I remember being very HOT throughout the whole concert. 
• 13 January 2005 BBC Radio 2 concert - Hammersmith Palais (another music venue in London which has now closed) - I won tickets for this concert from BBC Radio 2. It was a small intimate gig and we were at the side not really bothered about getting close in front of the stage. Yasmin and the other Duran wives/girlfriends/children were dancing behind us! I was too in awe of being close to a supermodel to even turn sideways!  
• 28 March 2008 Red Carpet Massacre Tour - Sydney Entertainment Centre - This was the first time I saw Duran in Australia. Writing this now it feels slightly strange that after all these years of being a fan, this was the first time I saw the band in Australia.

OK so thats some of my history with Duran Duran. If you have similar stories please let me know, I'd love to hear them. I think this may be my longest post yet on vinylluver and now I need a lie down! I am finishing  this post with my favourite track on ALL YOU NEED IS NOW which is THE MAN WHO STOLE THE LEOPARD. Enjoy.

How the Brits Rocked America

BBC4 recently showed a 3 part series about how British bands have infiltrated the difficult American market titled: How the Brits Rocked America: Go West. The final episode "We're the Kids in America" deals with the 70's punk movement and then the new wave invasion of the 80's. Interviewees include John Lydon from the Sex Pistols, Jim Kerr from Simple Minds, Elvis Costello, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor from Duran Duran, Adam Ant, Debbie Harry from Blondie, Bob Geldof, Robert Smith from the Cure, Ian McCulloch from Echo and the Bunnymen, Stewart Copeland and Sting from the Police, Boy George from Culture Club, Gary Numan and many other commentators.

Those in UK can watch the episode on the BBC4 website. Great quotes include:

"Journey or Duran Duran" - John Taylor
"I was supposed to get the cover of Rolling Stone but someone decided I was a Nazi" - Adam Ant
"They were the enemy" (on Duran Duran) - Robert Smith

For those not in the UK, please see the below YouTube links.Thanks to Tracey Thorn for tweeting about this (which is how i heard about this series) and my friend Peter Dixon for giving me the lowdown on this show.

Part 1 

Part 2 

Part 3 

Part 4 

From Nick Rhodes with Love

Nick Rhodes sent me this postcard after i sent him the Australian Duran Duran covers album The Songs of Duran Duran UnDone from 1999. I had just moved to London and this made my LIFE! There will be a few more Duran Duran posts in the leadup to their All You Need is Now Australian Tour coming up this March/April.

Talking to girls about duran duran

I have just finished reading a funny book titled 'Talking to girls about duran duran" written by Rolling Stone writer Robert Sheffield. OMG this book is like an 80's wet dream come to life. Each chapter is devoted to a song as Rob lives through the 80's from High School to University and tries to find love. There are alot of laughs to be had in this book. From all the new waves bands you could wish for, to advising Debbie Gibson to go down the punk rock route, the brilliance of John Hughes and Cassingles to the Banana Splits, his love for the Smiths (not the 2nd album) and Madonna, this is an 80's must read. The last chapter is devoted to Duran Duran - why girls like them so much, why Rob loves Duran so much and why Duran love Duran so much! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Duran Duran, the 80's, music or anyone who was a teenager between the years 1980 to 1989 (particularly if you lived those years in Boston). This book was published in 2010 and I hate to admit it but I did buy this in a bargain bookshop in Sydney but it was worth every cent! He has also written another book "Love is a Mix Tape" which i now must read!

GIGS booked for 2012 so far

I am presently under a GIG EMBARGO. This means absolutely NO non-essential gigs for me. The reason - I am going to Europe for 4 weeks in April/May and am saving my Australian cents for this trip. Though being a musicluver its simply not possible to live a completely gig-free existence so this is what I have booked in the next few months.

ALPINE - 20 January 2012 at Oxford Arty Factory (cheap cheap)
WASHINGTON - 25 January 2012 at Sydney Opera House (Washingtons super fan)
DURAN DURAN - 31 March 2012 Hunter Valley @ Tempus Two Winery (my early 40th birthday present - Thankyou Renita)

In the meantime here is a picture of someone I would love to see live in 2012.

5 cities where I have celebrated New Years Eve

1. AdELaide
2. RoMe
3. SyDNEy
4. PARis
5. LondON
ps this list is inspired by my popart hero Nick Rhodes who likes to compile lists.