roger taylor Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Duran Duran “Perfect Day”

sfilzen — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 17:08:39 +0000

Duran Duran “Perfect Day” 1995. Limited edition “Scratch ‘n’ Sniff” 7″ single. Today, April 26th, is Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor’s birthday (b. 1960). “Perfect Day” is a cover of the Lou Reed classic (1972); Roger Taylor was on an extended break from Duran Duran in the late 80’s/early to mid 90’s but briefly reconnected with Simon, Nick and John in 1994 while in Paris to record a couple of tracks for Thank You plus he appears in the video for “Perfect Day” (shot in 1995). “Perfect Day” went to #28 in the UK and Lou Reed has stated that Duran Duran’s version is “potentially the best rerecording of any of his songs.” The b-side is another Reed cover: Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale (alternative mix)” (VU’s from 1967). The difference in Nico vs Simon’s voice could not be more radical but both versions are fabulous.

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Duran Duran “Astronaut”

sfilzen — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:46:31 +0000

Duran Duran “Astronaut” 2004. Today, April 26th, is Duran drummer Roger Taylor’s birthday (b. 1960) and it’s been almost exactly one year since I stood about 20 feet away from him while he dj’d at the iconic Pacha nightclub in Ibiza, Spain.

Roger Taylor at Pacha, Ibiza, 2022

Astronaut is Duran Duran’s 11th studio LP; it went to #3 in the UK and to #17 in the US. I pretty much stopped buying DD2 on vinyl in the mid-80’s (I have Astronaut on CD) so scooped up this limited edition clear vinyl reissue last year. Of the later Duran releases, it definitely ranks towards the top for me. “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise” is one of my favorite songs in their catalog. The single hit #5 in the UK, went to #1 on the US dance chart (#89 on the regular charts) and it’s an endlessly uplifting, practically perfect pop song. Also fabulous from Astronaut is the title track, a modernized synthpop-space age rocker and the synth-funk’d “Bedroom Toys“and “Nice” (the latter released as a single only in Europe). I also love the doo-doo-doo’d “Taste the Summer” and the gorgeous “What Happens Tomorrow” which went to #11 in the UK and to #2 on the US dance chart. Its video was nominated for the Visual Effects Society Awards in 2005 for “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Music Video.” I cannot wait to see Duran Duran perform again later this summer, but I doubt I’ll get close to them as I did to Roger last year in Ibiza.

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Duran Duran “The Reflex (Dance Mix)”

sfilzen — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 18:46:00 +0000

Duran Duran “The Reflex (Dance Mix)” 1984. 12″ single, UK import. Today, April 26th, is drummer Roger Taylor’s 61st birthday (b. 1960). The Dance Mix, remixed by Nile Rodgers, is even better than the single version (which appears on Side B), extended with tons of synth effects, more “da-na-na-na’s,” more Simon singing “da reflex.” The single hit #1 in both the US and the UK in late spring/early summer ‘84 (and I literally sang it that entire summer to the irritation of just about everybody except my Duranie friends). Also on Side B of the 12″ is a live version of “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” from their November 16th, 1982 concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London (that song a cover originally by UK glam rockers Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel; Steve Harley joined Duran Duran for that performance).

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Duran Duran “Is There Something I Should Know”

sfilzen — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:12:27 +0000

Duran Duran “Is There Something I Should Know” 1983. Today, February 16th, is (former) Duran guitarist Andy Taylor’s 60th birthday (b. Andrew Taylor, 1961). Duran Duran released “Is There Something I Should Know?” as a stand-alone single in the UK where it entered the chart at #1 (their first top of the chart single). In the US it went to #4 and the band included the track on the re-release of their debut LP Duran Duran for the US market. This 12″ single has the “Monster Mix” – it’s mainly an instrumental with plenty of extras: keyboards, sound effects, a nice little rockin’ guitar solo for Andy and a ton of funky bass for John. The B-side to the 12″ has another instrumental, “Faith in This Colour.” On the 7″ single in the UK there’s an alternative version: “Faith in This Colour (Alternate Slow Mix)” and in the US the B-side to the 7″of “Is There Something I Should Know” is “Careless Memories,” the band’s second single released in ‘81.

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Arcadia “So Red the Rose”

sfilzen — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 17:42:30 +0000

Arcadia “So Red the Rose” released 35 years ago today, November 18th, 1985. One of my favorite (not actually) Duran Duran records! Arcadia was the side-project of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor (John Taylor and Andy Taylor were off doing Power Station) and their one and only LP hit #23 in the US and #30 in the UK. I think I got my copy the day it was released, or pretty close to that. My Duranie friends and I spent hours working to decode the encrypted numeric messages on the cover and liner notes (this was very pre-internet; now you can just go to Wiki and it tells you that the numbers code out to “So Red the Rose” and “Rhodes, Le Bon and Taylor”).

Arcadia released six singles from the LP, though not all of them globally. “Election Day” was the first single (and features Grace Jones on sing/speak vocals); it went to #6 in the US and #7 in the UK. “Goodbye is Forever” went to #33 in the US, it wasn’t released as a single in the UK however “The Promise” was released in the UK (#37) in a stripped-down format from the longer album version, but it was not released in the US (Sting does a cameo on vocals in “The Promise”). “The Flame” was another UK-only single release (too bad, I love this song!) where it hit #58. “El Diablo” (another fave) was only released as a single in Spain while “Keep Me in the Dark” was a single in the Philippines.

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Arcadia “Election Day”

sfilzen — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 16:57:45 +0000

Arcadia “Election Day” 1985. The best (and only?) song about election day for today, November 3rd, 2020. “Election Day” was the first single from Arcadia (the Duran Duran offshoot of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor) off their one and only LP So Red the Rose. It went to #6 in the US and #7 in the UK. I bought this 12″ single probably the day it was released (in October ‘85). Side A has the extended version “Election Day (Consensus Mix)” which is a bit longer than the album version, but does feature the same awesome sing-speak of 80′s icon Grace Jones. Side B has the single version of “Election Day” and an instrumental of the track “She’s Moody and Grey, She’s Mean and She’s Restless.” Some great Le Bon lyrics on this track for today including “Wild kind of look to the day” and “Hi guys, by the way, are you aware you’re being illegal
It’s making your savior behavior look evil.” VOTE!!!!!!!!

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Queen “The Game”

sfilzen — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 20:45:42 +0000

Queen “The Game” released 40 years ago today, June 30th, 1980. The Game was Queen’s eighth studio LP and the only one to hit #1 in the US (interestingly, it went to #8 on the US R&B chart and, not surprisingly, also went to #1 in the UK). It was their first album to use synthesizers and, at least according to the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, was the first where the band consciously wrote songs to dance to (“Disco? Queen doesn’t do disco!”). The first single from The Game was “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a rockabilly-ish track that for a looonggg time I never believed was Queen (in fact, I still find it somewhat disconcerting). It went to #2 in the UK and became Queen’s first #1 song in the US. The second single released was “Save Me” and went to #11 in the UK; I don’t think it charted in the US. “Play the Game,” the lead track on The Game, was the third single and it’s here that Queen unabashedly introduces synths for the first time. It charted at #14 in the UK and #42 in the US. The fourth single, “Another One Bites the Dust,” is the one where the disco quote comes from in the movie, the deep bass-line utterly addictive and danceable and was a massive hit, going to #1 in the US where it remained for three weeks and spent a total of 15 weeks in the Top 10; it went to #7 in the UK and ultimately would be Queen’s best-selling single. It’s also the song that I first remember actually hearing by Queen (I’m sure I heard others before but I was pretty young) at 9 years old during the summer of 1980 while at camp. With equal fondness I also remember Weird Al’s spoof, “Another One Rides the Bus.” The final single from The Game was “Need Your Loving Tonight” which was only released in the US and Japan; it went to #44 in the US.

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Duran Duran “Arena”

sfilzen — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 13:46:59 +0000

Duran Duran “Arena” released 35 years ago today, November 12th, 1984. My original gatefold copy from ‘84, complete with an 8-page glossy booklet featuring sultry photos of each band member (the one of Nick clutching what looks to be a pole is particularly amusing).

Arena (which went to #6 in the UK and #4 in the US) was “recorded around the world” when Duran Duran toured in ‘83 and ‘84 promoting Seven and the Ragged Tiger and includes songs from that album performed live like “The Seventh Stranger” and “Union of the Snake” but also many from Rio. Those are the always popular “Hungry Like the Wolf” which Simon introduces by asking the audience “Is anybody hungry??!!” as well as “New Religion” (which fabulously demonstrates the tension between Andy’s desire to play guitar in a hard rock-n-roll/metal band, Simon and Nick’s art-rock tendencies and John’s funky disco bass playing), “Save a Prayer” (I love it when Simon sings this live, adding in “ch-ch-ch” after the word “fire”), and “The Chauffeur.” They also perform the stand-alone “Is There Something I Should Know?” which appears on the US reissue of their debut record Duran Duran, plus “Planet Earth” and “Careless Memories” from that LP. The only non-live track on Arena is “The Wild Boys” (produced by Nile Rodgers) which they released as a single just prior to Arena; it went to #2 in both the US and the UK and became infamous for having the most expensive video ever made up to that point.

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Duran Duran “Duran Duran”

sfilzen — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 20:01:44 +0000

Duran Duran “Duran Duran” 1981/2010 limited edition double vinyl reissue. Today, June 20th, is DD2 bassist John Taylor’s birthday (b. Nigel John Taylor, 1960) so I’m spinning my 20th copy of their debut album – that might be an exaggeration but I do have several different versions of Duran Duran. And for good reason: it’s an amazing new wave, new romantic synth pop debut that still sounds brilliant almost 40 years on. It hit #3 on the UK charts and while reception was initially lackluster in the US, its re-release (with a slightly altered track listing and different cover) in ‘83 sent it to #10 on the Billboard album chart. This 2010 edition has the original UK release with the original single version of “Planet Earth” and the dreamy “To the Shore” track (the original US version on Harvest Records had the “Night Version” remix of “Planet Earth” and dropped “To the Shore;” the ‘83 reissue went back to the original “Planet Earth” and added “Is There Something I Should Know?”).

The record sleeve insert for Disc Two has this amazing photo of the band – it also makes me laugh because my dear friend Carrie keeps a file on her computer titled “Awkward Photos of Duran Duran” that includes several that either highlight or try (in vain) to obscure the massive height difference between Simon and John vs Nick, Roger and Andy. This is one that highlights it, obviously. Plus OMG Nick’s hair!!!

The second record in this double LP set is a bonus 12″ single with the aforementioned “Planet Earth (Night Version)” plus the Extended Night Version of “Girls on Film” that has previously been unreleased, another variant of “Planet Earth” – the Night Mix – and “Girls on Film (Night Mix)” – also previously unreleased.” Overkill? Nope, I cannot ever get enough of those songs.

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Duran Duran “Rio”

sfilzen — Fri, 10 May 2019 22:55:17 +0000

Duran Duran “Rio” – It’s a #Duraniversary! Rio, Duran’s second LP, was released on this date, May 10th, 1982, though this version is a 2014 reissue, limited edition double vinyl. Of course I have an original US version (I think purchased in ‘83 or so), which is one of my top 10 records of all-time. This copy has the original UK album on disc one and the select tracks that were remixed for the US version (released November ‘82): Side A – “Rio (US album remix),” “My Own Way (Carnival remix)” and “Lonely in Your Nightmare (US album remix)” and Side B – “Hungry Like the Wolf (US album remix)” and “Hold Back the Rain (US album remix)” (all remixes by David Kershenbaum). Because the US version was the one I primarily listened to (over and over and over) in the 80′s, these mixes are the ones I’m most familiar with, though recently I’ve listened to the UK version with more frequency. Most of the remixes are fairly subtle (“My Own Way” is simplified on the US version) though “Hold Back the Rain” is probably the most obviously different of the two variations: Nick’s synth on the US version is missing a lot of the bright top-note chords that are present on the UK variation and John’s bass is far funkier on the UK original. I love that song so much – my favorite recollection of listening to that song was when my parents and I went to England in the summer of ‘83, I blasted “Hold Back the Rain” into my off-brand Walkman headphones while driving down some English highway en route to Wales late in the evening – it’s a fantastic fast-driving tune.

My DD2 obsession is long-lasting and never-ending (I recently renewed my Duran Duran fan club membership…aaaanndd I’m not that far away from 50 years old. Sigh). I’ve written about this a couple of times previously, but back at age 13 or 14 my Duranie pal and I went a little nuts and wrote an entire story based on the lyrics from Rio (and a few tracks from Seven and the Ragged Tiger). Dig through some of my older Duran posts for a read and a laugh.

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