Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon says he has no interest in Halloween – even though the band have just released Danse Macabre, an album based around the concept.
In a new interview with the Sun, Le Bon explained that the annual event was too close to his Oct. 27 birthday for his liking. “Danse Macabre is Nick’s fantasy album,” he said, referring to his longtime keyboardist bandmate Nick Rhodes. “I don’t give a fuck about Halloween, to be honest, as it’s always a distraction in my birthday week.”
Still, he added, the record was “great fun to make” after it was inspired by a Halloween show the band played last year. “Dressing up is in Duran Duran’s DNA – absolutely,” he reported, touching on the tradition. “We are good dresser-uppers. The dressing-up box is the most important toy in our house.”
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Danse Macabre follows Future Past, which was released in 2021. “We set ourselves a goal to make an album within a year,” Le Bon said of the new LP. “I think self-consciousness is the biggest enemy of art but this time we didn’t have time to stand back. We had to get on with it.” As a result he found himself with little time off over the past 12 months, but argued: “it’s nice to be prolific rather than have five years between albums.”
Former guitarist Andy Taylor returned for studio sessions after confirming that his battle with cancer had received an uptick via new medication. “Reconnecting with Andy… was also a special time,” Le Bon said.
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“Andy is family. We love him and wanted him on the album. We wanted to do as much as possible to help his situation and we’ve helped him get into a place where he is able to change his life and mentality.”
He continued: “I want him around as long as we can have him. Recording with Andy was amazing. We recorded seven guitar tracks in two days when he was quite low.”
Expressing hope that the new drugs could give Taylor “another ten years of life,” he continued: “I heard he played a prostate cancer benefit concert the other night and got Robert Plant to play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ for the first time in 20 years. Absolutely amazing. I am so proud of Andy. I love him dearly.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
