Fact #159508

 PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT from the Magic Castle, Hollywood, California, USA.
Q: Nick, is it true you've been approached by a movie company to play the part of David Bowie in an upcoming film?
Nick Rhodes : No, not to my knowledge.

Q: Simon, how do you guys feel, having all this excitement around the band on the 20th anniversary of The Beatles?
Simon Le Bon : Well, it is a bit of a coincidence, but I think this Duran Duran/Beatles thing's been laid on a bit heavy. The Beatles are something which happened twenty years ago, and it's never going to happen again. We're interested in making our own history, not rewriting anybody else's.

Q: For all of you - and Simon, if you would start: We know the up side of success, and you guys are doing real well, but what's the down side; what's bad about it?
Simon le Bon : Japanese photographers jumping out of your wardrobe. We did go on a gig - where was it? oh, Seattle - With these tables of food, and we're sitting there chatting away and 10 minutes later somebody heard voices. There were about six girls hiding underneath this table in the dressing room.

Q: We know you guys want to put The Beatles comparisons to bed, but there are so many striking similarities. Would you compare and contrast the differences.
Nick Rhodes : Well, for a start, we don't sound like The Beatles, we don't look like The Beatles, we don't even come from the same place as The Beatles. The only thing that started the comparison was some of the more hysterical audience reactions.
Simon le Bon : We're a musical group. The Beatles were a whole cultural change. I think it had more to do with history than with pop music, and it had to happen to the world.

Q: Are you flattered by the comparison, or would you rather not ever hear it again?
Nick Rhodes : No, we're flattered by it.
RogerTaylor : It could've been worse; it could've been Spandau Ballet.

Q: If you're not inviting Beatles comparisons, why did you pick today, the 20th anniversary of The Beatles arriving in America, to have your press conference?
Nick Rhodes : Just coincidence. We happen to be playing gigs here, that's all.

Q: Did you ask Capitol Records not to compare you to The Beatles?
Nick Rhodes : We didn't know they were.

Q: Roger, what's important to you today?
Roger Taylor : Just putting on a bloody good show for you guys.

Q: What inspires the funk basis in your music?
RogerTaylor : I'd say Chic was the biggest influence. We spent a lot of time in nightclubs when we first started, and I think Chic is what we listened to the most.

Q: Nick, how do you describe your success?
Nick Rhodes : We've paced things quite well. We're very proud of what we've achieved so far. It happened a lot quicker than we thought, but everybody's managed to keep a level head about it.

Q: Do you plan to score any motion pictures?
RogerTaylor : In the future it's a possibility--when we have the time.
Andy Taylor : We'll call it "Yelp" or something….

Q: Do you have more female fans than male fans?
John Taylor : I don't know, I've never counted them up.

Q: What do the folks in Birmingham and Newcastle think of you now?
John Taylor : They all want a drink.
Nick Rhodes : We've got a lot more friends than we used to have. Or a lot less, depending on how you look at it. A lot of people back home have changed their opinion of us. But we still see our friends; it hasn't changed that much.

Q: I understand the original cover of the new album was a very expensive shoot--$100,000+.

Andy Taylor : He was fooled, too!
Simon le Bon : don't believe what the papers say. It's a lot cheaper than you've been told.

Q: Do you think you would've had the success in America that you've had without the huge promotional campaign?
Simon le Bon : Are you trying to accuse us of hype??!!
John Taylor : I don't think we've ever had a promo campaign.
Simon le Bon : We've toured this country three times before, twice by ourselves, once with Blondie, and I think this is where we've gained our original foothold. And then later on we started to get a bit of play on MTV, which kicked the radio stations into gear, and finally people picked up on us.
Andy Taylor : And then we go on promotional campaigns!

Q : Do you ever adapt the music to fit the videos?
John Taylor : No. That wouldn't be a good thing to do. We're all based in music. That's where our hearts lie, and if we started concentrating on the visuals, the song would suffer. It wouldn't be a very credible thing to do.

Q : But they are an important part.
John Taylor : Sure! It's how we originally made our name. But it's only the icing on the cake for us.
RogerTaylor : We spend about 6 months touring and 6 months recording and about one month doing video albums, so it's a very small part of what we do.

Q : You all have been really the first big group to hit on MTV - and to get away from the band-on-stage type of video. Is anyone in the group the creative force behind it all?
Simon le Bon : It's all democratic.
Nick Rhodes : We're all really creative.
Andy Taylor : Especially me. I'm really creative!

Q : Who's the humorist in the group?
Simon le Bon : We're all miserable gits, really. (laughs)
Andy Taylor : We hate each other.

Q : Is there a rivalry between you and Culture Club over record sales?
John Taylor : We call it healthy competition.

Q: Who are the bands you admire?
Nick Rhodes : I really like Talking Heads.
Simon le Bon : I like Big Country and U2.
RogerTaylor : I like Bowie 'cause he's been around so long!
Andy Taylor : I do like Billy Idol.
John Taylor : Yeah! Me, too.

Q : Does the screaming of the crowd affect you on stage? Does it bother you?
Nick Rhodes : Fortunately, we don't hear it too loud. In some of the slower numbers if there is a high noise level it can be a bit disconcerting, but it doesn't affect us much.

Q : Simon, your image has been termed glam-rock but your lyrics are rather strange. What influences your lyrics?
Simon Le Bon : Whatever I'm thinking about first thing in the morning. I don't know, gold fish bowls… (laughs) I'm not sure. Lyrics are a very personal thing. I never try to actually think about what I'm writing.

Q : What about the song Union of the Snake?
Simon Le Bon : I'll tell ya. The union of the snake is the union of the snake and the man. The snake symbolizes a kind of subconscious power force or strength, and the song is really about the fears of the subconscious mind breaking through to the conscious mind.

Q : Is this your own belief?
Simon le Bon : It's a little daydream I had, yeah.

Q : Your records have been known to hit the top of the charts before hitting the record stores. What does that do to the creative process?
Simon le Bon : Well, we don't actually put out songs anymore, we just put out titles and tell them we're gonna release a certain song, and it hits the charts and we don't have to do any work. (laughs)

Q : How'd you feel about the censorship on the first "Girls on Film" video?
Andy Taylor : Best publicity we've ever had.
Nick Rhodes : It needed censoring for American TV. It wasn't played on any stations where kids could catch it, so that was good. It was mainly made for clubs.
John Taylor : Come on, we made it for our own private viewing…

Q : John, I understand you have a James Bond obsession. Has success put you in easier access to the memorabilia?
John Taylor : No. It's just a rumor I started to get people to send me Aston Martins in the post.

Q : Nick, are you going to be doing any more producing?
Nick Rhodes : Maybe sometime in the future. I'm not going to be doing anymore work with Kajagoogoo; it was strictly a one-time project because I had some spare time and I was kind of interested.

Q : Simon, did you sing in a church choir?
Simon Le Bon : Yes, I did.

Q : Can you compare it to singing at the Forum last night?
Simon le Bon : It's a bit different, actually. For one thing, the audience doesn't make half as much noise.

Q : Do you feel you would've gotten popular as quickly if it weren't for MTV?
Simon Le Bon : No. I mean the thing was, on the first album we broke in a lot of other countries, but we hadn't broke in America. The reason was, we couldn't get through to anybody. The radio stations had very strict programs of REO Speedwagon, the Doors and Led Zeppelin, and the television shows didn't want to show us either. But MTV had a more open mind and they wanted to show new bands. Then the radio picked up on us and Hungry Like the Wolf broke through.
Andy Taylor : I think MTV had to play people like us because they couldn't adopt the same programming as FM radio. There weren't any videos for "Stairway to Heaven," and so they had to have new music.

Q : The Beatles and other British bands had their American influences. Who are yours?
Nick Rhodes : For a start, there's a funk element to our music which is pretty well based in America. I know the Rio album had a lot of impressions of our first trip to America.
John Taylor : And I play baseball!

Q : When will you do solo projects?
Simon le Bon : When the band breaks up…or when we get two weeks to rub together. I'll knock up a quick album--with Boy George. (laughs)

Q : Are there any scandals about the band that would embarrass your fans?
Simon le Bon : If there were, I wouldn't tell you.

Q: Nick, why is it that when Boy George wears eye shadow it's national press but you can get away with it?
Nick Rhodes : Because I don't choose to wear gaudy colors, as he does.
Andy Taylor : And he's not fat.

Q : Are you ever going to use any women in your video who are dressed?
A : Why?

Q : Of all the places you've chosen to shoot your videos, which is your favorite?
Simon le Bon : London.
Nick Rhodes : Yeah, home. Everybody thinks they're really glamorous and everything, but I tell ya! When I was on the yacht in Antigua shooting the "Rio" video, I was never so sick in my life.

Q : John, when you originally formed the group, did you feel that your former band members were inadequate?
John Taylor : No. Actually, they thought they were inadequate.

Q : Is it true that the English audiences are a lot more fickle than the American audiences?
Simon le Bon : I think with the kids it's, well, they tend to feel that they're into one kind of thing and they can only go for the one kind of music that their cult stands for, whether it's punk or skinhead or mod music or soul. Then they get sick of that fashion and they change their music as their group changes. Whereas, here the kids are much less inhibited.

Q : Simon, when you joined Duran Duran, did you have a strong sense of what you wanted to do with your life?
Simon le Bon : No, I didn't. This whole thing is good fun, and I speak for all of us when I say that we'll stick with it as long as it's still fun.

Q : Why did you change producers, and were you happy with the results?
Nick Rhodes : Yeah, very happy with the results. The reason we changed was because we'd done two albums already with Colin Thurston, and it was time for a change. You can only go so far with one person.

Q : How much control do you have over what goes on your album or where you tour?
Nick Rhodes : Total control. We decide everything.

Q : How are you guys gonna handle friends and fashion? Are you guys gonna make your own, or are you gonna continue to move with what's happening?
Simon le Bon : I think it's real bad news to get stuck into fashion because people will pick you up drop you just like that. You've got to be parallel to it…so if people associate you with fashion, it's your own.
Nick Rhodes : We all believe in individualism. In the beginning, we thought we had more of a corporate image with the band clothes than we liked. But now everybody dresses like we want.

Q : John, why did you switch from lead guitar to bass?
Andy Taylor : You should hear him play guitar!
John Taylor : It was mainly for the direction we were going in. I started in a time when all the bass players were playing like Sid Vicious and we weren't into that. So rather than try to find someone to fit in, it just seemed easier for me to do it.

Q: Are you involved in any political groups?
Nick Rhodes : We're not involved, but we believe in nuclear disarmament and the like, yeah.

Q : Will you play any benefits for these causes?
Nick Rhodes : It's a possibility, but not right away. We'll have to see.

Q : How do you write as a group?
John Taylor : There is no set way, really. Someone comes up with an idea and Simon gets an idea for a lyric. There are all kinds of ways.
Nick Rhodes : The biggest reason is that each person looks after his own part. That way we give due credit to everyone.

Q : What are your plans after the US tour?
Simon le Bon : Go home and get some sleep.

Q : Would you each tell me when you learned to play your instrument.
Andy Taylor (guitar) : I learned to use my instrument… (laughs) Five, actually. But it was plastic at the time.

John Taylor (bass) : I'm what you call a late developer. I didn't pick up mine until I was sixteen.

Simon le Bon (vocals) : I was born with my instrument, and it just got used again and again!

Nick Rhodes (keyboards) : I started playing with mine when I was seventeen.

Simon le Bon : Roger needs two hands for his!