Timeline:1985
DDW: the united memory of all the fans
| The Duran Duran Timeline | ||
| << 1984 | 1985 | 1986 >> |
|
Power Station hits the charts and the touring circuit; Simon Le Bon goes for a swim. Duran Duran releases the Bond theme "A View To A Kill", and plays their final show with the original five members at Live Aid in July. Nick, Simon and Roger form Arcadia' and record So Red The Rose; Andy starts working on solo projects, and Roger leaves Duran Duran. | ||
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan 5 | “The Wild Boys” video aired on American Bandstand |
| ? | Andy works in the studio with Robert Palmer on Riptide and “Addicted to Love” |
| Jan | Simon invests with Paul and Michael in the 77-foot maxi-yacht Drum, which has a revolutionary new keel design; but they balk at making yearly $40,800 insurance payments and opt not to insure her |
| ? | John parts company with Tritec and the Berrow brothers; begins working with agent Wayne Fortay |
| Jan | “Save a Prayer (live)” single (backed with “Save A Prayer” single edit) released in US |
| Feb 2 | “Save a Prayer” peaks at #16 in US |
| Feb 11 | Duran wins the BRIT Best British Music Video award for “The Wild Boys” |
| Feb 16 | Power Station performs “Some Like It Hot” and “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” on the Saturday Night Live TV show in the US; this is Robert Palmer's only live performance with the band. |
| Feb ? | Duran Duran: San Remo Festival, Teatro della Vittorie, San Remo, Italy The band performs “The Wild Boys” (and possibly “The Reflex” as well); Simon performs with an injured leg |
| Feb 24 | Power Station is reported to be "officially unmade", with no plans for a tour |
| Feb | Power Station's “Some Like It Hot” single released (backed with the instrumental “The Heat Is On”) |
| Mar | Power Station: 33 1/3 album released |
| ? | John and Andy make a guest VJ appearance on MTV |
| Mar 13 | “The Reflex” is named International Hit of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards |
| Mar 30 | “Some Like It Hot” reaches #14 in UK |
| ? | Simon begins wooing Yasmin in earnest during spring in Paris, even as magazines speculate on a possible wedding with live-in lover Clare Stansfield |
| ? | "Duran initially attempted to record the Bond theme 'View To A Kill' with John Barry in John Taylor's flat in Knightsbridge. Unfortunately, they all consumed far too many bottles of wine; John Barry vanished, only to turn up later, a tad the worse for wear, in John's kitchen." |
| ? | “A View To A Kill” single and instrumental b-side recorded with John Barry and a 60-piece orchestra at Maison Rouge and CTS Studios in London |
| Apr 6 | Power Station album peaks at #12 in UK |
| Apr | Get It On (Bang a Gong)' single released {b/w 'Go To Zero'} |
| Apr | Z100 radio (New York, NY) airs brief interview with Roger as Shadoe Stevens wishes him a happy birthday |
| ? | Nick and Simon decide to record some tracks of their own; as the project grows, they invite Roger to join them |
| ? | Nick and Simon name their band Arcadia after the Latin phrase "et in arcadia ego", from Virgil; a tombstone with this inscription appears in a painting by Nicholas Poussin, but the painting wasn't the direct source of the band's name |
| Apr-May-Jun | Simon, Nick and Roger record the Arcadia album So Red The Rose at Studio de la Grande Armee (in Palais de Congres) in Paris with producer Alex Sadkin and numerous musical guests; Nick even performs a few of the backing vocals |
| ? | So Red The Rose mixed at Soundworks Studio in New York City |
| May 11 | “Some Like It Hot” reaches #6 in US |
| ? | John begins dating Danish model Renee Simonsen after falling in love with her picture on the cover of an early-'80s Roxy Music reissue |
| May | “A View To A Kill” single released worldwide, backed with the instrumental “A View To A Kill (That Fatal Kiss)” |
| May 16 | Top of the Pops airs Duran's lip-synch performance of “A View To A Kill” |
| May 17 | Power Station hold radio conference on Z100 radio (New York, NY), with exclusive announcement of tour dates |
| May 18 | “A View To A Kill” peaks at #1 in US |
| May 21 | John and Andy do interview with KMEL radio (San Francisco, CA) |
| May 25 | “A View To A Kill” peaks at #2 in UK |
| May ? | Duran Duran: Montreux Pop Festival, [venue?], Montreux, Switzerland |
| Jun | “A View To A Kill” video filmed over three days at the Eiffel Tower; in interviews, all band members still maintain they're due back in the studio together in early September |
| Jun | A View To A Kill Original Soundtrack released in US and Japan |
| ? | John and Renee Simonsen attend the A View To A Kill movie premiere |
| summer | Rock Journal radio show airs interview clips with Nick, John and Roger |
| Jun | Drum launched |
| Jun | Drum wins the 'Round the Island' race [where?], coming in only six minutes behind the record |
| ? | Power Station rehearses (with Robert Palmer) for their tour at Gaslight Studios in London |
| Jun 20 | Robert Palmer backs out of Power Station tour at last minute |
| Z100 radio (New York, NY) airs brief interview with John as Shadoe Stevens wishes him a happy birthday | |
| summer | John and Andy answer fans' questions on Z100 |
| Andy suggests Paul Young as a replacement for Robert, but he is not available; as a second choice, Andy suggests Michael Des Barres (of Silverhead and Checquered Past) | |
| The POWER STATION Summer Tour set lists vary widely, and include the Animotion song “Obsession”, written by Michael Des Barres | |
| Jul 1 | Power Station: The Ritz, New York, New York, USA small club warm-up date |
| Jul 2 | Power Station: Jones Beach Theatre, Long Island, New York, USA (with The Bongos) Spandau Ballet was scheduled to open, but cancelled when sax player Steve Norman broke his leg; bootlegged |
| Jul 5 | Power Station: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, USA (with Dez Dickerson) |
| Jul 7 | Power Station: Raleigh Civic & Convention Centre, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA venue is changed the day of the show from Dorton Arena |
| Jul 9 | Power Station: Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida, USA Don Johnson of Miami Vice appeared briefly onstage |
| Jul ? | Power Station: CNE Grandstand, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (with Paul Young, OMD, and Nik Kershaw) |
| In preparation for the "Live Aid" charity concert, Duran members arrive in Philadelphia from all over the world and stay in the same hotel | |
| Jul 13 | "A View To A Kill" video aired on American Bandstand |
| Jul 13 | Power Station: mid-morning, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The band performs “Bang A Gong” and “Murderess”; the entire Live Aid show is broadcast live around the world; bootlegged |
| Jul 13 | Duran Duran: evening, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The performance of four songs (“A View to a Kill”, “Union of the Snake”, “Save a Prayer”, and “The Reflex”) is Duran's final official show with the original five members; bootlegged |
| Jul 14 | Power Station: Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (with Swimming Pool Q's) the audience starts throwing things at the opening act |
| Jul 15 | Power Station: The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (with Swimming Pool Q's) Spandau Ballet was originally scheduled to open |
| Jul 19 | Power Station: Southern Star Amphitheatre, Houston, Texas, USA (with OMD) Spandau Ballet was originally scheduled to open |
| Jul 19 | Hot Rocks Duran Duran Story [?] |
| Jul 20 | Power Station: South Park Meadows, Austin, Texas, USA (with OMD) bootlegged; sometimes listed as July 28 |
| Jul 21 | Drum races in the Seahorse Maxi Series at Cowes; she is fifth over the line, but takes first place on points |
| Jul 21 | Power Station: Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas, USA (with OMD) |
| Jul 23 | Power Station: Compton Terrace, Phoenix, Arizona, USA (with OMD) |
| Jul 27 | Power Station album peaks at #6 in US |
| Jul 28 | Power Station: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA broadcast on King Biscuit Flower Hour, bootlegged |
| Jul 29 | Power Station: Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA, USA (with OMD) |
| Jul 30 | The day before the Vancouver show, John cuts his forehead; he still bears a small scar from this injury |
| Jul 31 | Power Station: PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (with OMD) John performs with his head still bandaged |
| Aug 2 | Power Station: Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR, USA (with OMD) |
| Jul-Aug | Nick, Roger and Simon are in New York City |
| Simon announces that he and the crew plan to race Drum in the Whitbread Round-The-World yacht race | |
| Aug 3 | “Bang A Gong” peaks at #9 in US |
| Aug 6 | Power Station: The Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 8 | Power Station: St. Paul Civic Arena, St. Paul, MN, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 10 | Fastnet yacht race begins |
| Aug 10 | Power Station: Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI, USA |
| Aug 11 | Power Station: Poplar Creek Amphitheatre, Hoffman Estates (Chicago), IL, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 11 | Drum capsizes when her keel shears off in stormy seas three miles off Falmouth during a trial run at the Fastnet race; Simon and five other crew members are trapped beneath the hull for about 20 minutes before being rescued by the British Navy |
| A mystery caller warns Simon's parents that there's been an accident before they hear it on the news | |
| Yasmin, waiting for Simon in the resort town of Cowes, watches the rescue efforts on TV, then leaves for the six-hour drive to Falmouth without packing anything | |
| Aug 11 | Twenty-four crewmen and their teary-eyed girlfriends and wives (including Simon and Yasmin) take over the Falmouth Hotel and party in the bar until 4 am |
| Aug 12 | Power Station: Castle Farms Music Theatre, Charlevoix, MI, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 13 | Simon has dinner with Navy Officer Larry Slater, the diver who rescued him, at the hotel |
| Aug 14 | Power Station: Pine Knob Theatre, Clarkston (Detroit), MI, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 15 | Power Station: Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, OH, USA (with OMD) duplicate date - set list includes 'Dancing In the Streets' |
| Aug 15 | Power Station: Louisville Gardens, Louisville, KY, USA (with OMD) duplicate date |
| Aug 16 | Power Station: Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 17 | The uninsured Drum is salvaged and towed back to Falmouth |
| Aug 20 | Power Station: Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 21 | Power Station: Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug 24 | Power Station: Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison (Denver), CO, USA (with OMD) |
| Aug ? | Power Station is interviewed on radio station CFGO Ottawa |
| Aug 25 | Power Station: Central Canada Exhibition ("The Ex"), Lansdowne Park Grandstand, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (with Paul Young and Nik Kershaw) |
| Aug 28 | Power Station: Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA (with OMD) During the encore, a man appears, sweeping the stage. When John goes to confront him, the man turns and grins at him and the crowd -- it turns out to be Nick Rhodes. He "jams" with the band, "playing" his broom. (A rumor that Simon and Roger also attended this show [and thus formed a temporarily reunited fivesome] is false.) |
| Aug ? | Power Station: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, USA |
| 'Sep 10 | Simon appears on Late Night With David Letterman |
| 'Sep 11 | Power Station: Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA, USA (with OMD) unconfirmed |
| Sep ? | Power Station: [venue?], Buffalo, NY, USA (with OMD) unconfirmed |
| ? | Power Station, including Michael Des Barres, film a guest appearance on an episode of Miami Vice |
| ? | Simon partners with friend and producer/songwriter Nick Wood to create “Grey Lady Of The Sea” for the soundtrack to the Drum documentary video |
| ? | Simon is interviewed on Z100 radio (New York, NY); he answers fans' questions and sings “Shout” |
| Sep | Problems with Duran's management/record company/lawyers continue; the band does not get together in September as planned |
| 'Sep 17 | Arcadia begins filming video for “Election Day” in Paris with director Roger Christian |
| 'Sep 20 | A refurbished Drum is re-launched from Moody's shipyard; estimated cost for towing and repairs is $400,000 |
| 'Sep 21 | Arcadia finishes filming of “Election Day” |
| 'Sep 28 | Drum leaves Portsmouth Harbor in the first leg of the Whitbread race; Simon is not yet on board |
| Oct | Power Station's “Communication” single released (backed with Murderess”) |
| Oct 4 | Miami Vice episode "Whatever Works" airs on NBC; Power Station appears, playing "Get It On" onstage during a scene in a nightclub |
| ? | Michael Des Barres' friend, producer Joel Silver, asks Power Station to record a song for the Arnold Schwarzenneger film Commando; Michael and Andy write a song called “Somewhere, Somehow, Someone”, later retitled “We Fight For Love” and included on the end credits of the film |
| ? | The Power Station folds "for good"; the breakup is variously attributed to exhaustion (and John's raging cocaine addiction), other commitments, the poor performance of the “Communication” single, and the record company's desire to turn the band into another "music machine" |
| Oct | Arcadia's “Election Day” single released (backed with “She's Moody and Grey, She's Mean and She's Restless”) |
| Oct 19 | Simon and Nick do a lip sync performance of "Election Day" on German TV Show Na Sowas in Munich |
| Oct 25 | Simon and Nick appear on NRJ radio (Paris, France) |
| Oct | Z100 radio (New York, NY) airs brief interview with Simon as Shadoe Stevens wishes him a happy birthday |
| ? | Andy begins working on solo projects in Los Angeles; he shares a Los Angeles management company with Missing Persons and becomes friendly with the band |
| Andy enjoys the drugs-and-drink LA party scene with Sex Pistols legend Steve Jones, who is flat broke, without even a guitar | |
| MCA record company offers Andy big money to work on a solo album; he tries to help Steve get sober, buys him a guitar and gives him a year's wages ($50,000) to sort himself out, and they start working on Thunder together | |
| Nov | Arcadia's So Red The Rose album released worldwide |
| Nov 19 | Simon and Nick appear as guest VJs on MTV with Nick's friend Keith Haring and Simon's mum Anne |
| Nov | In an interview with No. 1 magazine, Roger still maintains that Duran will be getting back together soon, although he admits that he's under stress and says "if it was up to me, I'd never tour again!" |
| Dec | Simon and Nick appear on Rock Over London radio show (London, UK) |
| ? | Simon and Nick do some promotion for Arcadia in Finland |
| ? | Simon interviewed on Night Flight on the USA Network, mainly about Drum |
| late Dec | Roger, suffering from shyness, overexposure, and a near nervous breakdown, announces he's leaving Duran Duran; he and Giovanna move out to farm country to begin raising children |
| Dec 24 | John announces his "engagement" to Renee Simonsen |
| Dec 27 | Duran Duran and Culture Club: SuperConcert 1, Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CA, USA aka "SuperProducers Show"; cancelled |
| Dec 27 | Simon marries Yasmin Parveneh on very short notice in a 15-minute ceremony at the registry office in Oxford (Yasmin's hometown); John claims a previous commitment, but all the other Durans attend |
| ? | A special package of 12" singles is released in Greece (limited edition of 1,000):
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| << 1984 | 1985 | 1986 >> |
