Duran Duran will reissue their first five albums in remastered versions. The publication will take place on July 5th and will therefore involve the debut LP “Duran Duran” (1981), “Rio” (1982), “Seven And The Ragged Tiger” (1983), “Notorious” (1986) and Big Thing” (1988), now out of print for some time.
“Both the LP and CD formats – reports a note – will contain the latest remasterings of the albums, with vinyl editions recorded at Abbey Road Studios, while the album covers have been restored faithfully to the original design and supervised by Malcolm Garrett, the visionary designer behind the band's first three albums.” More information on the official website.
The announcement comes a few months after the confirmation of the Italian summer concerts – 21 and 23 July – scheduled as part of the Lucca Summer Festival.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, Duran Duran have sold over 100 million albums worldwide, as well as having placed 18 hits in the American charts and 21 hits in the British Top 20. They have won two Grammy Awards, two Ivor Novellos, two Brit Awards (including “Outstanding Contribution to Music” in 2004) and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They also wrote the only James Bond song to reach number 1 in the US, while David Lynch directed their concert film.
The latest album released by the Birmingham band is “Danse Macabre”, released on October 27, 2023 and inspired by a Halloween concert held in Las Vegas. Among special guests present, there is also Victoria De Angelis, the bassist of Måneskin, in action in the cover of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads. In fact, the album includes several remakes, as well as new versions of classics by the “Rio” band and three unreleased songs, the first of which is precisely the title track released to anticipate the album and defined by Le Bon and companions as “a celebration of the joy and madness of Halloween”. The other unreleased songs on the album are “Black Moonlight”, created with producer, guitarist and composer Nile Rodgers, and “Confession In The Afterlife”. Other covers of dark – and not so – classics from the past were included in the setlist, such as “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, “Spellbound” by Siouxsie And The Banshees, “Supernature” by Cerrone, “Ghost Town” by The Specials and Billie Eilish's “Bury A Friend.”
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM