By Ed Condran
Few pop recording artists from the 1980s are still resonant more than a generation later. Duran Duran is among the few who still creates potent new material and packs arenas. The venerable British band, who perform Dec. 29 and 30 at BleauLive Theater in Fontainebleau Las Vegas, still has it.
The MTV darlings of yesteryear remain a dynamic live act who engages fans. Their sets are loaded with hits such as “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Rio,” “Girls on Film,” “A View to a Kill,” “Notorious,” “Save a Prayer” and “Ordinary World,” among many other familiar tunes.
Few bands were more successful than Duran Duran during the 1980s. The group sold more that 100 million albums. Duran Duran was wise enough to use MTV, which was a burgeoning young network at the time.
The group’s fashionable and often sexual videos helped make the photogenic band massive. During the band’s salad days, it seemed like Duran Duran could do no wrong.
“Those were great times,” bassist John Taylor said while calling from New York. “Those early days were so long ago, but I remember it well. The fans were phenomenal.
“I think a lot of people thought those fans would leave us when they reached their 20s, but those fans are still out there supporting what we’re doing, and we’re eternally grateful.”
Since Duran Duran, which also includes vocalist Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor (no relation to John), has been around for so long, it’s never easy to put a setlist together, but somehow the band manages.
“Deciding what we play each night is a daily battle,” Taylor said. “We’re always discussing that, but it’s a good thing to discuss. That means we’ve been around for a while and had some success.
“I would love to stick around with these guys for many more years. We really enjoy playing with each other. We know each other so well, and that makes it much easier than playing with people you’re unfamiliar with.
“We just have the best time together. It’s good to be around your old friends as much as we’re together. We get to see the world again and again with each other.”
Duran Duran, who formed in 1978, released one of its finest albums, “Danse Macabre,” in 2023. The band should be lauded for perfectly balancing the serious, silly and spooky throughout the surprisingly solid album, which includes a terrific cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend.”
Duran Duran can still bring it.
If You Go
9 p.m. Dec. 29 and 30, 2777 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas. (702) 678-7777, FontainebleauLasVegas.com
