Duran Duran – Live in 2024

Duran Duran remain one of Britain’s most iconic pop bands ever and are now in their 46th year as a going concern. Still featuring four original members, they concluded their ‘Danse Macabre’ tour in the unlikely surroundings of Manchester, New Hampshire, and SNHU Arena on Saturday, November 2nd.

The show came hot on the heels of a Halloween appearance at Madison Square Garden a couple of nights prior. This was fitting because their current Danse Macabre album was originally inspired by Halloween themed show they played in Vegas in 2022, revamping some old favorites and adding in some covers, which fitted with the occasion. The Danse Macabre album followed last year, largely inspired by that set list. To the delight of many fans, it saw them reunite with original guitarist Andy Taylor and also his long-term successor, Warren Cuccurullo. Both guitarists made major contributions to some of Duran’s most successful songs and albums. 

Kicking off the show, the band made a dramatic entrance, standing backlit on top of a staircase at the back of the stage. Four original members John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor, and of course singer Simon Le Bon made their way on stage amidst futuristic imagery reminiscent of Bladerunner.

The opening handful of songs was a treat for long-term and even casual fans. Starting with “Night Boat” from their 1981 debut album and straight into “Wild Boys”, “Hungry Like The Wolf”, and “A View To A Kill”. “Wild Boys” almost saw an early end to the show when Simon Le Bon tripped over a monitor, narrowly missing landing on his face. To his credit, the 66-year-old grandfather got straight back up, composed himself and continued on with the song as if nothing had happened. 

Having seen Duran Duran play live a number of times over several decades, I found the song choice refreshing. The band have finally deviated from the formula they’d been sticking to for well over a decade, which saw much less variation in songs played from night to night.  Some really nice surprises included a great cover of “Evil Woman” by ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), deep cut “Lonely in Your Nightmare” from the Rio album, which segued into “Super Freak” by Chic. New song “Black Moonlight” held its own alongside more old favorites like “Notorious”, “Union of the Snake” and “Come Undone”.

Dom Brown continues to do a fantastic job on guitar duties, while Anna Ross and Rachael O’Connor provided great vocal augmentation and harmonies throughout the show. Duran Duran are still at the top of their game as a live band and Le Bon’s voice is possibly better than ever on stage. Nick Rhodes is still the shimmering but humble professor of the synth while the rhythm section of John and Roger Taylor bring their customary mix of funk and punk power to drive the songs along. 

More career highlights followed in the shape of an extended rendition of “The Reflex”, while the previously rarely played “New Moon On Monday” received an especially warm response. “Planet Earth” and “Girls On Film”, which included a segue into Talking Heads classic “Psycho Killer”, brought the part of the show to a stirring finale. 

Opening the encore, Le Bon made a heartfelt wish peace for the people of Gaza and Ukraine before encouraging everyone to sing along to “Save a Prayer”. Following the power ballad dynamic of that song, they brought the evening to a celebratory conclusion with a jammed out “Rio”, featuring stellar sax soloing by Simon Williscroft. 

Duran Duran has seen many highs and lows over the years and they are back playing big show’s and clearly loving it as much as the legions of happy fans at the end of each night.