Hey, hey it's the '80s, Duran Duran are back and all's smiles and  spanking glam on Planet Sound.

Just don't mention the word comeback in earshot of the Durannies - they'll tell you swiftly that they cross three decades, don't belong to any '80s revival and aren't back - because they've never been away.

As they release a greatest hits and prepare to hit the road in the UK next month, we sit back to get an earbashing from an outspoken Mr Nick Rhodes.

Duran Duran have joined the great pop controversy of the day, firmly backing Cliff Richard in his battle with the big, bad, nasty
radio programmers. Duran say they also suffer from ageist radio stations refusing to play their new material due to "cultural fascism".

"They should play Cliff." says Rhodes. "The guy has proved a point time-after-time, year-after-year. What right have these people to refuse to play it? It's outrageous!" The Durannies release a greatest hits album and return to the arena circuit on Dec 7 but angrily reject all suggestions of leading an '80s revival.

"It's a question for Culture Club, not us," says Rhodes frostily. "It is so annoying that the media often just associate us with the '80s. Our best work has been in the '90s. "Great for Culture Club - I'm glad they have an audience, but it's nostalgia and that has nothing to do with us."

Hallucinating

Although Duran Duran release the greatest hits album this week, they'd rather talk about the new Hallucinating Elvis studio album due out next year. "It's a mixture - 50% dance/electronic and 50% '70s flavour like Lennon or Bowie," says Rhodes. "We've always tried different things and that's what the media don't like. They just try to keep us in the '80s all the time.

"There's so much cynicism in England. They build you up to knock you down." Many of today's rock stars are overrated, says Rhodes. "Dance music is moving into new spheres and that's the cutting edge but few are doing anything as experimental or musically sound as The Beatles were in 1968 with the White Album.

"I like Radiohead but they aren't doing anything as good as Bowie in the '70s and they are generally overrated. I prefer The Verve." What is it about Duran Duran that makes everyone leap around like dervishes every time old hits like Wild Boys and Save A Prayer get played?

"It's songs, songs, songs!" insists Rhodes. "We've always had strength in our melodies and harmonies and the lyrics mean        something.

"We've also always been hard to pin down because we experiment and push things along. We surprised people by Notorious but it was still a big hit." Silly question, but why are Duran Duran titling their next album Hallucinating Elvis?

"Basically when we started recording it, Simon was wearing this suit with the collars sticking up at the back," says Rhodes. "Simon said it made him feel like hallucinating Elvis. "It was such a great expression it stuck with us. The whole idea of                       getting in someone else's head appealed and we thought it'd be a great title."

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