80S REDUX: DURAN DURAN IS BACK

Published: Thursday, July 15, 1993

HOWARD COHEN Herald Writer

Sure signs the '80s are coming back in the world of pop music: Ex-Eurythmic Annie Lennox's Diva was nominated as Album of the Year; Boy George landed a hit with The Crying Game; '60s veteran Tina Turner, who had her greatest success in 1984 with Private Dancer, is all over the map with an acclaimed film bio, a hit soundtrack and a tour.

Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol, Pat Benatar and Tears for Fears are pushing new albums. Even Adam Ant -- gasp! -- is coming out of hiding (which means it's a good time to stock up on bug spray).

And the group that epitomized the excesses of the '80s with its big hair, flashy videos and trendy fashions has landed not one but two Top 10 hits.

Yes, video junkies, Britain's Duran Duran is back in a big way. Currently on tour to promote its self-titled platinum comeback album, the group will play sold-out shows tonight and Friday at the Sunrise Musical Theatre. A return to the '80s? To all that greed? All that whining about me, me, ME?

"A lot of people are looking at (the '80s) considerably more fondly than they did at the beginning of the 1990s," says Duran Duran keyboardist and co-founder Nick Rhodes, now 31 and the father of a 7-year-old girl. "There's always good things that come out of decades, and there's always things that survive. We are going to be one of those things."

A year ago, you might have snickered at such a claim. Duran Duran seemed to have hit its peak in 1985 when the band appeared at Live Aid and had a simultaneous No. 1 single with A View to a Kill (from the James Bond film of the same name). Then came the slump. Members came and went, musical tastes changed, 1988's Big Thing wasn't and 1990's Liberty bombed.

"Certainly for the last few years, Duran Duran has not had as big a commercial success as we did through the middle of the '80s," Rhodes says. "But I think we've been very philosophical about it. You can't keep the iron hot 100 percent of the time."

Flash back a decade, when hits like Save a Prayer, Hungry Like the Wolf, Wild Boys, Rio and Union of the Snake created a teen frenzy reminiscent of Beatlemania. "It was crazed and hysterical," Rhodes says. "It's amazing some of the things we went through. I have flashback visions of girls clinging to the cars as we were driving off from somewhere with about 3,000 people running behind us. It's the kind of thing nightmare movies are made of."

Nightmare on Marketing Street, maybe. Because there were also posters, magazine covers, notebooks and a slew of other items. If you were a teenage girl 10 years ago, chances are you had a severe case of Duranamania.

Like Jennifer Barr of Miami, now 24 and a public relations account executive. "I wore all the pins to school and bought all the photo books. Money was no object. I lived for MTV hoping to see Hungry Like the Wolf." Rhodes hopes similar support will carry Duran Duran through its second decade. The current lineup, featuring original members Simon Le Bon (vocals), John Taylor (bass), Rhodes and late-'80s addition Warren Cuccurullo on guitar, seems headed in the right direction. The foursome's Duran Duran CD produced the hits Ordinary World and Come Undone.

The new single Too Much Information, which was prompted by coverage of the Gulf War, takes aim at manipulation by the media. The song is riding a wave of press attention for its jabs at CNN, ABC and, most notably, MTV. (Le Bon aims his sharpest barb at the video channel: "Destroyed by MTV / I hate to bite the hand that feeds / there's too much information.")

And, of course, there will be a video for the song, much to Rhodes' delight. "That will be the most interesting irony of all!" he laughs. Not that videos are of paramount importance to the group these days. Rhodes happily points out that Ordinary World was a Top 20 hit before the video was ready for airing. "That was nice for us. We have (this) sort of legacy hanging over our heads that we (are) an MTV band; it's nice to prove to radio that the song stood up on its own."

With more focus on the music, success won't fade away this time around, Rhodes vows. In the 10 years since Hungry Like the Wolf, the band has become "much more aware." "In the early '80s, a lot of things that we didn't pay attention to slipped by, and it created a lot of chaos for us later on with business things and goodness knows what. This time I think we are more competent and aware of what the business is about."

Despite its enormous popularity, legions of fans and extensive radio and MTV play, Duran Duran has never achieved critical acceptance. And the new CD hasn't changed that: Entertainment Weekly gave Duran Duran a "D" and Rolling Stone gave it two stars out of a possible five. The Herald's Mario Tarradell praised five tracks (including the CD's three singles) but panned the rest, calling the album's last three songs the "epitome of awful."

Rhodes takes the criticism in stride. "I'd rather (the critics) have a strong reaction than a mediocre reaction. Very early in my career, someone gave me a book called Rotten Reviews. It's fantastic. It should be issued to everybody who wants to enter into the world of creating anything.

"This book has reviews for things like . . . Wuthering Heights (that read) 'This piece of junk will never catch on . . . .' You've got to look at that and laugh, really. "The only thing we can look at is time. I think time will be very kind to our songs. Above all else, whatever happens with trends and styles, a song is either good or it's not."

Duran Duran and Terence Trent D'Arby perform at 8 p.m. today and Friday at Sunrise Musical Theatre, 5555 NW 95th Ave., Sunrise. Both shows are SOLD OUT.

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