DURAN DURAN TONES IT DOWN DOWN

By Lisa Robinson

IT'S hard to remember when pop band Duran Duran was "alternative," but when they first arrived on these shores in the early "80s, they were considered cutting-edge.

As part of the British "New Wave" movement that included Boy George and George Michael's Wham, Duran opened shows for Blondie, were staples on college radio, and pioneered the video movement.

Of course, their video clips were hardly low-budget. The pop band that considered itself a cross between punk rebels the Sex Pistols and sleek R&B outfit Chic was champion of all that was glamorous, expensive and over the top. Who can forget the bottle-blond, teenage members of Duran Duran prancing around with models on yachts, in the jungle, or acting out ersatz James Bond scenarios on video for huge '80s hits like "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio" and "Union of the Snake"?

But lest anyone think that they're living the same highlife they did during their "80s heyday, Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes says that they've toned things down.

"We did live rather lavishly," he admits, "but we needed to get back to basics, strip it all down, and make a great album with some really strong songs."

Duran, who'd been off the radar screen for a few years before they came back with 1994's multi-platinum "Wedding Album" and its No.1 hit "Ordinary World," are back on tour to promote their latest album, "Medazzaland."

These days, Rhodes says, things are really tough for older bands who want to get on MTV.

"One of the things that hit me the most watching this year's MTV Awards," says Rhodes, who'll be with original bandmate Simon LeBon and 10-year Duran veteran Warren Cuccurullo when they headline Roseland Wednesday night, "was that any big name artist - like Elton or Madonna - was only presenting an award. Or, in the case of Sting and Bruce Springsteen, playing with a younger artist (Puff Daddy, the Wallflowers) on their hit."

"It seemed a very calculated play to try and appease people over 22 years old," says Rhodes. "I don't know whether older artists can even get any play under the current MTV structure."

Rhodes doesn't only have harsh words for MTV, he's also tough on the American radio scene.

"The way radio is programmed here, I don't know how any young band cracks it in America," he says. "I don't know if we would have either if we hadn't had the momentum from the rest of the world.

"It must be very difficult for bands trying to build a career," he continues. "It was bad when we started, but now it seems virtually impossible."

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