Duran Duran announce new album days after Andy Taylor’s health update

Duran Duran has announced a new studio album Danse Macabre - which is set to release on October 27. The album’s release was timed to complement Halloween since the eponymous song “celebrates the joy and madness of Halloween”.

The title track was released today (Wednesday, August 30) and the release came just days after former Duran Duran member Andy Taylor said he was “asymptomatic”. The guitarist who has been battling prostate cancer was previously meant for “palliative, end-of-life care”, according to Daily Mail.

He told The Times that underwent a treatment recommended by scientist Christopher Evans - whom he referred to as the “Elon Musk of cancer” - and has had a new lease on life since then.

He told BBC Radio: “I started this incredible treatment a couple months ago - two shots of nuclear medicine, and it literally is just that - that targets the cancer cells. It’s medicine that didn’t exist five years ago, so five years when I was diagnosis with stage four, [it was a case of] ‘you’ve got five years on the clock’. Now, i’ve got another five years. So, i’m still in this little bit... did I dodge a bullet?”

Duran Duran, which formed in Birmingham, consists of singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor, and the group has reunited with Andy for their 16th studio album. Andy has also not ruled out touring with his former band - which he exited in 2006 over “creative differences”.

Keyboardist Nick Rhodes said: “The song Danse Macabre celebrates the joy and madness of Halloween. It is the title track of our forthcoming album, which gathers together an unusual mix of cover versions, reworked Duran Duran songs and several new compositions.

“The idea was born out of a show we played in Las Vegas on October 31st, 2022. We had decided to seize the moment to create a unique, special event…the temptation of using glorious gothic visuals set to a dark soundtrack of horror and humour was simply irresistible.” You can listen to their title track Danse Macabre on Duran Duran’s YouTube channel.