Duran Duran to reform with terminally-ill guitarist Andy Taylor to create new album

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Duran Duran are set to reform with guitarist Andy Taylor who is currently battling cancer

1980s music icons Duran Duran are to reunite as they create a brand new album. The band’s reunion is said to include guitarist Andy Taylor who is terminally ill with cancer.

The reunion comes afterTaylor left the band back in 2006. In November last year, shortly before the band was inducted into the music Hall of Fame, the 62-year-old announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and that he’d had it for the last five years.

Speaking at a charity event in LA, bassist John Taylor said: “When he dropped the bomb two days before the Hall of Fame, it was really shocking and terribly sad. We’re working on an album right now that is going to be coming out at the end of the year and he’s playing guitar.

“Had he come to LA and just gone on the TV show, we probably wouldn’t have even thought about it. That [the album] happened as a result of this. There’s a lot of cover songs on the album, songs meaningful to us when we were kids. So having him be a part of that project is great.”

(L to R) Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran in 2005(L to R) Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran in 2005
(L to R) Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran in 2005 | Getty Images

The album will be the band’s first in two years. It will also be the first album to feature Taylor in nearly two decades.

The band released a staement about their new project on March 2. They said: “Duran Duran are thrilled to confirm a special new music project is in the works, set for release later this year on BMG. The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, includng our former band mate Andy Taylor who will join on guitar on a few tracks.

“Simon, Nick, John and Rodger look forward to seeing you all out on the road this year!”

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