Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
This is a question that I submitted to Duran Duran’s web site (www.duranduran.com). “Ask Katy” section. It also appears in the book “Would someone please explain?: The best of Duran Duran’s Ask Katy” by Katy Krassner.
26 April 2008
I have a question for the band. Having written so many enduring, classic songs, do you find it a mixed blessing when trying to debut new material (potentially new classics) when people keep calling out for those classic hit songs? I’m sure it must be the ultimate dream of song writers that 20, 30, 40 years later, people still want to hear them, and genuinely enjoy them as much as the first time they heard them. The inspiration for this question came from the Simpsons episode with Randy Bachmam where Homer yells to Randy, “Don’t play any new crap. Just play Taking Care of Business”. Can you relate to that? Thanks, Bruce.
What they had to say:
“The eternal battle of an artist trying to be an artist. We always try to strike a balance between the old and the new material. We do feel it is important not to lose sight of why people come to see concerts. And in the case of a band that has had a lengthy career, that usually involves wanting to hear certain songs. We’re fortunate enough to have a fairly broad catalogue to choose from, so we don’t get stuck with that one loner, with a particularly booming voice, yelling throughout the show for a distant teenage fantasty. THE BAND.”
