Today is the birthday of Nicholas James Bates, better known as Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran.
However, everyone knows about Duran Duran, so let’s focus today’s blog on Mr. Rhodes’ extra-curricular activities, shall we?
In early 1983, Nick discovered the band Kajagoogoo and co-produced their debut single “Too Shy” which became a UK #1. A friend recently gave me their debut LP, which i’d not heard before, and i have to say…it’s terrible, really. However, “Too Shy” is still the jam, even if it’s a low-grade DD ripoff…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbdLQ7E_wZk]
In 1985, Duran Duran took an indefinite hiatus, but Nick couldn’t just lay back and enjoy his new found wealth. No, a mind like his must always be creating, so he gave Simon Le Bon a ring and they started what initially was meant to be an EP. Things were going so well, however, that they drafted in Roger Taylor and recorded the best album that Duran Duran never made! Here’s Arcadia, with “Goodbye Is Forever”…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sfH25Rq4aY]
Nick concentrated on the band for the next decade or so, but by the mid-90’s was getting restless again. So he partnered up with Warren Cuccurullo for another DD-side-project, called ‘TV Mania’. It has remained unreleased for the best part of 2 decades now, but there are murmurings of it finally seeing the light of day this year! ‘TV Mania’ was also the name the boys dubbed themselves for production work, and here’s a video for the unreleased track by a reunited Blondie in 1997…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDEAjNQs1MA]
In 1999, Nick felt like mining the past for a bit, and maybe hedging his bets perhaps? He teamed up with original DD singer Stephen Duffy for The Devils. Notable in that they recorded and composed the record using only the technology that was available to them when they first joined forces in 1979. The result is the fantastic LP “Dark Circles“, and here’s a sample of it…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RPB3_AQPnQ&a=nnITEz68j0A&playnext_from=ML]
In 2002, Nick again stepped up to the production desk for “Welcome To The Monkeyhouse” by The Dandy Warhols, giving them their most listenable album (for me). Admittedly, they were just trying to BE Duran Duran, check out the video…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiZHmwzNAqE]
…still, it’s pretty good…
Happy 48th Birthday Nick! I can’t wait to hear what’s next…
Tony
Media Producer
PlayNetwork, Inc.
