Wild Boy
My Life with Duran Duran
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4.3 • 26 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
The first member of Duran Duran to write his memoirs tells the full story of the excesses, glamour and excitement they lived through in the 1980s.
When 19-year-old Andy Taylor returned from his band's tour of military bases in Germany and saw an advert in Melody Maker in April 1980 asking for a 'live wire guitarist' to audition in Birmingham, he saw his chance. Even he could not have predicted what happened next. The group, Duran Duran, released their first single, 'Planet Earth', ten months later and soon became the biggest band since the Beatles. Emerging in the post-punk era, Duran headed the New Romantic movement and with their stunning videos and style consciousness, they set the trend for the consumerist 1980s. Popular with everyone from rockers to Princess Diana, they had a string of massive worldwide hits such as 'Rio', 'The Reflex' and 'A View to a Kill'. They won Grammys and an Ivor Novello award among many other things.
By Live Aid, in 1985, they were at their very pinnacle of success - and then the band began to fall apart. At the centre of it all, giving the group its musical pulse, was lead guitarist Andy Taylor. In this revealing and raw memoir, Taylor recalls the highs and lows of an unbelievable period where the squeaky clean facade hid the truth of wild partying as five young men took just about every opportunity that was offered to them.
Andy Taylor's story is of an era when MTV was new, the media allowed superstars to get away with lots and rock stars knew how to party like there was no tomorrow. Wild Boy is a book that millions of fans of Duran Duran around the world will want to read to know the full story of what really happened.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this sincere though slight autobiography, Taylor, guitarist for the 1980s pop band Duran Duran, delivers an extended backstage look at the band's rise and fall. He includes an album-by-album look at how the band, which combined glam fashion and keyboard-driven synthpop with outrageous (and expensive) videos featuring exotic locales such as Sri Lanka, became synonymous with early MTV. Taylor discusses sometimes underplays the band's outrageous drug and alcohol habits much of which was better covered in MTV's 1999 Behind The Music segment. He is clearly aware that the band's "materialistic image" was a key part of London's transformation in the 1980s into a city where "it was a dominant part of popular culture to aspire to be successful." The frustrating part is that his attempts to put Duran Duran into a wider musical perspective are far too infrequent, and his own story can't quite carry the narrative.
Customer Reviews
Wild Boy, Andy Taylor of Duran Duran
A really good insight into the lifestyle of one of the UK's biggest bands. Well worth a read.
An emotional roller coaster
As an 80’s duranie reading this has taken me back in time & along for the journey.
It’s 2023 & the 2002 reunion seems like yesterday but also a lifetime ago.
As Andy describes life in Duran Duran as being on a rollercoaster as a reader I felt the same.
The insights make many things make sense & you get a 360’ view of the music industry which is fascinating & sometimes stressful.
Andy is very raw & honest, his love for his family is as important as his guitar. At times I was so terribly sad as I read about his fathers cancer. Having read the book I can imagine how he is taking care of himself & being taken care of in the arms of his family❤️
When ever I saw Duran live with my duranie gang often after queuing or buying vip tickets we would be at the front barrier. In small venues we would be centre stage but in larger venues I would get dragged to centre left as they were JT fans. But I loved AT & his guitar & smoking so sometimes we split up & I would be between Simon & AT with my friend at JTs feet. At the reunion gigs Andy’s suit would almost be steaming, how he managed to play & perform I will never know.
What was very apparent over that tour 2002 onwards was the sheer joy they were experiencing playing together. It was comforting to know that he felt the same as until now I never really understood why he left the second time round and it makes for a heart breaking read.
One of my most treasured possessions is a plectrum thrown off stage by Andy - it holds many visions that make me smile.
Fantastic read
I've cried, I've laughed and even felt a little bit depressed at times. I have shared a similar experience to Andy in his childhood, so that was particularly hard for me to read. The struggle within DD was almost infuriating for me. Andy is such a talented musician and very underrated, he should have been given an opportunity to perform solos while the rest of the band took a break. Maybe then he could have expressed himself properly and wouldn't have felt like he needed to leave. Then again things at home required him to be around and not off touring. I love his detailed accounts of being with Robert Palmer, Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson (R.I.P guys.)
All this book has done has made me love Andy even more, which I didn't even think was possible. I've visited his hometown of Cullercoats and I intent to live there one day.
So if you want to get to know Andy this is the book to read.