Wednesday 21/04/04 Duran Duran, Goldfrapp @ M.E.N. Arena, Manchester

They’ve been lauded recently by everyone from Justin ‘Trousersnake’ Timberlake to Kelly ‘Fat Spoilt Cow’ Osbourne; received lifetime achievement awards at both the MTV Awards and the Brits this year; and have now managed to put their squabbles aside to tour together once more.

Manchester’s not-so-great traffic system ensured only one song in the company of Miss Alison Goldfrapp, but that one tune, electro grind-a-thon ‘Strict Machine’ should be enough to persuade anyone to purchase her album ‘Black Cherry’ immediately.  In fact, predecessor ‘Felt Mountain’ is worth a look too, particularly for the frankly beautiful ‘Utopia’.

For ‘80’s’, read ‘Duran Duran’.  It’s as simple as that.  Love it or loathe it, their music blasted out of every pub or club for what seemed like the whole decade.  OK, I am completely ignoring some other seminal bands of that time…but the rose-tinted glasses are firmly on, ok kids?

There’s another 18,000 pairs of ‘em inside this hanger-like venue.  To say a buzz of anticipation is in the air would be somewhat of an understatement.   When they do arrive though, it all looks faintly ridiculous.  Marching on looking like weird military-trained, trussed-up turkeys being lead to slaughter, they slam into ‘Sunrise’.  Well, not slam, more kind of 80’s-cheese-pop into it.  In fact, to call the song cheesy would be selling it short.  Basically, it’s a very, very mature stilton left out of the fridge too long.  It stinks.  To high heaven.  Thank the lord, then for ‘Hungry Like a Wolf’, which serves as a cue for the gentlemen in his 40’s next to me to fling his daughter aside, take his top off and scream “DOO DOO DOO DOOO DOO DOOO DOOO DOOO” in a manner not unlike the Village People.  So for that reason, the song’s to be applauded.

See this is the thing with Duran Duran.  They’re like a guilty pleasure.  I’m sure many, many people have LeBon & co.’s records in their collections (encased in a Dr. John sleeve or something), but will only listen to ‘em when alone and with the doors, windows and curtains shut tight.  Songs like ‘Come Undone’, ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Notorious’ rightly deserve their place amongst the greatest pure pop songs ever written. 

The fact they can then afford the luxury of leaving ‘Wild Boys’, ‘Girls on Film’ and ‘Rio’ till the end – which are simply amongst the greatest songs of any genre ever written – underscores the value of this band to modern music.  OK, they may garnish their set of bona fide classics with bland crap like new song ‘What Happens Tomorrow’ (for “those poor little Arabs being bombed”), and may ponce around just a little bit too much… but **** it, just dance.

Photos by Dave Evans