Dancing on the Sands of Time
It is Christmas 1985… It's been a busy year with the Bond theme, The Power Station and Arcadia.
Simon is getting ready to marry Yasmin... Roger is visiting farms in Surrey… Andy and John are in Los Angeles… Nick is taking pictures…
This much we know, now read on…
1986 starts brightly for John. With his new found friends and the power of Hollywood, he has a top 10 hit in America with I Do What I Do. He hangs out with Andy and enjoys the fun of being a pop star with nothing to do but drink, attend film premieres and be with beautiful women. The thought of actually doing work does not appeal.
Simon heads out on his yacht race and comes back refreshed. The thought of being back in the grind of a recording studio does not appeal.
Andy is making a name for himself with new found friends in the studios of America. He joins in with the Rolling Stones and produces the new record by Bon Jovi.
Nick finds himself in a studio that has been over-optimistically booked for the new Duran Duran album. He gets a call from a guitarist called Warren…
Roger buys a chicken.
It is Christmas 1990…
Simon is relaxing back with the kids after attending another fashion premiere.
John is in rehab.
Andy is collecting his latest Grammy to go with his Oscar for Best Music in a Motion Picture (for Gremlins 2).
Nick is failing to negotiate a record deal for the 4th Arcadia album, a project which has featured himself and Warren with a rotating vocalist. He wants to self-fund a new project "for artistic freedom."
Roger is mucking out the pigs.
It is Christmas 2000…
John is on his third marriage and fourth detox. His 1993 solo album enlists the help of his old friends. Simon contributes a song, ‘Brilliant World’ which is a minor hit. His covers album, ‘Still Dangerous’ is not so successful.
Simon is a judge on the new TV show, Pop Idol.
Andy has written the theme songs for The Lion King, Toy Story and Batman. He runs his own music label and is lobbying the new President-elect Gore about debt relief in Africa.
Nick appears on the British TV pop quiz 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'. He has a walk-on part in which an ex-celeb has to be identified in a line up with lookalikes by the panel. A plumber from Rochester is mis-identified as Nick, but he waves to the studio audience who give him a big cheer. This re-introduces him to the nation and he comes a creditable 3rd in the first Celebrity Big Brother.
Warren is involved a new internet start-up company with exciting ideas for making the world "a better, more humane place."
Roger has built a new pen for the sheep.
It is Christmas 2006…
To celebrate 25 years since the release of Planet Earth, Andy is delighted to use his power and influence to get the band back together.
Simon is head judge on the X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol. He uses the show to promote the reunion.
Roger looks shattered as the show goes out at 9pm which is past his bedtime as he has been getting up at 5am every morning for the past 20 years.
John appears blinking in to the bright lights, nervously clutching worry beads and repeating the mantra "I do what I do" silently to himself.
Nick has a stomach bug after eating kangaroo droppings in I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here (he came 4th).
The reformed Duran Duran perform a new song, ‘Reach Up For The Starlight’ which is a huge Christmas hit all over the world.
It is Christmas 2017…
The court battle over the rights to trade under the name ‘Duran Duran’ rumbles on into its third year. Nick fell out with John and Andy as he wanted to extend the reality TV show of his life at home ('Bates Motel') on tour. The plan was for a film crew to follow them round for a spin-off series. Nick splits to tour with Warren as ‘Duranduran' and continues filming. The series 'Rhodes of Glory' is streamed live over Warren’s flourishing 'adult entertainment' website. The rest of the band continues to tour under the name ‘The Real Duran Duran.’ The plans to celebrate DD40 are put on hold until 2020.
Remember my friends, sometimes it’s better not to wish for what you don’t have… long live Duran Duran and their glorious history!