Back To The Future Past

Change is coming down the line I give thanks if that much stays the same

Duran Duran are life-affirming. It is unlikely you have much in your life that make you do illogical things on a Monday night like plan time off work around shows, travel on midnight motorways, or book crazily expensive hotels with tiny rooms, most of which we would never do in any other circumstances. Which proves we are proudly and defiantly living our lives to the full.

Don’t you cry for what will never last

Who knows when this crazy journey will end? This week we answered, “not f**king yet!” Those from outside the UK flew in, those in the UK struggled through reduced bank holiday trains. We packed the bars rekindling friendships that stretch down the years, and remembered those who are now no longer with us.

This life is not to our design Could not have known it then, but now I see it plain

Every show is a journey back and forth in our times. The modern way of blandly tweeting annual anniversaries of album release dates dulls the senses to the increasingly gaping void between the years. Which then brings me up short when I realise my first show now stands at 35 years ago and counting. FUCK! What choices we made through the years (often without conscious thought), and how grateful we are to ourselves for having made them. I started Cherry Lipstick 30 years ago. This was a very silly thing to have done. At the time I had no idea that any other Duranzines existed (they did) or how to sell it, or who might be interested. Or that having pictures and a vaguely adequate design lay out was a good idea. I got (very) lucky, sold a few at the right time to the right people and the fanzine – and new friendships - took off. Designing the path of Cherry Lipstick would have been impossible. Whilst loving all of it, it was only in 2017 when CL relaunched that I fully appreciated what a huge and special part of my life it had been. What unthinking risks did you take for granted at the time and now celebrate?

Each moment created in time

What a thrill to meet up with so many people I have been lucky enough to get to know over the years in London last night! Of course, our Duran show started days ago as we swapped phone numbers and planned where to meet. Ruth, Ben and I had made a promise to try to not know the setlist – not easy these days! The hope was to try to create those moments of wonder within a known world (we kinda guessed The Wild Boys would be near the start, with Rio at the end) and were thrilled to get some real surprises. Now we look forward to the anticipation of hearing them again in Dublin next weekend. Two moments in time for the price of one!

We are growing stronger

We were living in the present at the O2 last night as we danced and sang through a really great setlist (hello Anniversary, Last Chance On The Stairway and Planet Earth) and saw the coming future in the songs and visuals for Nightboat and Friends Of Mine which are surely signalling the direction for the new Halloween ‘project’ at the end of 2023. Exciting times! It remains important that we don’t fully live in the hypnotic, morphine bath of nostalgia. The hope for the future was fully reignited in me by the fun and creativity of the new songs in 2021. The joy of the past has been made more special by hearing 6 songs off both the debut album and Rio (plus Faster Than Light!) over the past 18 months. Mmmm, inject me again now.

You may have noticed that this is the first Cherry Lipstick article for several months. All your favourite articles and links are back up and running for one more year. There’s some really special stuff to find here, created with love and care. We are planning ahead for a final print fanzine at the end of this year. Because, while nothing lasts forever, we are living now.