Although never a fan of Duran Duran, I’m always up for a good, down-and-dirty, really dishy celebrity tell-all. Guitarist Andy Taylor steps up to the plate with WILD BOY: MY LIFE IN DURAN DURAN … and hits a single — nothing to scream and shout over, but at least it’s not a strike.
Taylor was never the ’80s band’s resident heartthrob like vocalist Simon LeBon, so the book’s initial chapters into his childhood and upbringing are skippable for all but the fervent fan. (Heck, even if this was LeBon telling the story, they’d be skippable.) Proceed right to the point where Duran Duran becomes a sensation, and that’s precisely where the sparks start to fly.
But if you’re looking for the kind of gut-level tabloid raunch that colors so many celeb bios — and, let’s face it, moves copies of them — WILD BOY’s going to seem less than all that wild, leaving you asking, “Is there something I should know?” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
For Taylor, cocaine was his big vice, not sex. After all, this is the guy who married when he was 21, just as the band was hitting it big; today, he and his wife are, quite admirably, still together. All the humping is pretty much relegated to a single page about a club’s back room with a mattress where the guys would take turns with their ladies of choice that night.
Taylor reveals the guys didn’t always get along so well, which is partly why he took the time to form the successful side project The Power Station, and why he ultimately parted ways with the band for good. The more stadium and arena concerts Duran Duran played, the more Top 10 hits it racked up, the more frustrated Taylor became.
Like many musicians who suddenly become international sensations, ego comes into play. The best story comes from assembling the theme song to the James Bond film A VIEW TO A KILL, which went on to be the biggest Bond theme ever, not to mention the original lineup’s final track for about 16 years. Taylor recalls working on the track with John Barry, the legendary film composer, who works with a tumbler of whiskey while plunking away at the piano. Keyboardist Nick Rhodes tries to pull the whiny rock star crap and gets chewed out by the far more seasoned master. Advantage: Barry.
WILD BOY is an anecdotal work, told not with terrific writing skill but open dialogue. Taylor writes fairly simplistically, but those wanting the whole story behind Duran Duran will be satisfied peeking behind the curtain. Fans of the band are for whom this bio was penned; all casual celeb and entertainment followers, keep browsing. —Rod Lott
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