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Duran Duran: Notorious
Duran Duran was one of the seminal groups of the 1980s, with record sales topping 70 million. With their punk roots, state-of-the-art videos, and notoriously hedonistic lifestyle, they captivated audiences around the world. This new book traces their remarkable story: their rise to fame, their split in 1985, and the ensuing splinter groups, drug addiction, and rehabilitation. In 2001, the original five members regrouped and are enjoying a level of recognition and popularity that few serious music critics would have predicted. Their mixture of synth and swagger has ultimately triumphed due to the core friendships of the band, their flair for memorable pop hooks, and an ambition that dwarfed most of their contemporaries.
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 24, 2013
This poorly written book about my favorite band really just made me cringe. The book is pieced together by magazine articles and interviews of various people who have had some sort of link to the band and whatever point in their lives. The author rolls out an endless stream of adjectives to describe the different band members, mostly embellishing Nick Rhodes, and not contributing to the flow of the book.
It's a bit obvious that the writer has an affinity towards Simon LeBon for whatever reason as he goes on about how his voice lacks and his lyrics are shallow. This is more of a commentary on the band than an unauthorized biography.
The misquoting of lyrics and getting the titles of songs wrong in the text just added to the bad taste I had for this book. If you're going to write a "biography", you might want to make sure you get things right. I can truly see why this is unauthorized and I'm disappointed with the way this book turned out. I leaves me to wonder how much of his story is true and how much is false.
It's a bit obvious that the writer has an affinity towards Simon LeBon for whatever reason as he goes on about how his voice lacks and his lyrics are shallow. This is more of a commentary on the band than an unauthorized biography.
The misquoting of lyrics and getting the titles of songs wrong in the text just added to the bad taste I had for this book. If you're going to write a "biography", you might want to make sure you get things right. I can truly see why this is unauthorized and I'm disappointed with the way this book turned out. I leaves me to wonder how much of his story is true and how much is false.
April 28, 2017
My mom loved, loved Duran Duran their music was always playing in the house so it was easy for me to like them. They hold a special place in my heart because they remind me of my mom and my childhood. I remember how she used to gash about how good looking they were, I think Nick Rhodes and Simone Le Bon were her favorite (mom has good taste) I've seen them live too they were brilliant.
This book is not what I expected I find it rather tedious if I went online or you tube I would have found more information. This books was more like lets see how many adjectives we come up with for Nick Rhodes I get it, he was/is gorgeous even my own eyes can't believe it! No need to remind me every page how glamours and androgynous he looks! I know, I can see that!
A band this great deserve a better biography don't bother with this one. Read John Taylor or Andy's Taylor biographies instead.
This book is not what I expected I find it rather tedious if I went online or you tube I would have found more information. This books was more like lets see how many adjectives we come up with for Nick Rhodes I get it, he was/is gorgeous even my own eyes can't believe it! No need to remind me every page how glamours and androgynous he looks! I know, I can see that!
A band this great deserve a better biography don't bother with this one. Read John Taylor or Andy's Taylor biographies instead.
December 4, 2020
Well, at least it has a pretty cover.
The insides are a mess desperately in need of an editor. It's full of factual errors and contradictions. It has a sneering tone; I get the feeling the author was looking down his nose at the band the entire time he was writing it. He has the annoying habit of recounting 3 or 4 reviews for every single/album/video and throwing in his own opinion. When I'm reading an alleged biography, I don't want to read the author's editorializing. He also makes his thoughts on band members very clear: he's nearly obsessed with Nick, likes John a great deal, thinks Simon is a joke and isn't too crazy about Andy. He mentions Roger only a handful of times so I'm guessing he forgot about him? (He also seems to looooove the gross-ass Warren C*cc*r*llo.) Towards the end of the book, it's as if the author just wanted to be DONE because he just starts listing dates like it's Wikipedia and totally gives up on the flowery descriptions he uses through the first 80% of the book.
Seriously, if you want to read a Duran book, pick up John's autobiography. Or for a more entertaining option, pick up Andy's (it's goodread's rating is low only because of bitter Duranie's who probably called him the ugly one but then still got miffed that he left the band...nevermind it's RIGHT THERE IN THE BOOK why he left).
The insides are a mess desperately in need of an editor. It's full of factual errors and contradictions. It has a sneering tone; I get the feeling the author was looking down his nose at the band the entire time he was writing it. He has the annoying habit of recounting 3 or 4 reviews for every single/album/video and throwing in his own opinion. When I'm reading an alleged biography, I don't want to read the author's editorializing. He also makes his thoughts on band members very clear: he's nearly obsessed with Nick, likes John a great deal, thinks Simon is a joke and isn't too crazy about Andy. He mentions Roger only a handful of times so I'm guessing he forgot about him? (He also seems to looooove the gross-ass Warren C*cc*r*llo.) Towards the end of the book, it's as if the author just wanted to be DONE because he just starts listing dates like it's Wikipedia and totally gives up on the flowery descriptions he uses through the first 80% of the book.
Seriously, if you want to read a Duran book, pick up John's autobiography. Or for a more entertaining option, pick up Andy's (it's goodread's rating is low only because of bitter Duranie's who probably called him the ugly one but then still got miffed that he left the band...nevermind it's RIGHT THERE IN THE BOOK why he left).
January 9, 2013
The book started out for me as a page turner. The early years into the era where they were the biggest thing ever were a good read. Towards the end, it gets dull. To me the writer seemed like he was bored with them after they had their slump in the 90s and just summed it up in a really bland, hurried kind of way.
November 7, 2007
I learned a lot of things I didn't know about the boys - even after having been a fan for over 20 years. A must read.
October 28, 2008
Just like the band, the first half was riviting. Then after Andy left, the content as well as the band slid downhill.
October 3, 2012
Well-informed, poorly written. This band deserves a far better book.
April 18, 2020
Absolute atrocious book on Duran Duran. The only reason I've not given it to a charity shop is through embarrasment.
December 3, 2022
Easily the best DD biography
October 20, 2008
Do I need to, at this point, tell people who Duran Duran are? Do I also have to tell people I am a huge fan and have been since I was 12 and saw the nascent band open for Blondie in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, of all places?
I think not.
Malins, who has also written about Depeche Mode, Radiohead, and Gary Newman, knows his milieu (although he’s a bit better in writing about 80s music than he is in covering Thomas Yorke’s Radiohead.) Too bad he gets some of the facts about Duran Duran wrong. What is totally inexcusable is misquoting lyrics.
Malins does cover the chronology of the band’s work, drug use, hedonistic lifestyle and many relationships with the ladies (and sometimes, barely legal groupies). One senses that, even with the occasional factual error, he did a LOT of research. One wonders where his fact-checkers and editors were that they didn’t catch the poor author’s few obvious mistakes.
On top of that, Malins doesn’t bring a lot of insight about why and how Duran Duran succeeded or why they also faded twice. The band first conquered the world with their second album, Rio; then their overproduced but successful Seven and the Ragged Tiger; their live album Arena, and their best-selling theme for the James Bond film A View to a Kill.
Duran Duran’s second rise and fall was more wrong-headed. After losing their drummer to nervous exhaustion, and then losing their guitarist to the high-rocker LA lifestyle, Duran Duran looked as if they’d fade into oblivion. 55 million worldwide record sales couldn’t save them. Then they brought on Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and after stumbling for a few years, they created two of the best ballads of the 90s—“Ordinary World” and “Come Undone.” They were on top of the world, only to fall again because of a misaimed covers album (Thank You), slow studio work, and lack of management and marketing. Even critics agree that the band’s late 90s albums were better than sales allowed.
Malins does little to describe why the Wild Boys hit in the 80s, or why they fell while doing some of their best work. What the author does do, for some reason, is add his own long-winded and strange critique of the band’s musical catalogue, disagreeing with several renowned critics by utilizing obfuscating description of the tunes. That aspect of this book made reading it a bit infuriating.
Who is Malins, and why would his opinion matter? Why does he eschew journalistic duty for critique?
Even with all his research and detail, Malins misses the chance to create insight on the musical environment that Duran Duran succeeded and failed in. And his exhaustive interviews with the band and their entourage does add some color and understanding. However, in his unnecessary and senseless commentary, Malins comes off as a failed music critic trying to reclaim his own journalistic dream of pop success on the backs of a band whose work will be remembered long after Malins is forgotten.
I think not.
Malins, who has also written about Depeche Mode, Radiohead, and Gary Newman, knows his milieu (although he’s a bit better in writing about 80s music than he is in covering Thomas Yorke’s Radiohead.) Too bad he gets some of the facts about Duran Duran wrong. What is totally inexcusable is misquoting lyrics.
Malins does cover the chronology of the band’s work, drug use, hedonistic lifestyle and many relationships with the ladies (and sometimes, barely legal groupies). One senses that, even with the occasional factual error, he did a LOT of research. One wonders where his fact-checkers and editors were that they didn’t catch the poor author’s few obvious mistakes.
On top of that, Malins doesn’t bring a lot of insight about why and how Duran Duran succeeded or why they also faded twice. The band first conquered the world with their second album, Rio; then their overproduced but successful Seven and the Ragged Tiger; their live album Arena, and their best-selling theme for the James Bond film A View to a Kill.
Duran Duran’s second rise and fall was more wrong-headed. After losing their drummer to nervous exhaustion, and then losing their guitarist to the high-rocker LA lifestyle, Duran Duran looked as if they’d fade into oblivion. 55 million worldwide record sales couldn’t save them. Then they brought on Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and after stumbling for a few years, they created two of the best ballads of the 90s—“Ordinary World” and “Come Undone.” They were on top of the world, only to fall again because of a misaimed covers album (Thank You), slow studio work, and lack of management and marketing. Even critics agree that the band’s late 90s albums were better than sales allowed.
Malins does little to describe why the Wild Boys hit in the 80s, or why they fell while doing some of their best work. What the author does do, for some reason, is add his own long-winded and strange critique of the band’s musical catalogue, disagreeing with several renowned critics by utilizing obfuscating description of the tunes. That aspect of this book made reading it a bit infuriating.
Who is Malins, and why would his opinion matter? Why does he eschew journalistic duty for critique?
Even with all his research and detail, Malins misses the chance to create insight on the musical environment that Duran Duran succeeded and failed in. And his exhaustive interviews with the band and their entourage does add some color and understanding. However, in his unnecessary and senseless commentary, Malins comes off as a failed music critic trying to reclaim his own journalistic dream of pop success on the backs of a band whose work will be remembered long after Malins is forgotten.
February 20, 2016
Since this is an unauthorised biography, I will take some of it with a grain of salt. However, it jibes with much of what I have read about the band before, so I think it was probably fairly accurate.
There were some great quotes and anecdotes about the band. I had read about their prolific drug use and sexual appetites before but had no idea that it was so out of control. It is a fascinating glimpse inside a group of youngsters who became extremely famous before they were totally capable of handling the fame. It's honestly a wonder that they were able to weather that and that they continue to make music today, including the well-received 2015 album "Paper Gods."
One revelation was that some of them collaborated with the Dandy Warhols on the Dandys' album "Welcome to the Monkey House." It is one of my favorites and I had no idea that some of the Duran members had worked on the album. It was fun to see how many current musicians value Duran Duran and claim them as an influence. It makes me happy to know that they have a solid place in music history.
I'm not sure I would recommend this to someone who isn't a fan, but for this Fangirl, it was a very fun read.
There were some great quotes and anecdotes about the band. I had read about their prolific drug use and sexual appetites before but had no idea that it was so out of control. It is a fascinating glimpse inside a group of youngsters who became extremely famous before they were totally capable of handling the fame. It's honestly a wonder that they were able to weather that and that they continue to make music today, including the well-received 2015 album "Paper Gods."
One revelation was that some of them collaborated with the Dandy Warhols on the Dandys' album "Welcome to the Monkey House." It is one of my favorites and I had no idea that some of the Duran members had worked on the album. It was fun to see how many current musicians value Duran Duran and claim them as an influence. It makes me happy to know that they have a solid place in music history.
I'm not sure I would recommend this to someone who isn't a fan, but for this Fangirl, it was a very fun read.
March 3, 2008
My husband got this for me, knowing of my pre-teen infatuation with the band. While interesting in describing the early years of the band, but the writing was really atrocious. It's clear that the author (a male) is totally infatuated with the keyboardist and cannot stand other members of the band (namely the one I was in love with!)
He strings together hideous strings of adjectives such as "the platinum-haired, fashion loving, Gemini". Reads way too much like Teen Beat than a serious biography of a band.
He strings together hideous strings of adjectives such as "the platinum-haired, fashion loving, Gemini". Reads way too much like Teen Beat than a serious biography of a band.
November 18, 2016
Oh boy, what a poorly written biography!
For me, being not a hardcore fan, there were indeed some interesting informations about life and career of the five DDs. But I really had to find them between the lines. More obviously were those idiotic attributions Malins used to name the musicians and other persons. It would probably have been more fun to make a list of adjectives that he found for Nick Rhodes than reading his book. As colourful their musical journey might have been, the way the author was writing about is completely dull.
For me, being not a hardcore fan, there were indeed some interesting informations about life and career of the five DDs. But I really had to find them between the lines. More obviously were those idiotic attributions Malins used to name the musicians and other persons. It would probably have been more fun to make a list of adjectives that he found for Nick Rhodes than reading his book. As colourful their musical journey might have been, the way the author was writing about is completely dull.
March 26, 2008
So i've been on a big Duran kick after "meeting" them at a cd signing a few months back, I picked up this book just to see if there was any juicy details that I didn't know about them. This book is pretty much a rehash of old interviews and magazine articles so if you're a fan, there's nothing new here. Not a bad book if you're looking for a history of the band, just don't expect any great revelations.
October 6, 2021
As others have commented. Its an ok read but does not really shed any new light on the band or their 80's heyday. That said I did find it enjoyable and was embarrassed to find just how many of their records I do not own and may now try to listen to their later records as I only own the ones from there 80's heyday. Although I do think that 'Ordinary World' is one of their finest records. Not a book to read if you are looking for any great insights.
December 9, 2012
Completely awful. I had so been looking forward to reading the full tale of the lives and adventures of Duran Duran. But with this book I was let down. It's my opinion that the lies were leaping off the pages. My intuition was validated after reading John Taylor's recent book, into the pleasure groove, which was fantastic and exactly what I was looking for from a Duran member. Next I'd love for Simon to write an autobiography as well.
July 17, 2011
What an awsome read! Girls, Cocaine and fun pop tunes. Pretty much everything I want from life. This book should be on the school curriculum as a template of what to aspire for in life. And to top it all off they look so bloody fabulous throughout their career. What a band. What a book.
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August 5, 2007I think I want this book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews