Dancin' On The Valentine

"Was I chasing after rainbows?one thing for sure you never answered when I called
And I wiped away the water from my face to look through the eyes of a stranger
For rumours in the wake of such a lonely crowd trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down in the eyes of the stranger"

The Seventh Stranger-Duran Duran

Next month marks the 30th anniversary of my first Duran Duran gig at famed Hammersmith Odean,I'd missed their earlier tour in 81 when they played at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park but now on the strength of their debut album they were back on the road and at Hammersmith Odean, always a sign you'd "made it" to the big time when you were headlining at Hammy Odean.

I liked their debut single "Planet Earth" but I wasn't crazy about it,I thought their second single"Careless Memories" was all that but surprisingly it barely grazed the Top 40 at #37 but then came the game changer "Girls On Film",and as the saying goes "the rest was history" and I became a teenage Duran Duran fan.

It wasn't easy being a guy and liking Duran Duran,it was one thing to buy their records,pin their posters on my bedroom wall and see them in concert but going out in public w/ a Duran Duran tshirt or wearing a Duran Duran button/pin could be detrimental to your well being,I recall being surrounded in a pub by a bunch of knuckle dragging neanderthals after playing Duran Duran on the jukebox,the typical name calling ensued, Nancy Boy was one of the nicer names I was called,I can only imagine the carnage if these clowns had seen me on the nites I went clubbing and sporting eyeliner and mascara

Bands like Duran Duran,Spandau Ballet and Japan not only made it ok for guys to wear make up if they were brave enough to, they were great to dance to and they inspired me to dress better,having liked Punk and Heavy Metal b4 the New Romantic movement meant tarting up my wardrobe considerably,clothes horse I was not or will never be but some of the nicer clobber in my wardrobe came as a result of being a New Romantic,and the fact the likes of Duran Duran,Japan and Spandau Ballet were good looking blokes meant they attracted a bevy of women at their shows,I always used to joke the best reason to like Duran Duran was to meet women at their concerts....not that I ever did but I'll bet numerous hook ups and maybe even long term relationships were formed at Duran Duran shows over the years.

And so to Monday at The Tower,my 10th Duran Duran gig in 30 years,an average of once every three years,people always said back in the day Duran Duran were only good in their videos but I always said seeing them live was where they shone brightest,if you don't own Hammersmith 82 on dvd add it to your collection,what you see is a band beginning to hit it's stride between 82-84 Duran Duran were the best band on the planet.....I was tempted to say Planet Earth but didn't want to be too cheesy but believe me they were awesome then and still pack a punch now.

In the day and age of the internet it's real easy to go online and find set lists,I do it post show to write the set lists but never b4,I like to be surprised so here's how Monday went down from start to finish.

Before The Rain-I'd have bet the house they'd open w/ "All You Need Is Now" but opted for the mellow closing track off the new cd instead,never a band to play safe Simon and co weren't about to start now.

Planet Earth-Oh snap from latest cd to first,I remember Simon saying he wanted Duran Duran to be the band people danced to when the nuclear bomb dropped(if you were my age in the 80's you lived in fear of a post nuclear fall out between America and Russia) the nuclear threat has gone but guess what? we're still dancing

A View To A Kill-I never go into a show these days w/ a laundry list of songs I want to hear because if you go in w/ the "I want to hear this,this and this" you set yourself up to be let down,View To A Kill was one song I wanted to hear and was delighted to hear it....best James Bond theme song ever!!

All You Need Is Now-Title track of the 12th studio album and a return to former glories,probably their best album since The Wedding Album in this humble Duranies opinion.

Blame The Machines-Another strong track off the new album,sorry I'm showing my age...cd!

Come Undone-A pleasant surprise,hard to believe The Wedding Album is 2 years shy of it's 20th anniversary,an album that put Duran Duran back on the map.

Safe(In The Heat Of The Moment)The 4th of 7 songs off the new album,it's rare a band will play that much stuff off as new cd in concert I think OMD and Human League only played 3 song off of "History Of Modern" and "Credo" but I wasn't complaining!!

The Reflex-I must've worn out the 12'' copy of this back in the day and it still packs a punch now some 27 years later,still hard to watch them performance this live and not half expect a giant wave to come cascading down from above the stage.

The Man Who Stole A Leopard-Girl Panic-Back to back tracks off "All You Need Is Now"

Tiger Tiger-Didn't see that one coming,gotta say it sounded as good live as it does on "Seven & The Ragged Tiger" will we ever hear "Tel Aviv"live at a Duran Duran show??

Is There Something I should Know?-After all these years it's still funny to hear the line"don't say you're easy on me,you're about as easy as a nuclear war"

Careless Memories-The second of three songs I was stoked to hear,why this wasn't a bigger hit back in 81 I don't know but it's still a kick arse tune.

Leave A Light On- When I saw Simon w/ the acoustic guitar I was thinking "Save A Prayer" but we got the seventh and final track off ''All You Need Is Now",I liked this song b4 but after hearing it live I like it even more now.

Ordinary World-Another trip back to "The Wedding Album"

Notorious-I won't lie "Notorious" wasn't one of my favourite Duran Duran albums,as it marks the beginning of the end of "the fab five" but the title track still stands out as a live song.

Hungry Like The Wolf-Finally something off the "Rio" album,but isn't that why we have "Hammersmith 82" on dvd?

(Reach Up For The)Sunrise-The lead off track off of "Astronaut" the reunion album that saw Simon,Nick,John,Roger,and Andy back together b4 Andy left again

Encore

Wild Boys-The third of the three songs I was psyched to hear and another song that the original 12'' vinyl got played over and over,these day the 12'' mix gets heavy rotation on my ipod,nice touch segwaying "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood into it

Rio-The finale and it was 1982 all over again complete w/ sax solo.

I have no gripe w/ the set list,sure the purists will cite no "Girls On Film" in the set but isn't that what "Arena" "Hammersmith 82" and "Live In London" are there for??,let's hope it's only a few years b4 the next album and tour.

PS Remember how I said one of the great things about a Duran Duran concert was meeting women?I actually got talking to two very nice women sat next me at The Tower on Monday and may have convinced them to come to "Sex Dwarf",after all if you like seeing Duran Duran live chances are dancing to killer 80's tunes every first Friday of the month is right up your alley way too!