Duran Duran bassist John Taylor has confirmed that the band are recording an album with former guitarist Andy Taylor.
Andy announced to the world he had terminal stage 4 pancreatic cancer during the band's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction last year and John has said the original members have reunited to record a batch of songs that go back to their roots.
"When he dropped the bomb two days before the Hall of Fame, it was really shocking and terribly sad," John told The Mirror while attending the Unforgettable Evening in LA to raise £1.6 million for the Women's Cancer Research Fund. "We’re working on an album right now that is going to be coming out at the end of the year and he’s playing guitar.
"There’s a lot of cover songs on the album, songs meaningful to us when we were kids," Taylor added. "So having him be a part of that project is great.”
The bassist added that Simon Le Bon was flying out to Ibiza to work with Andy: “It’ll be really profound for them," he said. "They haven’t been in the studio together in maybe 10 to 20 years.”
In a statement on Duran Duran's official Twitter the band said they, "are thrilled to confirm a special music project is in the works, set for release later this year on BMG.
"The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former bandmate Andy Taylor who will join us on guitar for a few tracks."
pic.twitter.com/BqBoWZ7a6xMarch 20, 2023
Andy Taylor, 62, played with Duran Duran from 1980 to 1986, playing on their classic albums, including Rio. He rejoined Le Bon and John Taylor, drummer Andy Taylor and keyboardist Nick Rhodes for a reunion in 2000, but parted ways with the band again in 2006.
The guitarist wrote an open letter to fans that the band read out during their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction in 2022, revealing his condition and paying his respects to fans and his bandmates.
"Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer," Taylor wrote. "Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different; so I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have and this exceptional accolade.
"I have the Rodgers and Edwards of doctors and medical treatment that until very recently allowed me to just rock on," he added, addressing his absence from the ceremony where he was expected to perform with the band. "Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening there is no cure. Recently I was doing okay after some very sophisticated life-extending treatment, that was until a week or so ago when I suffered a setback, and despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally, I would be pushing my boundaries."
