Post by ©DURANMANIA Board Team on Feb 9, 2005 23:27:48 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]"No longer a Wild Boy" JT Interview in the SUN(UK)[/glow]
By JACQUI SWIFT/ courtesy of The Sun Newspaper Online - UK's biggest selling newspaper
DURAN Duran’s John Taylor reckons if he hadn’t quit drugs when he did he would have ended up dead like INXS star Michael Hutchence.
The bass player, who was the biggest heart-throb in the hit Eighties band, says hitting rock bottom saved him.
John, 44, said: “I often wonder how and why I’m doing good today and Michael Hutchence isn’t. I guess I just woke up.
“When you’ve done something for so long, there’s only two ways to go and when you go down, there’s no coming back.”<br>
John became addicted to cocaine when Duran Duran hit the big time in the Eighties with songs like Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf and Save A Prayer.
He says: “It was so mad but I didn’t realise what I was doing at the time. When someone told me, ‘You could be having far more fun if you took this,’ I didn’t have anyone telling me about the dangers of it."
Along with singer Simon Le Bon, guitarist Andy Taylor, keyboard player Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor, John enjoyed massive chart success.
And now the Wild Boys are back with a new single, What Happens Tomorrow, and a UK tour.
John Taylor today ... 'Thankful ... got back from the brink'
Twenty years ago, when the group was at the height of its fame, model girlfriends and fast cars were coupled with a fondness for drugs that was only revealed years later.
John says: “I don’t think anyone realised just what was going on at the time. Nobody knew what we were up to. Everyone was just trying to deal with it the best way they could, but it was so mad.”<br>
The star says the wake-up call finally came when he realised drugs had changed him into a person he didn’t like anymore.
“I got to the point where I was pretty miserable. I didn’t like anybody and I was afraid of my own shadow. I didn’t like the person I’d become and it was all about survival.”<br>
Now health-obsessed and spiritual, John - who lives in LA but has a UK home - reckons the success of Duran Duran the second time around is much sweeter because they are in control.
In October last year, (Reach Up For The) Sunrise, their first single in 19 years with the original line-up went to number five while Astronaut, their first album with the original line-up since 1983’s Seven And The Ragged Tiger, shot straight in at number three.
John beams: “It’s been amazing and the album position was extraordinary, as was the world tour. The comeback has been so much better than I ever thought it would be.
“You can’t really compare it to the first time around as it was so wild then. Now it’s just really good and better in some ways. We’re a little bit more in control and there’s a bit more balance.”<br>
In fact, returning to a band he had quit in 1997 means that John appreciates life in Duran Duran more.
He said: “We’re still as much of a gang when we’re on the road. Being away from it definitely makes you realise what you are missing.
“When you’ve had it and lost it, it starts coming back to you and so you say, 'Well I’m going to hold onto it this time around'.
“I mainly kept in touch with Simon after I’d quit, though I wouldn’t say he’s my best mate in the band. We all have different relationships. I talk to Simon about things and I can talk to Nick about other things.
“Every time we have a fight, we have to make a choice. Am I going to leave and is this really more important than the band?
“I guess we’ve all had to make that choice at least once since we’ve got back together. There’s been times when I’ve thought ‘F*** it’, which is a dangerous place to be as it generally means I’m going to do something I regret, so it’s best to just sit on it.
“We all have a strong desire to be in the band now and do what we’re doing.”
Friends reunited ... back together after 19 years
Following last year’s mammoth Greatest Hits World Tour, John is looking forward to getting on the road again and playing more of their new tracks.
He says: "I just can’t wait to get out and play Astronaut properly. We’ve put a lot into the album, and though the songs were written in the studio, it’s the stage where they come to life.”<br>
But fans don't need to worry, this doesn't mean they’ll never hear any of the band’s much loved hits again - they will still include them in their live set.
John, who's happily married to Juicy Couture founder Gela Nash-Taylor, said: “I don’t think we could ever play a tour without those great songs and we’d never want to.
“Even though I could imagine playing a show where we play just the new songs, I couldn’t do a massive tour and not play Rio. I have no need to distance myself from any of our old material, though I have been through periods where they were the last thing I wanted to play – but not now.”
Wild times ... group in the Eighties
Duran Duran return to the UK in May for a special homecoming show at Birmingham City Football Club’s St Andrews Stadium – and John says he can’t wait to be back in the city he was born.
He added: “It’s always good to be back in Birmingham. And even though I never really kept in touch with old friends when I became famous, through darn Friends Reunited I’m in touch with more today then ever!”<br>
“Playing St Andrews is going to be incredible. We’ve always hit our ceiling at indoor arenas and I think it’s a challenge to become an outdoor arena band – it’s another level and something we want to do.
“It’s a new chapter of Duran Duran’s career and St Andrews seems the best place to start it.”<br>
Duran Duran's new single What Happens Tomorrow is out now.
For tickets to the Birmingham show visit www.getlive.co.uk and www.gigsandtours.com
By JACQUI SWIFT/ courtesy of The Sun Newspaper Online - UK's biggest selling newspaper
DURAN Duran’s John Taylor reckons if he hadn’t quit drugs when he did he would have ended up dead like INXS star Michael Hutchence.
The bass player, who was the biggest heart-throb in the hit Eighties band, says hitting rock bottom saved him.
John, 44, said: “I often wonder how and why I’m doing good today and Michael Hutchence isn’t. I guess I just woke up.
“When you’ve done something for so long, there’s only two ways to go and when you go down, there’s no coming back.”<br>
John became addicted to cocaine when Duran Duran hit the big time in the Eighties with songs like Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf and Save A Prayer.
He says: “It was so mad but I didn’t realise what I was doing at the time. When someone told me, ‘You could be having far more fun if you took this,’ I didn’t have anyone telling me about the dangers of it."
Along with singer Simon Le Bon, guitarist Andy Taylor, keyboard player Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor, John enjoyed massive chart success.
And now the Wild Boys are back with a new single, What Happens Tomorrow, and a UK tour.
John Taylor today ... 'Thankful ... got back from the brink'
Twenty years ago, when the group was at the height of its fame, model girlfriends and fast cars were coupled with a fondness for drugs that was only revealed years later.
John says: “I don’t think anyone realised just what was going on at the time. Nobody knew what we were up to. Everyone was just trying to deal with it the best way they could, but it was so mad.”<br>
The star says the wake-up call finally came when he realised drugs had changed him into a person he didn’t like anymore.
“I got to the point where I was pretty miserable. I didn’t like anybody and I was afraid of my own shadow. I didn’t like the person I’d become and it was all about survival.”<br>
Now health-obsessed and spiritual, John - who lives in LA but has a UK home - reckons the success of Duran Duran the second time around is much sweeter because they are in control.
In October last year, (Reach Up For The) Sunrise, their first single in 19 years with the original line-up went to number five while Astronaut, their first album with the original line-up since 1983’s Seven And The Ragged Tiger, shot straight in at number three.
John beams: “It’s been amazing and the album position was extraordinary, as was the world tour. The comeback has been so much better than I ever thought it would be.
“You can’t really compare it to the first time around as it was so wild then. Now it’s just really good and better in some ways. We’re a little bit more in control and there’s a bit more balance.”<br>
In fact, returning to a band he had quit in 1997 means that John appreciates life in Duran Duran more.
He said: “We’re still as much of a gang when we’re on the road. Being away from it definitely makes you realise what you are missing.
“When you’ve had it and lost it, it starts coming back to you and so you say, 'Well I’m going to hold onto it this time around'.
“I mainly kept in touch with Simon after I’d quit, though I wouldn’t say he’s my best mate in the band. We all have different relationships. I talk to Simon about things and I can talk to Nick about other things.
“Every time we have a fight, we have to make a choice. Am I going to leave and is this really more important than the band?
“I guess we’ve all had to make that choice at least once since we’ve got back together. There’s been times when I’ve thought ‘F*** it’, which is a dangerous place to be as it generally means I’m going to do something I regret, so it’s best to just sit on it.
“We all have a strong desire to be in the band now and do what we’re doing.”
Friends reunited ... back together after 19 years
Following last year’s mammoth Greatest Hits World Tour, John is looking forward to getting on the road again and playing more of their new tracks.
He says: "I just can’t wait to get out and play Astronaut properly. We’ve put a lot into the album, and though the songs were written in the studio, it’s the stage where they come to life.”<br>
But fans don't need to worry, this doesn't mean they’ll never hear any of the band’s much loved hits again - they will still include them in their live set.
John, who's happily married to Juicy Couture founder Gela Nash-Taylor, said: “I don’t think we could ever play a tour without those great songs and we’d never want to.
“Even though I could imagine playing a show where we play just the new songs, I couldn’t do a massive tour and not play Rio. I have no need to distance myself from any of our old material, though I have been through periods where they were the last thing I wanted to play – but not now.”
Wild times ... group in the Eighties
Duran Duran return to the UK in May for a special homecoming show at Birmingham City Football Club’s St Andrews Stadium – and John says he can’t wait to be back in the city he was born.
He added: “It’s always good to be back in Birmingham. And even though I never really kept in touch with old friends when I became famous, through darn Friends Reunited I’m in touch with more today then ever!”<br>
“Playing St Andrews is going to be incredible. We’ve always hit our ceiling at indoor arenas and I think it’s a challenge to become an outdoor arena band – it’s another level and something we want to do.
“It’s a new chapter of Duran Duran’s career and St Andrews seems the best place to start it.”<br>
Duran Duran's new single What Happens Tomorrow is out now.
For tickets to the Birmingham show visit www.getlive.co.uk and www.gigsandtours.com