Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer)
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| Roger Andrew Taylor | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 26, 1960 Castle Bromwich,Birmingham, England |
| Instrument(s) | Drums |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran Arcadia Freebass Scent Organs |
Roger Andrew Taylor (born April 26, 1960 in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, England) is the drummer for the electronic pop/rock band Duran Duran.
He began drumming around the age of twelve, teaching himself by playing along with his favorite records.His first ambition was to become goalkeeper for English football club Aston Villa As a child he was taken to every home match by his father Hugh but at 5'9 never grew tall enough to realise his dream. He has cited drummers Paul Thompson of Roxy Music, Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones and Tony Thompson of Chic as his key musical influences growing up.
Before joining Duran Duran, he played with several school and local club bands. After being inspired by the punk bands playing at Barbarellas club in Birmingham, he formed New Wave/Punk outfit Scent Organs, who became regional finalists in the 'Melody Maker' young band of the year in 1978. After the band split in 1979 he joined Duran Duran.
He climbed with the band to fame and fortune in the early 1980s. Along with bass player John Taylor he gave the band their trademark powerful driving disco/rock rhythms. His dark brooding looks served as a pleasing contrast to the rest of the band's more glamorous look.
After three multi-million worldwide selling studio albums and their huge world tour in 1984, which peaked with 3 nights at New York's Madison Square Garden, Taylor was burned out and exhausted. He did, however, in 1985 work with Duran bandmates Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes on the album So Red The Rose for their side project Arcadia which featured among others, Sting, David Gilmour, Herbie Hancock and Grace Jones, but that band never toured, and he did not participate in its promotion.
He played a one-off show with Duran Duran at the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia which reached a global audience of 2 billion people. At the end of 1985 after the band had achieved a transatlantic no. 1 record with the James Bond theme "A View to a Kill" he retired to the English countryside with his wife. He then fathered three children, two sons and one daughter, James, Ellea and Elliott.
Erroneous reports of Taylor's fragile mental state following his departure from Duran Duran/Arcadia were circulated by the media, especially the UK press. In 2003, he told "Blender" magazine: "I didn’t have a breakdown. I was just exhausted. I bought a farm in Gloucestershire, had kids, did normal things. We rented the land out to a farmer and lived the life of landed gentry. A bit Spinal Tap, I know. We had chickens and horses. I just disappeared. I had tabloid reporters looking for me. I was in bed one morning and there was a knock. Giovanna [Cantonne, his wife] said, 'It’s the postman,' and I went down in her pink nightie. It was the Sun [a notorious British tabloid], and they said, 'Hello, mate, we want to know why you left the band.' I just shut the door on them, but the next day on page five there I was, unshaven in a pink negligee."
In 1994 while visiting a friend in Paris, he temporarily joined Duran Duran to play drums on two tracks for the covers album Thank You, later appearing in the video for 'Perfect Day' and on the band's 'Top of the Pops' performance of the song.
In 1997, Taylor began flirting with the music industry again. He briefly formed the band Freebass, which produced a single, "Love is Like Oxygen," on underground dance label Cleveland City Records and was placed in the top ten of the music week U.K dance chart.
In 2001, Taylor rejoined Duran Duran, as all five of the original members reunited to record new material and perform as a quintet again. This culminated in 5 sold out nights at Wembley Arena, playing Madison Square Garden again and signing with Epic Records in New York. The band delivered a worldwide hit single 'Reach up for the Sunrise' and million selling album Astronaut which heavily featured the electro-funk rhythms of the newly reunited Roger and John Taylor.
The 'Astronaut' tour lasted for more than 2 years with sold out shows all around the globe. The band also picked up several prestigious 'achievement' awards from Q magazine, MTV and a Brit award.
In 2002, Taylor appeared on the "Twelve Drummers Drumming" Christmas card in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" set sold at Woolworths to raise money for the NSPCC – alongside the "other" Roger Taylor, the drummer for Queen.
In 2004, Taylor and Giovanna Cantone announced their separation after 20 years of marriage. In the same year he was named Britain's 5th most eligible bachelor in U.K high society magazine Tatler alongside Prince William.
In 2005, he started work on the second Duran Duran album for Epic Records. He was named (along with John Taylor) as one of the greatest musicians of all time in the Ubersonik.com top 100.
In 2006, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake started work with Duran Duran on several tracks for a new album set for release in 2007.
On July 1, 2007, he performed with Duran Duran at the 'Concert for Diana' at the new Wembley Stadium with new guitarist Dom Brown. The band were introduced by Prince William and Prince Harry. They opened the show to a worldwide audience of 1 billion people.
