Photo: Stephanie Pistel
The band’s 14th studio album was recorded in London with producers Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Josh Blair, and Mr Hudson and was mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. It will also feature musical contributions from special guests including Janelle Monáe (on the first single ‘Pressure Off’), John Frusciante, Kiesza, Mr. Hudson, Lindsay Lohan (yes, really), and violinist Davidé Rossi.
The tracks on Paper Gods “capture the duality and sense of conflict at the heart of Duran Duran’s music”, according to a press release. “It really goes back to that strange early Duran mix: the hard-edged pop, coexisting with this dark, weird, experimental side,” bassist John Taylor explained.
“That’s something that’s essential to all of us,” keyboardist Nick Rhodes added. “It’s great to be able to lift people’s spirits — and your own — with a strong shot of pure pop, but the world we live in isn’t all just made of that stuff, so it seems natural to me that we have kept one foot in the darker, more Gothic side of life.”
“We found a whole new level of inspiration on this album,” he continued, while frontman Simon Le Bon added: “We’ve allowed ourselves the time to make music that we can be proud of. I judge what we release by my favourite albums — Horses, Harvest, Let It Bleed, Blue, Transformer, Aladdin Sane. Those are classic albums. The only rule is it’s got to be music you can live with for the rest of your life.”
The UK leg of the band's world tour kicks off in Manchester on 27 November. See full dates below. Tickets are on sale now. For tickets and information, click here.
November 27 - Manchester, UK Manchester Arena
November 28 - Leeds, UK First Direct Arena
November 30 - Cardiff, UK Motorpoint Arena
December 02 - Brighton, UK Brighton Centre
December 04 - Birmingham, UK Genting Arena
December 05 - Newcastle, UK Metro Radio Arena
December 06 - Glasgow, Scotland The SSE Hydro
December 08 - London, UK The O2
December 09 - Bournemouth, UK Bournemouth International Centre
December 11 - Nottingham, UK Capital FM Arena
December 12 - Liverpool, UK Echo Arena
