Duran Duran used to order “substances” on room service, reveals Simon Le Bon
"We partied. We lived the ’80s…"
By Tom Skinner
Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon has revealed that the band used to order drugs on room service during their younger years.
The singer appeared as a guest on the latest edition of Alan Carr’s ‘Life’s A Beach’ podcast, which was released today (November 1).
“I’ve been going to the [Los Angeles hotel] Sunset Marquis for nearly 40 years,” Le Bon recalled. “When I first went there, it was not quite so high rent…you used to be able to order ‘substances’ on room service, if you knew the right people to ask.”
He continued: “And we did. We partied. We lived the ’80s…and then one more time around.”
Le Bon went on to say that “things changed” once he married Yasmin Parvaneh in 1985. “They had to,” he added.
Back in 2016, the group’s bassist John Taylor opened up about how drugs and alcohol once had a “grip” on his life (via The Fix). “I didn’t know how to get out of it,” he told the outlet.
Duran Duran released their fifteenth studio album, ‘Future Past’, on October 22. Speaking to Rolling Stone UK, drummer Roger Taylor revealed that Mark Ronson had encouraged the band to embrace their past glories on the record.
“I think at certain points we’ve gone down a lot of avenues where the last thing we want is to sound like Duran Duran,” he explained. “Nick [Rhodes, keyboardist] was saying earlier that Mark Ronson introduced us to the theory that you shouldn’t be afraid of who you are.
“He just said don’t be afraid of using a bassline that sounds like ‘Girls on Film’ or a drumbeat that sounds like [1981 single] ‘Planet Earth’.”
Meanwhile, Duran Duran are working on a biopic detailing their lengthy career. It’s something that is under discussion,” Taylor said. “It is being discussed and we’ve had different scripts and ideas put forward.”
Duran Duran will play British Summer Time in Hyde Park, London on July 10, 2022