Born on April 26: Roger Taylor, Duran Duran's quiet tempo

It was near Birmingham, on April 26, 1960, that Roger Taylor was born.

As a child, his dream was to become a goalkeeper for Aston Villa football club. In the UK, football is sacred and young Roger never missed a match of his favourite team. At twelve, he started learning the drums. A few years later, he unfortunately didn't join the famous Aston Villa team but instead joined different bands, where he honed his drumming skills. He then founded a short-lived punk band, Scent Organs, before joining, in 1979, the band that would make him known to the general public: Duran Duran.

In the early 80s, their popularity exploded, and the young Taylor's charisma caused a stir. Albums followed at a frenetic pace ('Duran Duran', 'Ragged Tiger') as well as tours. A frenzy that tired the drummer, who increasingly struggled with fame and its intensity. He played for the last time with the band in 1985, at the charity concert Live Aid, watched by two billion people!

Nicknamed 'the hermit of the band', the drummer retreated to the countryside for a few years, and lived in a farm he had just bought. He remained in contact with his former bandmates (he even formed the band 'Arcadia' with some of them) and occasionally reunited for a few tracks. In 1997, he embarked on a new personal project, founding the electro/dance group Freebass whose single 'Love Is Like Oxygen' achieved some success in the UK charts.

He then rejoined Duran Duran for a long tour, 'Astronaut', and recorded new albums, while still allowing space for his prolific DJ career. 70 million albums sold later and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Duran Duran (with Roger Taylor) returned in 2023 with 'Danse Macabre', an album inspired by Halloween that met with immediate success.

"This album opened many doors, I hope we remain a great and happy musical family," confided the drummer. A sentiment shared by Simon Le Bon, the band's singer: "We're great friends. We've overcome our differences." Having not joined Aston Villa, Roger Taylor found his best team.

On tour:

June 9: Sportpaleis - Antwerp (Belgium)

June 30: Malahide Castle - Dublin (Ireland)

July 3: Powderham Festival - Exeter (England)

All other dates here: https://duranduran.com/tour/

(MH with Céline Massart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Duran Duran at Café Falstaff in Brussels (Belgium) on September 6, 1981, a few hours before their concert at the Ancienne Belgique. Roger Taylor is the first on the left.