 Duran Duran thrilled audiences during their concert at Olympic Gymnasium #1, Olympic Park, southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of B4H Entertainment |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Duran Duran brought back memories of the 80's with an exciting concert on Thursday, their first in Seoul in nearly 20 years.
Screams greeted Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor as they appeared on stage at Olympic Gymnasium #1, Olympic Park, southern Seoul. They started the concert with an energetic performance of ``Valley.''
``Annyonghaseyo, Korea,'' Le Bon, the group's front man, greeted the crowd. ``You're all amazing. The flashing lights and people clapping, with joy on your faces.''
Duran Duran sang many of their hit songs in the 80's like ``Hungry Like the Wolf,'' ``Planet Earth,'' ``The Reflex,'' ``Come Undone'' and ``A View to a Kill,'' to the delight of their fans. To keep things fresh for the audience, the older songs were given slightly more modern arrangements.
The band also introduced some of their newer songs from the ``Red Carpet Massacre'' album, including the title song and ``Falling Down.'' Le Bon boasted ``Falling Down'' was written by his ``new best friend," Justin Timberlake.
While the band is now a far cry from their glamorous, rock star image in the 1980's, Duran Duran still worked their charm on the crowd.
Before the band started singing ``Save a Prayer,'' John Taylor told the crowd ``the chorus is all yours.'' The audience eagerly obliged, and sang to the music.
In the middle of ``Girls on Film,'' each Duran Duran member did short solo performances. John Taylor did some amazing bass guitar riffs, while Roger Taylor rocked the concert hall with a drum solo.
Duran Duran performed ``Ordinary World,'' ``Notorious,'' ``Sunrise'' and ``Wild Boys.'' The band seemed to be having a good time, running and jumping all over the stage. Even Rhodes, who was behind the keyboards, took a moment to take out his camera phone and filmed the audience.
It's been nearly 20 years since their first concert here, but Duran Duran saw how loyal and enthusiastic their Korean fans were during Thursday's concert.
Throughout the show, fans cheered, waved their arms and danced to the music like they were still teenagers. Most of the fans were in their late 20s to late 30s, with some fans even bringing their young children along.
``It's been a long time, Korea. It's not going to be this long again. You're all so good,'' Le Bon said. Duran Duran ended the show with one of their best-known songs ``Rio.''
Duran Duran is currently on the ``Red Carpet Massacre'' world tour, to promote their latest album. The group has concerts in North America and Europe in the next few months.
Duran Duran was one of the biggest New Wave groups in the 1980's. Known for popularizing New Wave music, the stylish group has sold over 85 million records around the world.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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