Nigel John Taylor

Nigel John Taylor (born June 20, 1960 in Birmingham, England) is a British bass guitarist and co-founder of the new wave band Duran Duran. Duran Duran was one of the most popular groups in the world during the 1980s thanks to revolutionary music videos that played in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV. John Taylor was one of Duran Duran's most popular members. He is primarily known by the shortened name John Taylor, which he adopted in his late teens.

History

He was born in Birmingham, England. He was a shy boy who attended Catholic school, wore glasses, enjoyed James Bond movies, and played wargames with model soldiers. In his early teen years he discovered music, and before long was collecting records and teaching himself to play guitar. His first band was called Shock Treatment.

Related Topics:
Birmingham - England - James Bond - Wargame

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1978-1997: Duran Duran

In 1978, he and school friend Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran, and Taylor underwent an "ugly duckling" transformation -- ditching the glasses for contact lenses, adopting the romantic thrift-store-cum-pirate fashions that would become known as the New Romantic style, and learning to wear eyeliner and lip color. He stopped using the name "Nigel", and was known throughout his professional career as "John Taylor".

Related Topics:
1978 - Nick Rhodes - Duran Duran - Ugly duckling - Contact lens - New Romantic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Taylor played guitar at the time Duran Duran was founded, but switched to bass guitar after discovering the funky rhythms of Chic, and learning to enjoy the rhythm section by playing with Duran's freshly recruited drummer Roger Taylor. He has frequently cited Chic's Bernard Edwards and The Clash's Joe Strummer as his strongest influences, in addition to Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, and Roxy Music players Graham Simpson and John Porter. Duran Duran released its first album in 1981, and went on to worldwide success in the early 1980s (see Duran Duran for more detail).

Related Topics:
Bass guitar - Chic - Rhythm section - Drummer - Roger Taylor - Bernard Edwards - The Clash - Joe Strummer - Paul McCartney - James Jamerson - Roxy Music - Graham Simpson - John Porter - 1981 - 1980s - Duran Duran

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Duran Duran's early music tended to feature prominent, almost melodic bass lines, following the model of funk and disco songs like "Good Times". Although it was occasionally plain in the beginning that Taylor's playing was naïve and self-taught, he developed a unique undulating style that has since inspired many imitators. Both his musicianship and his good looks drew more attention than was generally received by pop bassists, prompting occasional comparisons to the popularity of McCartney.

Related Topics:
Funk - Disco - Good Times

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Duran Duran became famous in the early 1980s, Taylor's individual celebrity grew. His picture was a staple of teen magazines, and he won numerous popularity polls (including appearances on People Magazine 's annual list of "Sexiest" people). He lived a lavish lifestyle with homes in London and Paris, and owned several cars which he rarely had a chance to drive (including the Bond-style Aston Martin he had always dreamed of). He dated fashion models (including Bond girl Janine Andrews and "Face of the '80's" Renee Simonsen), was welcome at parties all over the world, and, of course, developed the cocaine addiction to go with the rest of his high living.

Related Topics:
1980s - People Magazine - London - Paris - Aston Martin - Bond girl - Janine Andrews - Renee Simonsen - Cocaine - Addiction

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1985 (after recording the chart-topping theme to the Bond movie A View to a Kill), Duran Duran split into two side projects. John Taylor and Duran guitarist Andy Taylor joined forces with singer Robert Palmer and former Chic drummer Tony Thompson to form the band Power Station. With the guidance of producer Bernard Edwards, they released one album, Power Station 33 1/3, with two hit singles, "Some Like It Hot" and the T Rex song "Bang A Gong (Get It On)".

Related Topics:
1985 - A View to a Kill - Andy Taylor - Robert Palmer - Tony Thompson - Power Station - Bernard Edwards - T Rex

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That year Taylor also launched his first solo effort, recording the single "I Do What I Do" for the soundtrack of the movie 9½ Weeks; he also wrote some instrumental music for the movie's score with collaborator Jonathan Elias.

Related Topics:
9½ Weeks - Jonathan Elias

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although Andy and Roger Taylor left the band, the three remaining Duran Duran members reformed for 1986's Notorious album, and continued to record and tour throughout the 1990s, with the addition of guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. Taylor recorded a fair amount of unreleased solo material on the side, including several tracks eventually used on the soundtrack of the Allison Anders movie Mi Vida Loca.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1990s - Warren Cuccurullo - Allison Anders - Mi Vida Loca

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1991, he married 19-year old actress and party-girl Amanda De Cadenet, who was already pregnant with his daughter, Atlanta. He moved from England to Los Angeles to help further his wife's acting career, which exacerbated tensions within Duran Duran. Their marriage declined even as Duran's star rose (with 1993's Wedding Album) and fell (with the widely derided 1995 covers album, Thank You). Immediately after the Thank You tour ended, he formed the side project Neurotic Outsiders, recording and touring with them for the remainder of the year.

Related Topics:
Amanda De Cadenet - England - Los Angeles - Wedding Album - Thank You - Neurotic Outsiders

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1997-2001: Solo career

In 1996, Taylor co-founded the independent record label B5 Records with producer Hein Hoven. B5 Records originally recorded from Hoven's Lake Hollywood home but eventually built a state of the art studio in Santa Monica dubbed "B5 by the Sea." B5 capitalized on the Internet savvy of Duran Duran fanbase by selling their CDs directly to fans through a cutting edge website. The website, created by Kapil Mathur, had revolutionary graphics and features taking visitors on a journey through the B5 studios and allowing them to interact with Taylor and Hoven.

Related Topics:
1996 - Record label - B5 Records - Hein Hoven - Lake Hollywood - State of the art - Santa Monica

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At B5, John he recorded his first solo album, Feelings Are Good (And Other Lies), and marketed it by mail order. Taylor and De Cadenet divorced. At this point Taylor was also struggling to end his long addiction to cocaine. He made an attempt to reunite Power Station, but his personal problems forced him to withdraw from the project, which went on to record and tour with Bernard Edwards in his stead.

Related Topics:
Mail order - Cocaine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1997, Taylor announced at a Duran Duran fan convention that he was leaving Duran Duran to pursue a solo career. He re-released Feelings Are Good on the larger label DeRock Records.

Related Topics:
1997 - DeRock Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

B5 Records' only other release (besides Taylor's) was the album Sub Acid Sweet Songs by local LA quartet Three Alarm Fire. Although the label never quite got off the ground, Taylor went on to release several more self-produced albums and related merchandise through his website, Trust The Process.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Taylor also began making forays into acting. His long friendship with Allison Anders led to a starring role in the independent movie Sugar Town, and he made appearances in several other small movies and TV specials.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Taylor remarried in 1999 to Gela Nash, co-owner of the popular 2000s fashion line, Juicy Couture.

Related Topics:
Gela Nash - 2000s - Juicy Couture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2001 and beyond: Duran Duran reunited

In 2001, Taylor reunited with the original five members of Duran Duran to record new material, and demonstrated his commitment to the band by getting an enormous linked-D's tattoo on his arm. After two years of touring and wooing record labels, the reunited band released the album Astronaut in October 2004, and toured throughout 2005 before returning to the studio to work on a new album.

Related Topics:
2001 - Duran Duran - Astronaut - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~