Simon LeBon - vocals; Andy Taylor - guitar; John Taylor - bass; Nick Rhodes - keyboards; Roger Taylor - drums; Andy Hamilton - saxophone, keyboards; Tony Thompson - drums; Nile Rodgers - guitar; Rafael DeJesus - percussion; Darlene Dotes - backing vocals; BJ Nelson - backing vocals
Duran Duran had become international superstars by the time they played this sold out Madison Square Garden show in March of 1984. The group had seen enough success that they could now enhance their onstage presence with extra musicians and vocalists. The expanded lineup invariably changed the live sound of the band, and allowed the songs to sound closer to the full, layered versions heard on the records.
The group was promoting its 1983 release, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, which was produced by Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers. Rodgers was red hot in the studio, having just done successful comeback records for both David Bowie and Diana Ross. Two singles emerged from this record, "The Reflex" and "Union of The Snake," and five of the album's nine tracks are performed during this show. The rest of this set features mostly the band's early hits, such as "Hungry Like The Wolf" and "Girls On Film."
At the show's end, special guests Rodgers and his Chic-mate, drummer Tony Thompson, joined Duran Duran onstage for the finale. Duran Duran was obviously influenced visually and musically by the major U.K. glitter acts of the 1970s, among them David Bowie, Roxy Music and T Rex, but the infectious pop-funk of Chic was also a big influence, especially with vocalist Simon LeBon.
After this tour ended, Duran Duran took a long hiatus, which was actually the beginning of the end for the band. John and Andy Taylor formed the highly successful super-group The Power Station, with late vocalist Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson on drums. LeBon, Rhodes and Roger Taylor did their own spin-off band, Arcadia, with less success.
By the time Duran Duran regrouped in 1986 for Notorious, they would be down to a trio of LeBon, Rhodes and John Taylor. The original five-piece lineup would not reunite until mid-2001, and they would take an additional three years before recording and releasing a new album, Astronaut, in 2004.