Just because I feel like telling it: the tale on how Warren Cuccurullo ended up with Duran Duran

Duran Duran in the early eighties, from left to right: Roger Taylor (Not the Queen guy, although he also played drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), Nick Rhoads (Keyboards), Simon LeBon (Vocals) and John Taylor (Bass)

Unfairly classified as an eighties boyband, Duran Duran were actually top class musicians with a keen ear for writing classic pop songs. And their sound actually is having a resurgence with artists like Bruno Mars and producers like Mark Ronson but also bands like Blur citing them as an influence.

Now there are actually two era of the band, the best known of course is their original line up but, it was their second line up which actually lasted far longer and was more successful than the first.

Duran Duran, from left to right: Warren Cuccurullo, John Taylor, Simon LeBon and Nick Rhoads

Warren Cuccurullo of course was known for his work with Frank Zappa and Missing Persons.

So how did he end up in the Birmingham pop sensation, which was Duran Duran?


Scope this, Duran Duran had just played Live Aid and the band was ready to start recording the album which eventually became "Notorious" when their drummer Roger Taylor told the band he was leaving, citing exhaustion as his main reason. So producer Nile Rodgers brought in his Chic band mate Tony Thompson to do all the drum tracks. But Roger wasn't the only one tired from road life and in need of a break, guitarist Andy Taylor also showed up at the recording sessions, not really wanting to be there.

Andy went to a show of Missing persons, who as it stood were on the verge of breaking up and was telling the band about how he had no desire of joining his band mates on the sessions of the new album. At which Warren got a glint in his eye and apparently thinking "So your place in Duran Duran is up for grabs eh?" and the following day phoned up the band's management and offered his services as a recording and touring guitarist, needless to say, they accepted.

Warren joining the band was a huge part in the subsequent success the band had with albums such as "Notorious" and "Big thing" and hit singles such as "Notorious", "Skin trade", "I don't want your love" and "Do you believe in shame?" But at the advent of the nineties with Grunge taking over, their album "Liberty" failed, but Duran Duran weren't done yet, they did a spectacular come back with "The wedding album" and their hit "Ordinary world"


But there was no hard feelings between Andy and Warren, in fact when Duran Duran did their big reunion tour, several Warren era songs were kept in the set list on request of Andy they were "Notorious", "Come undone", "Skin trade" and of course "Ordinary world"