Duran Duran’s new album, Future Past, hasn’t been out very long — just since October 22nd. But bassist John Taylor says that he and his bandmates are ready to get, well, past it and onto what comes next.
“The lead-up to the release of this album was insane,” Taylor told Consequence by Zoom in early November from his home in Los Angeles. The album itself, in fact, began during the fall of 2018 and went on pause after pandemic lockdowns began in March of 2020, resuming earlier this year. Promotion for Future Past, meanwhile, started in earnest with Duran Duran’s performance at the Billboard Music Awards in May “and we really haven’t stopped,” according to Taylor.
“I can’t remember putting as much work into an album release as we have for this one,” the bassist notes. “But the album’s out now, and at some point you’ve got to let it go, right? I mean, I believe in it, and I can be pretty persuasive, as can my bandmates — ‘This is an important album! You need to get it!’ But there comes a point where it’s like a kid. You can give him the training wheels, you can send him to college, blah, blah blah, and at some point you’ve got to let it go.
“And for me I’m happy to just let [Future Past] go for a couple of months and just see. Hopefully it’ll find the audience. You never know.”
Actually, all indications are that Future Past, with its blend of — as the title indicates — vintage and contemporary flavors, is indeed winning over the Duranies and bringing some new listeners to the party.
