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Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran

Andy Taylor
Grand Central Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780446509305
Reviewed by Tina Avon for RebeccasReads (10/08)

By the time Duran Duran came onto the world stage, I was already in my early 20s, and therefore pretty much avoided the whole "teen" adoration of the group.  However, this did not stop me from loving their music, and I spent much of my early adulthood swaying to their tunes.  As a matter of fact, I can still remember the words to most of their hits.

Still, I never really knew very much about the band members, except the fact that Lebon married a model.  So, when I saw the book “Wild Boy,” written by Andy Taylor, I jumped on the opportunity to find out more.  I have to say that compared to some of the other music biographies I have read, this band was either quite tame or Taylor decided not to divulge too much of the "darker side".

Although I enjoyed reading this book very much, I thought it was a little too polite and considerate.  Although Taylor took great pains to detail his own "misdeeds," and there are some interesting band stories, it is obvious that Taylor decided to go the sanitized way for this biography.

From the beginning you get the feeling that although all the members have their little quirks, Nick Rhodes is the only one who is mentioned with any kind of irritation on a fairly regular basis.  The book conveys that Rhodes was a control freak who removed much of the pleasures of fame for the other members.  Although this comes through loud and clear, somehow Taylor manages to tell the stories in such a nice way, that I think the public will fail to appreciate just how hard it must have been to have had Rhodes around.

I admire Taylor for writing this book, and he really does not sugarcoat his own involvements, however, in my opinion, a tell-all biography about a band should be just that: tell-all....

There are no groupie stories, which I am sure there must have been dozens; there are no really dark, dark days.  Again, there must have been some.  This book is enjoyable to read and I think Taylor did a nice job of conveying his part in Duran Duran, but, somehow, it felt to me as though there was something missing.

    

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