Every year, the members of Duran Duran share their top picks in books, movies, music, and more on the official Duran Duran website. With a unique blend of musical genius and timeless style, you can always count on John Taylor to share an interesting mix of books, movies, music, and more that range from offbeat to iconic.
To read more about John’s favorite things, visit DuranDuran.com.
2024
- Favorite Events: Hanging out with his grandson, Virgil. Seeing Aston Villa versus Bayern Munich in the first champions league game in Birmingham.
- Favorite Movie: Emilia Perez, Conclave, THE Northman, Eno
- Favorite TV: Bad Sisters, Landman, The Agency “That’s how I chill out at night”
- Favorite Book: Biography on Claude Monet, Monet, the Restless Vision by Jackie Wullschlager, Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin
- Best podcast: Peter Attia (a health and fitness guru). Also, Record Review
- Best Music: Eno Top Boy, Sophie, the Duran Duran “Evil Woman” remixes
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: Cruel World, Latitude, Lucca, Madison Square Garden on Halloween.
- Most looking forward to in 2025: Atlanta’s wedding, playing Europe, Duran Duran projects and enjoying life
I have a life beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you to the fans out there for helping realize that for me.
John Taylor, Duran Duran
2023
- Favorite Events: When the first hostages were released from Gaza
- Favorite TV: The Bear, Season 2
- Favorite Movie: May December, Killers of the Flower Moon
- Favorite Book: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
- Best podcast: Fluffy Wraxall’s 🙂
- Best Music: Classical, Brian Eno, Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights, Doha Cat’s Paint the Town Red, Travis Scott Utopia, the soundtrack of Oppenhemier, Nick Cave for Dahmer
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: The American tour and the special show for Andy in California
- Most looking forward to in 2024: Aston Villa Top 4 Premier League! The world getting smarter, and Atlanta getting married next year. Also, the Cruel World Festival and the Latitude Fest. Bringing Reportage back to life.
I’m a lucky guy, I have an extraordinary life. I’d like to see some of that luck spread out around the world a little more. It’s hard to see so many people hurting.
John Taylor, Duran Duran
2022
- Events: US politics, and the threatening of abortion rights. The demise of Donald Trump (Yes, John!! We agree!)
- Favorite Movie: TAR
- Favorite TV: The English, White Lotus
- Favorite Book: Biography of Mozart, The Islander, as read by Bill Nigh
- Favorite Podcast: BBC podcasts
- Best Music: Butcher Brown, Bruce Springsteen Only the Strong Survive, Kendrick Lamar Mr Morale & the Big Steppers, The Beatles
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: Rock in Rio, Hyde Park, Lytham St Annes , Madison Square Garden, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Lionel Richie at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction. The shows last year with Chic & Nile
- Most looking forward to in 2023: Shows in the UK and going back to US cities we missed in 2022.
2020
- Events: antibodies for COVID, “my art work‘ and doing Tutorials, ZOOM
- Favorite Movie: Hillbilly Elegy
- Best Music: Megan Thee Stallion, Simon’s WHOOOSH! playlists
- Best Podcast: I’m Over It
- Best TV: Roadkill, Queen’s Gambit, Dublin Murders, Mrs America, The Crown
- Hope to never happen again: Corona Virus. Lockdown.
- Most looking forward to in 2021: Playing concerts
John Taylor’s paintings in the exhibition “Not Broken, Unfinished” at the gallery One Hour Ahead in Aspen, Colorado.
2019
- Best Book: MILKMAN by Anna Burns
- Favorite Movie: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Best Music: Lizzo
- Best TV: The Crown, Chernobyl, Top Boy, Euphoria, Succession
- Best Podcast: Whoosh! BBC podcast The Missing Crypto Queen
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: Simon’s 60th birthday in Ibiza
- Most looking forward to in 2020: Freedom from deadlock in both the States and the UK
2018
- Events: France banning cell phones in schools, and doing the Brilliant Minds symposium
- Favorite Movie: Bohemian Rhapsody, Nico, 1988, Cold War
- Favorite TV: Bosch, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “I love Rachel Brosnahan”, Killing Eve
- Favorite Book: The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown, Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
- Best Music: Culture II by Migos, “Narcos was the song of the year in the Taylor household”, Hive Mind by The Internet, Chic’s It’s About Time, Julia Holter Aviary, Anderson.Paak Oxnard
- Most looking forward to in 2019: Duran Duran gigs in February
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: the BBC documentary and the take-over in the UK
2017
- Events: the Swedish Church removing gender identification from their teachings, Zoe’s (step daughter) single Rather Die, and her feature on the G-Eazy track The Beautiful & Damned
- Favorite Movie: Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk
- Favorite TV: Mindhunter, Godless, The Crown
- Favorite Book: History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund, The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Best Music: The Weeknd’s album, Starboy, Jay Z’s album
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: the Buenos Aires Lollapalooza show, going to Japan and bringing Atlanta “it was one of the best weeks of my life. I’ve been going to Japan since I was 21 but to get to go with her was like doing it for the first time all over again.”
- Most looking forward to in 2018: Mine and Nick’s musical, getting back in the studio and creating new material
2016
- Events: David Bowie’s passing, photo with Stevie Wonder at the Aspen Snowmass Festival in September. “Also, I voted twice in the States!”
- Favorite TV: Stranger Things, Halt & Catch Fire, Goliath. “I loved the music from Stranger Things and the cast”
- Favorite Movie: Arrival starring Amy Adams.
- Favorite Book: Lonely Boy by Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols
- Best Music: A SEAT AT THE TABLE by Solange
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: Signing the petition against HB2 at our show in North Carolina in April.
- Most looking forward to in 2017: not having my “reading resolution” to deal with!
I always want to do a better job – being a better friend, a better husband. I am looking forward to more Duran Duran shows, and I just want to keep on keeping on.
John Taylor, Duran Duran
2015
- Favorite TV: Scandal and Saturday Night Live
- Favorite Book: Jonathan Franzen’s Purity, and Freedom
- Favorite Movie: Mad Max Fury Road, Clouds of Sils Maria
- Best Music: Julia Holter, Have You in my Wilderness. Bjork’s new album, Beachhouse, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: in Denver when Chic went out on stage and we watched from the side
- Most looking forward to in 2016: touring
2014
- Events: Seeing The Winter’s Tale ballet
- Favorite TV: Nashville
- Favorite Book: The Glitter Plan: How We Started Juicy Couture for $200 and Turned It into a Global Brand by Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor!
- Favorite Movie: Get On Up
- Best Music: Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson Uptown Funk, Elvis From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential ’60s Masters
- Most looking forward to in 2015: Getting the album out and putting a show together
- Most memorable Duran Duran event: Getting back in the studio with Nile Rodgers with Mark