Duranitaly: Steve, thank you for accepting this interview. Let's start knowing you better: you have written biographies of bands such as Depeche Mode and Radiohead, and worked for many important magazines. Would you like to tell us more about your professional background?


Steve: started on magazines in the late 80s and was based mostly at Time Out, then I switched to a now defunct music monthly called VOX for about five years. After that I was at Q for five years, then I went 'freelance' to work with bands as well as write about them. I've written books on Paul Weller, Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Radiohead and Skunk Anansie.

Duranitaly: How have you got the idea of a Duran Duran biography? Are you a fan of the band or it has been just a merely professional choice?


Steve: I actually wanted to do a book on Duran a few years ago when I first heard that they'd got back together. However, there wasn't immediate interest amongst publishers and I got involved in other things. One of those was working at an indie label and I ended up doing Nick Rhodes's press. Basically one of my old journalist friends was a big mate of Stephen Duffy and so he told me all about The Devils project. I was really excited when I heard it and went out with Stephen and Nick a few times and managed to get the album signed and released. So, I think the answer to all that is that I'm definitely a fan. When I left that label and started doing more writing, the Duran book was the first thing I worked on.

Duranitaly: Duran Duran's fans have been waiting for a good biography of the band for many years. Many books about the band have been published, but often they were more like a photo gallery than a real book! Why? Do you think that this problem depends on the book industry?


Steve: Yes, I think publishers are not very 'in touch' with what's going on in music so the problem with Duran Duran is that their knowledge of them ends somewhere around 1984. Add to that their reputation as a 'teen-y' band rather than a credible act and there's suddenly a huge hurdle to climb.  I think it's wrong and a little patronising but there you go.

Duranitaly: Would you like to tell us how your book is organized? Did you follow a chronological line? What can you anticipate about it?

Steve: yes, it's chronological. I'm not very good at arty constructions!



Duranitaly: How did you choice the title "Duran Duran: Notorious"?

Steve: No, my publisher came up with it at an early meeting. I think it's fine - I really like the cover, I was much more concerned about the overall look of the book so I chose all the photos, for instance.

Duranitaly: Are there moments of the band's story that have been more interesting, funny or difficult to reconstruct?


Steve: That's a really difficult question. I really tried to keep the pace and interest throughout, which was helped by the fact that some of the more obscure albums such as Medazzaland are amongst my favourites. The thing with Duran - which is one of the reasons why I did it - is that it's such a great story that none of it should be boring.


Duranitaly: We know that, during your work on "Duran Duran: Notorious" you have interviewed more than 50 people (band's friends, colleagues, former members. Would you like to name some of them and eventually tell us something about these meetings?


Steve: I met up with their old manager Paul Berrow and spoke to his brother Michael, Nick's ex-girlfriend such as Madeleine Farley, other artists from the time (Numan, Kajagoogoo, OMD etc) and current people such as The Killers (though they didn't say much of interest to be honest), the producer Colin Thurston, Stephen Duffy, Warren Cuccurullo who was great, early band members such as Andy Wickett and David Twist (well, he was in bands with John Taylor), their live agent Rob, Bob Lamb who owned a recording studio in Birmingham, Amanda who used to look after their clothes and make up, the designer Patti Bell, their old A&R guy Dave Ambrose, Marcello Anciano who worked on their videos.... it's was quite a long list but just as importantly I found people to be very open, a lot of great stories. Also, other journalists had hours of tapes and full transcripts of interviews that they'd done with Duran which contained some previously unpublished material so that was a big help. Because I write for Q, I had access to every copy of Smash Hits and Sounds (they're all the same company) so that was great. I also sourced about 400 other articles on the band, checked out websites, Tv documentaries, spent hours and hours listening to their albums and then squashed it all into the book!

Duranitaly: While you were writing the biography about the band you got surely an idea about the members: which of them did you find more interesting and why?


Steve: Who are the most interesting? I guess it's the two extremes - Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes. I love the fact that they're so different and yet, somehow, they're in the same band. It was great to be able to write about such strong, well defined individuals and the dynamic between them - I mean you only have to look at Andy and Nick - it's like, how did that happen?

Duranitaly: The book, at the moment , is published only in English. There will be the possibility of having it translated in other languages?

Steve: I hope so - my Depeche Mode book came out in Polish which was quite a moment! I mean, imagine, people in Poland actually read my book!

Duranitaly: What are you working about now?


Steve: I'm still writing for Q Magazine - they do 'one-off' magazines and I edited one for them early this year about Depeche Mode and electronic pop - I've just done something else with them about synthesizer music. I'm working with some of my favourite artists such as Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) and Gary Numan - and also some new bands like Rubicks (www.rubicks.net).  I'm just a complete jack of all trades really....

Here more infos about the book