By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
July 10, 1987
Hundreds of thousands of girls worldwide know of Andy Taylor. Until recently, the diminutive British musician was best known as one of the pretty popsters in Duran Duran.
Taylor, in support of his first solo album “Thunder,” will open for Heart in two shows this weekend. Tonight’s concert will be at 8 at Poplar Creek in Hoffman Estates. (Tickets are $15 to $17.50; call 559-1212.) Tomorrow at 8 p.m., he will be at Alpine Valley Music Theater, County Road D in East Troy, Wis. (Tickets are $17 to $24.50; call 559-1212 or 1-800-832-7828.)
“I think the music I’m doing now has a wider variety than the stuff I did before,” Taylor said. “Guys can get into it because it’s got a lot of guitars and stuff. As a guitarist, I’m very happy about that, obviously. I don’t want to lose all the fans who’ve been there during the Duran Duran years, but by the same token, I want to get as many people as possible to listen to my music.”
Having his music heard is Taylor’s No. 1 priority. When he toured with Duran Duran, many of the screaming girls who attended the concerts could not have cared less what the members played, just so long as they had nicely moussed hair and charming smiles. In a backlash against his fashion-plate image, Taylor has let his once-platinum-blond dyed hair grow past his shoulders and go back to its natural dark brown color. His stage clothes will consist of leather pants and torn jeans instead of the designer suits he wore with Duran Duran.
Taylor, 26, said he got the “itch to get out” after playing in the Duran Duran offshoot, the Power Station, in 1985. Formed with Duran bass player John Taylor (not related), Andy Taylor got to play the type of rock he had been weaned on as a child. A longtime fan of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen, Taylor realized how much fun it was playing with musicians outside the immediate band.
“When I told them I wanted to leave, they weren’t very happy about it,” he said. “Despite popular beliefs and what they’ve told the press, they all hate me. They really took it very, very badly. But I’m doing what I want and they’re doing what they want. What can you do other than that?
“I didn’t just sit down and think, `Well, I think I’ll leave Duran Duran today.’ I had been toying around with the idea for a while. I sort of wanted to make sure I had myself set up before I quit. It’s a bit of a scummy thing to do, but I didn’t want to fall off the face of the Earth without having a job. I’m a family man.”
Collaborating with former Sex Pistol Steve Jones, Taylor decided to try his hand at writing and, more important, singing. He scored several of the songs on last year’s film, “American Anthem.” Though the movie was a flop, the soundtrack fared well.
For Taylor, it was the first time he was “allowed” to sing lead. His “Take It Easy” was a staple on MTV, the 24-hour music video cable station, as well as on Top 40 radio stations. Several critics said it was ironic Duran Duran never had utilized one member who could really carry a tune.
“I always thought I couldn’t sing in Duran Duran because I was the shortest member of the group,” the 5-foot-6 Taylor said, laughing. “It didn’t really bother me at the time because the group wasn’t about music as much as it was about friendship. We were really a gang of young lads having a good time. But I think singing is an attitude, as opposed to a talent, and I never really knew I could sing the way I did until I did it.”
After his stint with the Power Station, Taylor played guitar on several hit singles, including Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” and Belinda Carlisle’s “Mad About You.” Currently, he’s collaborating with Rod Stewart on a project tentatively called the Stewart-Taylor Group.
Taylor and his wife, Tracey, are expecting their second child this August. Taylor describes his 2 1/2-year-old son, Andy Jr., as “a little hooligan of a chap” who thinks he’s got two fathers.
“I had to have a talk with the lad because he thought the me he saw on TV was different from the me at home,” Taylor recalled. “I think he’s getting the idea about the whole thing, though. He gets his little toy guitar out and does his impersonation of me when he sees me on MTV. I must admit I encouraged him a little bit.”
Taylor said although he enjoyed his six years as Duran Duran’s lead guitarist, he doesn’t want to be in the position of being that comfortable again.
“I have to constantly remind myself of the music from the 1960s because I think that was the best, and the musicians were just fantastic,” he said. “I don’t ever want to have a set style so that people will know what to expect on my records. Being on the cutting edge is what it’s all about.”
