Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor has stage 4 cancer

[no1novice]

‘There is no cure’: Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor reveals he has stage 4 cancer



Original guitarist of British new wave group reveals diagnosis in a letter read by his bandmates while being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Duran Duran, L-R: Roger Taylor, Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Andy Taylor. The band’s original guitarist has revealed he has stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer.
PA Media
Sun 6 Nov 2022 23.07 GMT
Last modified on Mon 7 Nov 2022 11.04 GMT

Duran Duran’s original guitarist Andy Taylor has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, the band has revealed while being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which Taylor had to miss due to ongoing treatment.

The renowned British new wave group revealed Taylor had been diagnosed four years ago while reading a letter from him to the audience at the Hall of Fame ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Taylor had been due to reunite with his former bandmates – singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor – but they said he had suffered a setback that would not allow him to travel to Los Angeles from his home in Ibiza.

The ceremony was set to be the first time the five-piece band from Birmingham had played together in 17 years, having last reformed for a world tour and the album Astronaut in 2004.

The group were the first act inducted during Saturday’s ceremony and took the stage by performing their 1981 breakthrough hit Girls On Film. They continued with a set that included Hungry Like the Wolf and Ordinary World before addressing Taylor’s absence by reading the letter.


(L-R) Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran attend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.
(L-R) Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran attend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Photograph: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Taylor wrote: “Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different; so I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have and this exceptional accolade.

“I have the ‘Rodgers and Edwards’ of doctors and medical treatment that until very recently allowed me to just rock on. Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening there is no cure.”

Rodgers and Edwards refers to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the pop producers and founders of Chic, who worked with Duran Duran throughout their career.

“Recently I was doing OK after some very sophisticated life-extending treatment, that was until a week or so ago when I suffered a setback, and despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally, I would be pushing my boundaries,” Taylor continued.

“However, none of this needs to or should detract from what this band (with or without me) has achieved and sustained for 44 years.”

Taylor added that he was “truly sorry and massively disappointed” he could not attend the ceremony, noting he had even bought a new guitar for the occasion, but that he was “very proud of these four brothers” and “overjoyed” they were accepting this award.
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“I often doubted the day would come. I’m sure as hell glad I’m around to see the day,” he added.

Also inducted during the ceremony were Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, Eminem, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton.

Duran Duran formed in Birmingham in 1978 and were one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, with hits including Rio, Wild Boys and Bond theme A View to a Kill. The three Taylors are not related.

The group has risen to prominence again recently, releasing their 15th studio album, Future Past, last year and undertaking a 40th anniversary celebration tour, including headlining the British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park this year.

They also performed at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace and starred in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham.

A documentary film, A Hollywood High, about their recent rooftop concert in Los Angeles at The Aster hotel was released this week. The project also features interviews and archive footage that tells the story of the band’s special relationship with the US city.

www.theguardian.com/music/2022/nov/07/duran-duran-andy-taylor-reveals-he-has-stage-4-cancer

[waterslide]

Saw this over the weekend. Andy always seemed to have the hardest time, or was always the DD member that didn’t quite fit in with the rest of them, and it’s extra sad to me that after everything he wasn’t even able to go to this….

[czb]

so sad. prostate cancer is pretty treatable if caught early enough. make sure your men get that icky exam!!

[tulip]

Very sad. My BIL was just treated for prostrate cancer. Like czb said -- treatable if caught early enough.

[no1novice]

Yes get tested but you just never know if you have a more aggressive type.

[coppercatseye]

Poor Andy. He’s so young.

[no1novice]

Duran Duran's Andy Taylor says cancer drug has given him five more years

Duran Duran's original guitarist Andy Taylor has said an innovative drug treating his advanced prostate cancer has extended his life "for five years".

Taylor was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer eight years ago, but only revealed his condition in 2022.

After going public, a scientist got in touch to offer him "a nuclear medicine, Lutetium-177, which is targeted so it only sees cancer cells", he said.

He told BBC Breakfast he had his first round of the drug six weeks ago.

"It can't see healthy cells," the 62-year-old said. "It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it's effectively done is extend my life for five years."

He said his health had been deteriorating before that, and he had been on what he called "the blacklist".


The musician revealed the diagnosis last November in a letter read by his former bandmates as they were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles.

Formed in Birmingham, Duran Duran shot to fame in the 1980s and are known for hits like Rio, Girls On Film, Hungry Like The Wolf and Ordinary World.

The event in LA was meant to be as a reunion for the band, whose classic line-up has not played together since 2006.


Taylor said he was "massively disappointed" at the time to miss the show because he was too ill. "A few days before, I couldn't really stand up and play," he said.

"I missed the biggest night of my life," he told Breakfast, adding that until that moment, "no-one really knew [about his diagnosis] - just family and a few friends".

He did not even tell the rest of the band until shortly before the Hall of Fame ceremony.

He sent them a letter, which singer Simon Le Bon suggested reading out on stage.

"He did it was real dignity. He's a very classy fella, I love him dearly," Taylor said.


Afterwards, Taylor was suggested the new treatment by Prof Sir Chris Evans, founder of The Cancer Awareness Trust (CAT).

Prof Evans told the BBC: "When patients like Andy Taylor have unfortunately progressed to stage four prostate cancer with secondary metastases, particularly in the bone tissue, then treatment options are limited. He'd already received some of the best medicines available and was in serious decline.

"We took a deep dive into his genetic profile and the specific genomic mutations present in his cancer. We also computed a number of other very specific biochemical and physiological pieces of Andy's jigsaw.

"Based on everything we understood, the nuclear medicine Lutetium 177 injections were considered the best option for him."
'Beacon of hope'

Prof Evans added that Taylor had "done marvellously" on his first round of the treatment.

"We are optimistic he will do well on future rounds and this may result in quite a substantial life extension for Andy to continue being very creative and active making and performing live music."

The guitarist explained that he had to get in "very, very good health" before he could have the treatment.

"So I really took care of myself in a different way," he said.

"And then after the first round of treatment I said, 'If I'm OK, and you guys [his doctors] say I'm OK and do your blood tests, is it OK to start work again - light work - and get out?'

"I don't want to be a patient stuck here. I want to be a working patient, a little beacon of hope, because this stuff - cancer - just drags you and your family down in the darkness," he said.

Taylor felt well enough to create a new album, called Man's A Wolf To Man, which is out in September, adding: "It's been a hell of a journey."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66471529