29 June

New photos: Nick in Verona, Rome, and Trieste by Salvo.

Duran Duran arrive in Iceland - pix here and here.

Oslo pictures here.

28 June

Nick in Greece...in shorts! Pix on DD.com. (Thanks, nicknymph!)

While visiting Oslo yesterday, Nick and Roger did a Q&A for VG Nett. You can read the translation on DDM.

From yesterday's Daily Star:
MADCAP telly babe Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has revealed she matches her cigarettes to her clothes. Fashion victim Tara, 33, likes to puff brightlycoloured ciggies when she gets all glammed up. The I'm A Celebrity star swaps her usual Marlboro for brightly-coloured Russian Sobranie cocktail cigarettes when she has to look totally stylish. Tara told TV's Anne Robinson, 60: "I like to smoke different coloured cigarettes to match my outfits." Sobranie cigarettes, which come in pinks, blues and other colours, have been popular among the party set for many years. Duran Duran star Nick Rhodes, 43, said he was a fan of the cool ciggies. He revealed: "I loved the allure of Balkan Sobranie cigarettes. Black and gold. Or pink. When you matched your pink cigarette to your pink gin, you knew you had arrived." Tara has made several unsuccessful bids to kick the dreaded weed. Last year she was offered a lifetime supply of nicotine patches to help her give up. But pals claim she has found it hard to stop and still enjoys a puff although she managed to kick cocaine five years ago. She recalled: "If I have just one more line of coke I will go straight back to where I was before."


27 June

Nick in his Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses here.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Duran are on the bill to perform 1 October at the MGM Grand as part of the Andre Agassi Grand Slam concert to benefit his charity. However, the newspaper is now reporting that they've been given the wrong information and tickets are not yet on sale.

Live 8: Duran will be playing at the Circus Maximus in Rome after all. Katy has a FAQ list about their participation.

Arcadia info by Nick:

For either Simon or Nick: Arcadia, being named after the quotation "Et En Arcadia Ego", seems to have an interesting theme throughout it's artwork of secret codes. Since Nick has previously said that Jean Cocteau is a favorite of his, and assuming Jean Cocteau was in fact a 'Grand Master' of the Knights Templar this might lead one to believe there are many secret codes and references in the Arcadia music and artwork. Not to mention the fact that 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' appeared on Simon's Reader, but has since been removed and the whole of the Arcadia project was recorded in France. Mmm, most curious. Comments? Denials? Further evidence? Seriously, are we going to see a 20th Anniversary Arcadia re-release with all sorts of extras?

YOUR OBSERVATIONS ARE CORRECT. I AM A GREAT ADMIRER OF COCTEAU AND I AM SURE YOU NOTICED MANY REFERENCES, PARTICULARLY IN THE ELECTION DAY VIDEO. THERE ARE MANY REFERENCES AND CODES WITHIN THE ALBUM. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE SPECIAL EDITION OF ARCADIA, WHICH MAY CONTAIN SOME EXTRA MATERIAL. THERE IS ONLY ONE OTHER UNRELEASED ARCADIA TRACK – WHICH IS AN INSTRUMENTAL – AND AS YET, UNMIXED. IF WE CAN FIND A MINUTE IT WOULD COMPLETE THE PROJECT. THERE ARE ALSO OVER 100 UNRELEASED ARCADIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEAN CHAMBERLIN WHICH WOULD MAKE A FAIRLY INTERESTING BOOK…NR (CAPS LOCKED)


"...Nick Rhodes said the band plans a string of songwriting sessions from August to December, before going into the studio in January, with plans to release the [new] album next summer." (Sunday Mercury, 19 June 2005)

22 June

The Saintly Calendar has been updated. *NEW* tour date - 18 December at the Manchester Evening News Arena. DDM members pre-sale and VIP tix go on sale tomorrow at 11 a.m. GST; the general public sale starts at 9 a.m. GST Friday. Tix through Get Live and Gigs & Tours. Also on sale Friday (9 a.m. local time), VIP tix for the Tokyo show on 15 August.

New Nick pix from the road and backstage posted on duranduran.com.


16 June

Pics of Nick celebrating his birthday in Budapest here.

Meredith news: Meredith is slated to play "Nico" in George Hickenlooper's film Factory Girl. Lady Victoria Hervey, one of Nick's past flames, will play "Baby Jane Holtzer." Also in the film - Michael Des Barres and Guy Pearce, who'll portray Andy Warhol. Shooting begins in about 2 months. (IMDBpro.com boards)

15 June

Nick and Simon's portraits commemorating the 20th anniversary of Live Aid are posted on Dear Saint Nick. From Getty: "The portraits were shot in conjunction with the BBC Africa Lives season ahead of G8 and Live 8, featuring a two-part documentary "Live Aid: Against All Odds" and "Live Aid: Rockin' All Over The World", airing on BBC2 on June 18."

13 June

The birthday boy with his birthday balloons - check out the pics on duranduran.com. He also recorded a "thank you message" that you can view.

Also on duranduran.com, photos that Nick took from the stage in Berlin last Saturday.

A new photo is posted in the Confessional - confess your sins now! (Thanks, Salvo!)

Duran Duran: Notorious - The Unauthorized Biography by Steve Malins, published by Andre Deutsch/Carlton, will be released 5 September in the UK in hardback. It contains 300 pages and the photos are provided exclusively by Denis O'Regan. Steve has conducted 50-60 interviews with school friends, the Berrow brothers, former band members, old girlfriends, and others who have worked with the band over the years, as well as other pop stars. You can pre-order the book through Amazon.co.uk (their price is £12.59). (Thanks, Steve!)


Concert shots:

Nick at St. Andrews - on Dear Saint Nick and also here (also, Nick and Meredith photographed outside their Brum hotel here.) In Amsterdam here. GTBJ posted a pic of Nick and Catherine Baba backstage after the Paris show on Dear Saint Nick (also a pic of Nick and Meredith outside their Paris hotel the following day here). In Zurich here. In Milan here.

10 June

Nick the Doctor? 


8 June

Nicholas James Bates turns 43 today - Happy Birthday Dear Saint!  We hope he celebrates in style in Hungary.