BIO

John Taylor is perhaps best known as the bassist of influential British rock group, Duran Duran, who have sold over 100 million records worldwide, following 21 UK Top 20 hits, 18 US charting singles, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and their recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

As a member of the group, John has been the recipient of innumerable awards, including seven prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards and a host of other accolades from various respected industry organizations including: the BRITS, MTV, the Ivor Novellos, RTL and the Grammys.

2022 served as something of a landmark year for John and Duran Duran, with a summer live season of epic proportions - headlining London’s Hyde Park in front of 60,000 people, performing at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace and closing the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in their home town of Birmingham, not to mention a headline tour across North America which included sold out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and three nights at the Hollywood Bowl. The cinematic release of their new docu-concert film, ‘A Hollywood High’ followed, before the band capped off the year with a spectacular performance in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, counting fans down into 2023 in front of a live audience of over 1 million people on the streets of Manhattan. All this after the huge success of new studio album FUTURE PAST, hailed as Duran Duran at their best by critics and fans alike.

In addition to his work with the band, Taylor has ventured off into a few solo endeavors as well, writing a New York Times best-selling memoir in 2012 entitled “In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran,” and releasing multiple solo recording projects (Feelings Are Good and Other Lies, Résumé, Meltdown, The Japan Album, Techno for Two, and MetaFour).

In 2022, Taylor debuted his first fine art exhibition “Not Broken, Unfinished” in Aspen, presented by One Hour Ahead. The series featured seven of his paintings—ranging from the abstract to the figurative—and a suite of “Cover Versions,” 12 inkjet on canvas prints, a series of mock art magazine covers that play with the notion of art world branding and their imprimatur. The series was later shown in Ibiza, Spain, along with works by Nick Rhodes, a part of an activation for Duran Duran’s “Touch The Sunrise” weekend.

Duran Duran has recently announced a 26-date North American arena tour for 2023 starting in May, with both Bastille and Nile Rodgers & CHIC joining them as special guests across the entire run.

John Taylor uses Gallien-Krueger’s Fusion 800S bass heads and CX 410 bass cabinets while on tour with Duran Duran.

GK GEAR