7 stars: Good

From the back cover: Wild Boy is the explosive first inside account of the rise and fall of Duran Duran. The band conquered the globe with a string of unforgettable hits such as "Rio", "Hungry like the wolf" and "The Reflex". With Simon Le Bon as their frongman, they were the defining pop act of the 1980s, but Andy Taylor, the enigmatic lead guitarist, is widely acknowledged to have been their musical driving force.

THen, at the very height of their achivement in 1985, Duran Duran imploded. Now Andy shares the story of what went wrong. With searing honesty, he charts every moment of Duran Duran's roller coaster ride from their early days as club musicians through to international superstardom. He captures the glmaour and excitement of the band's epic video shoots and the opulence of their world tours. He reveals the truth about the allegations of drug use and wild hedonism that dodged Duran Duran. Packed with more than 25 years of rock n roll anecdotes, Andy tells of his time in the band to Power Station and explains why Duran Duran reformed with its original lineup in 2003.

Wild Boy is also a moving story on a human level, as Andy describes how the pressures of fame took a terrible personal toll on him and his family. Moving from hilarious to harrowing at the turn of a page, Wild Boy is a must read for anyone who lived through the 80s.

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So....this book is about as shallow as those liner notes. Yes, that explains the book but....its a bit grandiose. Andy is, flat out, one of the most shallow and vain stars. I found this bothersome to read, but absolutely everything was about himself, his perceptions, his vanity, his abilities, ad infinitum. It was simply dripping in vanity. I rate this Good because I read it all the way through and was never bored. I just wish he was less self involved. He barely mentioned Nick, except to share anecdotes how he disliked them. Simon he seemed ambivalent about, though admired him as a frontman. He was more positive about Roger, basically saying he was quiet and the mediator. He and John seemed closest. And considering the thrust of this book, he actually didn't mention any of them all that much.

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Some quotes I liked:

[When Andy's father started drinking, the church excommunicated him]. The experience was another point of anger as a child, and I would think to myself "Well, if you don't want my dad, I'm not coming, either." I couldn't understand how, if they had taught us that Jesus loved everyone, they could suddenly say Jesus didn't love my dad! But it wasn't religion I had a problem with, it was the church.

It was the shape of things to come, and there wre many times when John and Simon would be vying for attention, often with hilarious results. It would irritate Simon that John attracted the most fuss from female fans, but when it came to photo shoots it would irritate John that the photographers always wanted the singer to stand in the center. Sometimes there was a lot of shuffling to see who stood in the middle. The simple fact was that John was incredibly photogenic but he wasn't the singer, so that caused problems between them straightaway.

"New Moon on MOnday" was our least favorite video of all. Everybody in the band hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together. Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays the video.... Our management had convinced us to theme it on the French Revolution, and it also had historic references to the French Resistance-- but to be honest, it was just a load of gibberish. The set was dark and cold, and we spent most of the day drinking alcohol. By the time we were dancing at the end I was half cut. It is one of the few times I've seen Nick dance (watch his shoulders moving up and down if you get a chance to see it).

[Regarding The Reflex]
"We have a problem. Capitol Records doesn't want to release it. They think it's too black" explained [their producers, the Barrows].
"Too black? What do they mean, too black?" we asked.
"They think its a wrong sort of association. It sounds too much like something a black artist would do."
I was incredulous. "Well, maybe that's because its been fucking mixed by the world's leading black producer" I spat back in anger [Nile Rogers]

On one memorable occasion, the audience were treated to an eyeful of Simon's crown jewels when his bulging leather trousers tore open. He was energetically bouncing around in full flow onstage when he dropped down on his knees with his legs apart in oprder to belt out some vocals.
RIP!
Unfortunately, Simon wasn't wearing any underwear, and his entire undercarriage went on show to a packed auditorium. It made Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl faux pas look like kids stuff.

{You can get a sense of what the book is like. Fun but quite childish. Everyone says Johns is *much* better. I'll read it, sooner or later).

If you loved the 80's era and are a die-hard fan of Duran Duran than this is definitely a recommend book to read. ( )

A nice history of the band (from Andy's perspective), how they formed and the squabbles that led to the breakup/reunion/breakup of the fameous lineup. Details about the drugs and female relationships are present throught the book.

Andy (or his ghost writer) seems simple but it doesn't distract from the enjoyable ride. I haven't read much history of the band but would have liked more info on the background of the songs to be added but if you just want the gossipy stuff, this is the good read. ( )

I love the irony of the tell-all book written by the least popular Duran member. I need more chismes about Tigger! ( )

I had no idea Andy Taylor was writing a tell-all. I was so excited when I found it in the bookstore. The dust jacket blurb put me off a bit - "widely acknowledged to have been their musical driving force." What? Are you kidding me? What a pompous statement to make. It must have been put there by the publisher because the tone of the book doesn’t reflect the statement. I didn't get the impression that Andy thinks he is any better than the rest of the members of Duran Duran. Infact, he has mostly good things to say about his bandmates. They may have had a couple of rows, but Andy never says he disliked the other members.

Besides writing about his time in Duran Duran, he reveals his personal life starting with some rocky times in his teenage years. He also comments on the stabilizing effect his wife and their four children have in his life.

I stopped following Duran Duran after Roger Taylor and Andy left the group. It was great to read about what happened between then and now. Andy also revealed that Duran Duran were not as squeaky clean as their publicists wanted their fans to believe. I am not a naive teenager anymore and this didn't come as a shock. Drinking and drugs are an unfortunate yet acknowledged part of the music business. The main point he makes is that the band became famous very fast and the pressure off constantly being in the spot light caused friction and self destructive behavior. ( )