One of Duran Duran’s iconic members did not attend the band’s induction ceremony into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
In a letter to the band’s fans read by front man Simon Le Bon, guitarist Andy Taylor, 61, disclosed that he was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer four years ago.
Taylor played guitar on some of Duran Duran’s most notable hits, such as “Hungry Like a Wolf.”
The letter, which can be found in its entirety on Duran Duran’s website, was eventually posted there after Le Bon read it at the ceremony.
“Although my current condition is not immediately life threatening there is no cure. Recently I was doing okay 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.
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 wrote.
Duran Duran’s longtime guitarist Andy Taylor was absent from the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday after revealing he is suffering from stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer: https://t.co/kiPauEFP4I pic.twitter.com/6Eu5ea7AKp
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) November 6, 2022
The letter talked about the unique nature of making the rock hall.
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“There’s nothing that comes close to such recognition. I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved together and of the way you have continued,” Taylor wrote, directly addressing his fellow bandmates.
“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,” Taylor said.
Taylor and the band parted ways in 2006, with what was called an “unworkable gulf” having emerged between him and the band, according to Barron’s.
Taylor added, “I’m truly sorry and massively disappointed I couldn’t make it. Let there be no doubt I was stoked about the whole thing — even bought a new guitar with the essential whammy!”
“I’m so very proud of these four brothers, I’m amazed at their durability, and I’m overjoyed at accepting this award. I often doubted the day would come. I’m sure as hell glad I’m around to see the day,” he wrote.
“We’ve had a privileged life, we were a bit naughty but really nice, a bit shirty but very well dressed, a bit full of ourselves because we had a lot to give, but as I’ve said many times, when you feel that collective, instinctive, kindred spirit of creativity mixed with ambition, armed with an über cool bunch of fans, well what could possibly go wrong?” Taylor wrote, according to the Post.
“Over 40 years I’ve been working, I’ve come to believe that the essence of our job is this: We get to make people feel better about themselves.” #rockhall https://t.co/1JmQ80a3ez pic.twitter.com/K5Ch9au2oW
— Duran Duran (@duranduran) November 6, 2022
According to Vulture, during the induction, Le Bon summed up what it was all about: “Over 40 years I’ve been working, I’ve come to believe that the essence of our job is this: We get to make people feel better about themselves.”
On Saturday, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon were inducted in the rock hall.
