Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor is dying of cancer
aNDY Taylor of Duran Duran is suffering from cancer and will not be ‘around for very long’, his bandmate Simon Le Bon has revealed.
The 61-year-old is being treated for stage four metastatic prostate cancer after being diagnosed with the disease four years ago.
The band broke the news at their induction into the rock & roll Hall of Fame at the Microsoft Theatre in Los angeles.
The guitarist had been due to reunite with singer Le Bon, keyboardist Nick rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer roger Taylor but he ‘suffered a setback’ that would not allow him to travel from his home in Ibiza.
The weekend 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 band read out a letter from Taylor in which he revealed he had undergone ‘very sophisticated’ life- extending treatment. ‘Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer,’ the letter read.
‘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 producers who worked with Duran Duran throughout their career.
Taylor added: ‘ 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.’
He said he was ‘truly sorry and massively disappointed’ he could not attend the ceremony, adding: ‘I often doubted the day would come. I’m sure as hell glad I’m around to see the day.’
Le Bon, 64, said: ‘It is absolutely devastating news to find out that a colleague, no not a colleague, a mate, a friend, one of our family, is not going to be around for very long. We love andy dearly and I’m not going to stand here and cry. I think that would be inappropriate but that’s what I feel like.’
The group, which formed in 1978, performed three songs: Girls On Film, Hungry Like a Wolf and Ordinary World.
‘It is absolutely devastating’