When Rio came to Whitley Bay in ‘83
IN the first half of the 1980s, there was no bigger pop group in Britain. Duran Duran were the pretty boys of the so-called New Romantic scene, with a string of hits that included Girls On Film, The Reflex, Save A Prayer, View To A Kill, and Rio.
Their dandyish clothes, coiffured hairstyles and lipstick didn’t really endear them to the boys, but they were massively popular among the ladies.
The band comprised three Brummies keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor; singer Simon Le Bon who met the others while studying at Birmingham University; and a lad from the Tyneside seaside village of Cullercoats, Andy Taylor.
Thirty-five years ago, as 1983 drew to a close and with Duran Duran at the height of their popularity, Andy Taylor embarked on a business venture on his native Tyneside.
Many of a certain vintage who enjoyed partying in the era of big hair and padded shoulders will remember it well.
In early December 1983, the Chronicle reported: “Pop star Andy Taylor is coming home this weekend to fulfil a long-standing ambition.
“Andy is to officially open a new wine bar in Whitley Bay.
“It is to be called Rio after Duran Duran’s million-selling single of the same name.”
The invitation-only opening of the sea-front bar hit the headlines. Hundreds of baying female fans waited for a glimpse their idols in bitter winter weather.
We reported: “Andy and Roger Taylor (no relation) were first to arrive - in a white Rolls Royce.
“Schoolgirls formed a solid block and scrambled to touch their heroes.
“Police picked the pair off the ground and half carried them through the crowd.
“Screams brought out drinkers from other bars on Whitley Bay’s sea front to watch as the girls mobbed heartthrob Simon Le Bon”.
Rio, on North Parade, became a hugely popular haunt for 1980s revellers and, for a while, Whitley Bay rivalled Newcastle as THE place to enjoy a night out.
Running the bar, however, wasn’t all plain sailing for its rock star owner.
Plans to extend it in 1984 were blocked after locals complained about noise from the premises.
And the following year the Chronicle reported on an even more bizarre problem.
“Panic broke out at the Tyneside wine bar owned by Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor when someone freed man-eating piranha fish from their tank,” we revealed.
“Bar staff at Rio rushed to rescue the fearsome fish, which eat human flesh, by scooping them into pint pots from between the feet of horrified customers.
“No one was bitten, but a few customers received an unwelcome soaking when 200 gallons of water in the tank gushed out.
“A vandal is thought to have smashed the giant tank by swinging a bottle against the glass as a prank.”
If the 1980s were Duran Duran’s heyday, the band are still active 40 years after they first teamed up.
There have been wholesale line-up changes. Andy Taylor quit the band in 1986, rejoined in 2001, before leaving for the last time five years later.
As a musician and producer, he has also worked with Power Station, Rod Stewart, Robert Palmer and Belinda Carlisle, among others.
Byron Baddoo, from North Shields, who sings these days with veteran Tyneside blues band, The Skywalkers, played in a group called Automatic Pop with the young, unknown Andy in the late 1970s.
“He was a brilliant, hard-rocking guitarist,” recalls Byron. “We used to practice in my mam’s house. He had been taught by Dave Black, the guitarist from Goldie who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. It was no surprise when he made it.”
Rio remained a regular drinking destination for some years before being sold. For a while the bar was known as Aruba. Today the building plays host to an award-winning Turkish restaurant called Turknaz.
Earlier this year, the venue had one more brush with fame when the crew of hit ITV drama, Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn, descended to shoot scenes for an episode of the new series.
HOW DURAN DURAN STAR OPENED A TRENDY NEW WINE BAR 35 YEARS AGO