The
Fab
Five
are
back
to
make
people’s
lives
better,
more
groovy
—
and
of
course
more
metrosexual.
No,
not
the
fairy
dust-sprinkling
“Queer
Eye”
cast
on
Bravo.
The
men
originally
dubbed
the
Fab
Five
way
back
in
the
1980s
are
the
band
Duran
Duran,
and
the
original
members
return
this
month
with
a
comeback
tour
and
a
new
CD,
“Astronaut.”
“Someone
told
us
one
day
that
these
five
queens
had
stolen
our
moniker,”
says
Nick
Rhodes,
keyboard
player
for
the
band.
“So
we
were
properly
cross
with
them.
Right,
we’ll
getcha.”
A
mix
of
musicians
that
included
different
mixes
of
original
members
and
newcomers
went
under
the
name
Duran
Duran
and
have
put
out
albums
steadily
since
the
band’s
eponymous
1981
debut.
But
the
band’s
original
Fab
Five
lineup
—
vocalist
Simon
LeBon,
keyboardist
Rhodes,
bassist
John
Taylor,
guitarist
Andy
Taylor
and
drummer
Roger
Taylor
—
has
not
worked
together
since
1985.
After
20
years
apart,
the
Duran
Duran
gay
fans
came
to
know,
love
and
emulate
during
the
‘80s
returns
full
force
on
“Astronaut,”
an
irresistibly
catchy
disc
containing
all
of
the
band’s
trademark
pop
goodness.
“It’s
got
energy,
grooves,
it’s
uplifting,
optimistic,”
offers
former
heartthrob
Rhodes,
who
is
still
man-of-many-haircuts,
hair
colors
and
bright
eye
shadows.
“It’s
funky,
it’s
edgy
and
boy,
has
it
got
a
great
package,”
he
boasts.
As
Duran
Duran’s
20th
anniversary
approached
in
2001,
a
reunion
tour
seemed
apt,
and
band
members
began
calling
each
other.
“When
the
phone
calls
were
first
made,
it
took
24
hours
before
everybody
had
agreed
in
principle
that
they
wanted
to
do
it,”
Rhodes
recalls.
“The
next
stage
was
getting
in
a
room
and
looking
at
each
other
over
a
table
and
discussing
how.”
The
resulting
tour
is
on
the
road
now.
An
Atlanta
stop
is
scheduled
for
Dec.
2.
But
minutes
into
the
first
meeting,
the
band
was
discussing
more
than
just
a
tour,
Rhodes
says.
“We
were
discussing
how
we
were
going
to
make
a
record,”
he
remembers.
Self-financing
this
effort,
the
band
rented
a
house
in
San
Tropez,
shipped
down
a
hefty
load
of
gear,
and
holed
up
by
2001,
pumping
out
some
35
songs,
a
dozen
of
which
make
up
“Astronaut.”
The
infectiously
danceable,
driving
single
“(Reach
Up
For
The)
Sunrise”
is
already
familiar
to
many
gay
ears
thanks
to
Jason
Nevins’
club-ready
remix
on
the
“Queer
Eye
For
The
Straight
Guy”
soundtrack.
Yes,
the
Fab
Fives
of
yore
and
of
today
are
connected
in
a
way.
But
of
course
Rhodes
was
joking
about
a
catfight.
In
fact,
a
member
of
the
“Queer
Eye”
cast
told
Rhodes
Duran
Duran
doesn’t
need
any
help
from
them
because
the
pretty
boys
of
the
band
may
have
been
the
first
to
embrace
their
gay
sensibilities
despite
being
straight.
“Because
we’re
already
perfect,”
Rhodes
says.
“That’s
absolutely
true,
that’s
what
one
of
them
said.
Somebody
accused
us
when
I
was
in
New
York
of
being
wholly
responsible
for
metrosexuality.
And
I
asked,
‘Is
that
an
accusation
or
a
compliment?’
“We’re
all
for
male
grooming,
honey,”
he
winks.
The
titular
track
on
“Astronaut”
is
a
fun,
spacey
number
about
going
“out
there”
as
far
as
you
can
go,
while
also
celebrating
the
band’s
love
of
sci-fi.
“I
always
saw
myself
as
Barbarella’s
Pygar,
the
flying
angel,
carrying
Jane
Fonda
around
in
my
arms,”
lead
singer
LeBon
muses.
“Finest
Hour,”
which
takes
its
name
from
a
Winston
Churchill
WWII
speech,
is
about
holding
on
to
identity.
And
the
most
playful
track
is
surely
“Bedroom
Toys,”
a
slinky,
tingly,
seductive
number.
I
saw
the
bedroom
toys/
now
I’m
crawling/
I’ve
learned
to
improvise/
You
want
it,
you
got
it,/
now
what
you
gonna
do
with
it?
“Toys”
was
one
of
the
first
songs
the
band
wrote
when
reunited,
and
it
apparently
contains
a
personal
resonance
for
at
least
one
of
Duran
Duran’s
members.
“Nick,
oh
god
yes
he
does
have
a
lot
of
bedroom
toys,”
LeBon
cracks.
“Unfortunately
he
keeps
running
out
of
batteries.”
“Oh,
bedroom
toys
are
essential,”
Rhodes
responds.
“A
blindfold
is
a
bedroom
toy.
It
might
be
the
tie
I
was
wearing
that
eve.
It
didn’t
have
a
battery
in
it,
my
tie,
but
I’m
all
for
any
kind
of
toys.”
Sexuality
and
sexual
orientation
are
topics
the
band
members
have
no
hang-ups
discussing.
The
pro-gay
...
