We're huge longtime Duran Duran fans here at MusicOlogy, so it's an esteemed privilege to wish a very happy 50th birthday to the band's eternally youthful keyboardist (and my personal Duran Duran Boyfriend, though I'll continue to fight with my girlfriend over him) Nick Rhodes. The group's youngest member, Nick has been the band's musical backbone through lineup and stylistic changes... through thick and thin, hits and misses.
In honor of five decades of Nick Rhodes, our crack team of Duran Duran experts (i.e. me, with a few extra cups of coffee in my system) have compiled a list of 10 little-known, totally true facts about Nick, his childhood, his musical passions, his role in the band and how he's managed to stay so damn adorable all these years. Enjoy.
Did you know...
- Nick's parents owned a toyshop in Birmingham, England. After school, Nick would regularly get into heated debates (Roxy Music vs. Bowie, Casio vs. Yamaha, etc.) with the stuffed animals.
- During the band's early days at the Rum Runner night club, an aggressive bouncer challenged an (in his eyes) offensively effeminate Nick Rhodes to an arm wrestling match. Instead of accepting, Nick closed his eyes and impregnated the man's wife via psychic mind bullets. The distraught bouncer went home immediately and failed to report to work the next day.
- The intro sound on "Rio" was created in the studio when Nick threw coins into a grand piano and reversed the ensuing clang. Finished, he collected all of the coins, took a bus to a Manchester arcade and spent two hours playing Frogger. He holds the all-time high score to this day.
- The secret to Nick's eternal youth is that, in 1984, he paid a Transylvanian gypsy to cast a spell on him so that, anytime someone butchers the third verse of "Rio" in karaoke, a wrinkle disappears from his face.
- When original guitarist Andy Taylor announced his intention to leave the band, Nick was so upset that he refused to dye his hair for an entire week.
- Nick is the only member of Duran Duran who actually gives a damn for a flaky bandit, much to the derision of the other members.
- Before his death in 1987, Andy Warhol and Nick Rhodes eloped for a weekend, flying to Corfu and purchasing a local movie theater, where they watched "Crocodile" Dundee on a loop for 52 hours straight.
- In the '90s, Nick sang lead vocals on "Medazzaland" and co-wrote the lyrics to "Pop Trash Movie" while Simon was in rehab, receiving treatment for his debilitating chocolate chip cookie addiction.
- Nick was adamant against hiring Timbaland to co-produce the band's 2007 album Red Carpet Massacre. After the album's disappointing release, he purchased the actual flying DeLorean time machine from Back To The Future Part II, traveled back to the year 1996 and commenced to teach a naïve young Timbaland all the wrong recording studio techniques, effectively creating an alternate timeline in which all Timbaland-produced records turn out unavoidably awful. THIS IS THAT ALTERNATE TIMELINE.
- The song "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is directly based on Nick's life, except that in reality, the leopard came willingly.
Happy Birthday, Nick! Many happy returns!
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kevin max:
When Nick visits a Mac makeup counter in any mall and or department store they serve him fresh chocolate cappuccino with a hint of mint called the 'El Diablo'
Megan Engle :
Cute article! But are you aware of 1) how much Nick Rhodes & Andy Taylor despise each other and 2) Simon has said that the line, "who gives a damn for a flaky bandit" is pertaining to Andy when he left the band the first time? Either your sixth "fact" is way off base, or the sort of sarcastic joke which very few Duranies, let alone the general public will get. Still, cute article, it made me smile :)
June 9, 2012
Sarah Bell:
Ha ha!! Are you sure that was just coffee you were drinking?!!
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