Duran Duran will be headlining a concert to mark the opening of the 2012 Olympic games. It was announced Tuesday that the retro rockers will represent England at the July 27 concert in London’s Hyde Park, which features acts from each of the four parts of the United Kingdom. The other bands appearing are Snow Patrol from Northern Ireland, Stereophonics from Wales and Scotland’s Paolo Nutini. Lead singer Simon Le Bon said the show would be ‘one of the highlights of the last decade for us.’ Fans attending the concert will be able to view the opening ceremony broadcast on giant screens. There will be a second concert on August 12th to mark the closing ceremony, featuring Blur, New Order and The Specials.
While Duran Duran fans (and the band) celebrated, well-known blogger Lucy Jones, of The Telegraph in the UK stirred up international controversy by sharing her opinion of the lineup. She said:
So our choice of excellence are a bunch of irrelevant rockers who got together in 1978, a four piece who could be the most boring band that ever existed, the Welsh contingent who were OK in spring 1998, and Nutini, more gap year casualty than rock star. It’s almost as bad as the organisers of the official Olympics ceremony approaching the manager of the Who to see if Keith Moon was available.
Yes, that happened. I was never expecting Autechre, St Etienne or Kate Bush but this is the worst line-up imaginable. It makes the closing ceremony with Blur, New Order and The Specials look like Wood
Another writer joked ‘At least if they’d chosen Spandau Ballet we’d be guaranteed one Gold.’ Others mocked Olympic organisers, who last month reportedly tried to book The Who drummer Keith Moon for the closing ceremony of the Games, even though he had been dead for nearly 34 years.”
Duranies — as the band’s fans are known — went into full defensive mode on Tuesday, tweeting their support for their idols. And Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, who wrote a song in 2008 supporting President Obama, joined in with “Who the f*ck is Lucy Jones?”
Lead singer Simon Le Bon stated: “We have been invited to represent England for this Team GB show, and we couldn’t be more proud. Seeing the torch being lit on the big screens before hitting the stage in this iconic location will be a great experience… We simply can’t wait.” It seems Duran Duran fans agree.
What do you think, Strangies?
