Duran Duran are recording a new album with Andy Taylor.
The 62-year-old guitarist – who left the band in 2006 – revealed last November when the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that he had been battling stage 4 prostate cancer for five years and now bassist John Taylor has revealed their former bandmate has agreed to part of a “meaningful” new record they are working on.
Speaking at the Unforgettable Evening in LA event, which raised £1.6 million for the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, John said: “When he dropped the bomb two days before the Hall of Fame, it was really shocking and terribly sad. We’re working on an album right now that is going to be coming out at the end of the year and he’s playing guitar.
“Had he come to LA and just gone on the TV show, we probably wouldn’t have even thought about it. That [the album] happened as a result of this. There’s a lot of cover songs on the album, songs meaningful to us when we were kids. So having him be a part of that project is great.”
The ‘Girls on Film’ hitmakers will record most of the record in Los Angeles and London but frontman Simon LeBon will also head to Ibiza to record with Andy in his studio.
John added: “LeBon is flying to Ibiza to work with Andy. I kind of wish I was there. I think it’ll be great.
“It’ll be really profound for them. They haven’t been in the studio together in maybe 10 to 20 years.”
The musician also hinted at the possibility the sessions could feature in a documentary because he suggested they will be filmed.
He said: “Somebody will have an iPhone on it.”