New wave band, Duran Duran's bassist John Taylor, confirms having the coronavirus, in a social media post earlier today, April 5.
The announcement came through an Instagram post on the band's official page containing a pic of John Taylor; he announced that "after giving some thought to this," he decided to share that he "tested positive with the Corona Virus almost three weeks ago." He then detailed his experience with having a mild case of the contagious disease, crediting it to him being a "particularly robust 59-year-old."
However, he added that "after a week or so" of what Taylor described as a "Turbo-charged Flu," he came out fine. He added that he did not mind being put in quarantine since it helped him recover.
John Taylor then explained that his announcement was in response to the "enormous amount of fear generated by the pandemic," recognizing that some of it are justified. He encouraged everyone by saying, "[Covid-19] isn't always a killer, and we can and will beat this thing."
He further added that he couldn't wait to return on stage, "sharing new music, love, and joy."
Taylor and Duran Duran
Born Nigel John Taylor, the 59-year-old musician, producer, and actor, is best known as the bassist of the English band Duran Duran, one of the 80s biggest acts. John Taylor, together with the band's keyboardist Nick Rhodes were the first to form the group, to be later joined by drummer Roger Taylor. At the height of their career, the Duran Duran known to the world included guitarist Andy Taylor and lead singer Simon Le Bon. Unbeknownst to fans, while "The Fab Five" had three members with the surname Taylor, none of them are related.
The band was launched into mainstream recognition partly because of their music videos featured heavily and often rotated in the first years of music television MTV. Duran Duran was among the early music acts to use 35mm film with professional movie producers, instead of session performances shot using commercial video cameras.
Some of the band's hits include the 1982 single "Hungry Like the Wolf," "The Wild Boys" in 1984, and "Ordinary World" in 1993. The band has two Grammy Awards, two Brit Awards, a "Lifetime Achievement" award from the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Aside from his career with Duran Duran from 1978 up to 1997, John Taylor pursued a solo career. He would go on tours from 1997-1998, star in the 1998 indie film "Sugar Town," and sign a contract with Japanese label Avex Trax until 2001. It was also in this year that John Taylor would reunite with the rest of The Fab Five, based on a prospect by frontman Simon Le Bon.
John Taylor also played for two separate supergroups. In 1984, he performed with Robert Palmer, Chic's Tony Thompson, and Andy Taylor to create "The Power Station." The band was intended to be a side project during Duran Duran's break that would later become a hiatus. Then, in 1995, the "Neurotic Outsiders" was founded together with Sex Pistols' Steve Jones, Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum.