Duran Duran to play one-off benefit concert at intimate Bay Area venue
Duran Duran at BottleRock Napa Valley on May 27. Photo: Dana Jacobs Special to The Chronicle Photo: Dana Jacobs Special to The Chronicle
Fresh off a triumphant headlining performance at the BottleRock Napa Valley Festival, the iconic British rock band Duran Duran has announced plans for an intimate benefit concert in Northern California next month.
The special event, dedicated to supporting their founding guitarist Andy Taylor, who is battling stage four prostate cancer, will take place at the 500-capacity Guild Theatre in Menlo Park on Aug. 19.
During their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last November, the band made public Taylor’s diagnosis. Now, in a bid to provide financial assistance for a groundbreaking, life-extending treatment for the 62-year-old guitarist and others facing terminal diagnoses, Duran Duran has organized this one-night-only concert in support of the U.K.-based charity the Cancer Awareness Trust.
“We are heading to Northern California to play many of the songs that we wrote together with our dear friend, Andy Taylor, to help him and others in their fight against prostate cancer,” Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon said in a statement about the upcoming show. “It is the right thing to do.”
Duran Duran at BottleRock Napa Valley on May 27. Photo: Dana Jacobs Special to The Chronicle Photo: Dana Jacobs Special to The Chronicle
Presale tickets for the concert will be made available to members of the Duran Duran VIP Fan Community starting at noon Monday, July 17, with general sales commencing on Wednesday, July 19, via the Guild Theatre website.
More Information Duran Duran: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. $500. The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. $500. The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. www.guildtheatre.com
Drummer Roger Taylor, not related to Andy Taylor, expressed his gratitude, saying, “We would like to thank our fans and the organizers of this benefit who have given us the chance to help our longtime friend and colleague. … We have always described ourselves as a ‘band of brothers,’ and that has never been more true than in this very moment.”
The benefit concert will precede the next leg of Duran Duran’s highly anticipated “Future Past” tour, which supports their latest album of the same name. The band, famous for hits including “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Ordinary World,” is scheduled to perform at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Aug. 24. Support acts on the tour include Nile Rodgers and Chic and Bastille.
Duran Duran will play a benefit concert for The Cancer Awareness Trust following news that friend and former bandmate Andy Taylor had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2018.
It will take place Aug. 19 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California. pic.twitter.com/ofZegY8nJt — Duran Duran (@duranduran) July 13, 2023
Professor Sir Chris Evans, founder of the Cancer Awareness Trust, said he is “delighted” to have the band’s support.
“The revolutionary new treatment could well both improve Andy’s quality of life and extend it significantly,” Evans said in a statement. “Andy will receive the latest precision medical treatment, emanating from some recently successful clinical trials, along with the ongoing support that the Cancer Awareness Trust is providing. The incredible support of Duran Duran will mean many more people will benefit just like Andy.”
Source: SF Chronicle Datebook
