Arcadia were a British pop group formed in 1985 by Simon Le Bon,

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates; 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member and the keyboardist of the band Duran Duran. He has also been the only constant member of the group since their 1978 ...

, and Roger Taylor of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

as a side project during a break in the band's schedule. The project was active only during 1985 and 1986 and for just one album, '' So Red the Rose'', which was certified Platinum in the United States and included the singles " Election Day", " Goodbye Is Forever", " The Flame", and " The Promise" (featuring David Gilmour and Sting). Drummer Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and one music video ("Election Day"), and stated he was to be involved only in the recording side of the project (he also had minor involvement in the Power Station, the other Duran Duran splinter group, formed by Duran Duran's Andy and John Taylor alongside Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson of Chic). The name of the band reportedly was inspired by the

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

painting '' Et in Arcadia ego'' (also known as "The Arcadian Shepherds").

Music career

''So Red the Rose'' (1985)

The group recorded just one album, the platinum-selling '' So Red the Rose''. It peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 23 in the US, and featured the UK/US Top 10 single "Election Day", as well as the top 40 hits "The Promise" and "Goodbye Is Forever". It also contains the single "The Flame" and the promo-singles "Missing", "El Diablo" and "Keep Me in the Dark". Simon Le Bon described ''So Red the Rose'' as "the most pretentious album ever made", while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called it "the best album Duran Duran never made". Musicians who contributed to the album included guitarists David Gilmour (

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) and Carlos Alomar, pianist

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, Sting (who provided backing vocals on "The Promise"),

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

(who provided the spoken-word intro/interlude on "The Flame" and "Election Day"), bass player Mark Egan of the Pat Metheny Group (whose distinctive fretless sound can be recognised in "The Promise", "El Diablo" and "Lady Ice"), Masami Tsuchiya and David Van Tieghem, a percussionist from New York. A video collection was also released which featured music videos for the singles directed by Roger Christian, Marcelo Anciano,

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...

and Dean Chamberlain. The band also recorded and released the stand-alone single "Say the Word" for the '' Playing for Keeps'' movie soundtrack, which was not included on ''So Red the Rose''. EMI re-released the album as a three-disc box set in April 2010. This remastering collected all permutations and remixes of tracks released by the band. The third disc comprised the video collection on DVD, but it does not include the video for "Say the Word".

Band changes

Arcadia continued the Duran Duran tradition of a slick image. For the Arcadia incarnation of their ever-changing band aesthetic, Le Bon, Rhodes and Roger Taylor donned an upmarket ' gothic' look of black tuxedos, vintage formal wear, and bow ties. The three also dyed their hair black, as seen when they performed (as Duran Duran, with Andy and John Taylor) at the 1985

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

concert in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. By the time the video for their single " The Flame" was made in early 1986 (in which John Taylor made a cameo), Rhodes had changed his hair colour to golden blond and Le Bon had returned to his regular highlighted hairstyle.

Other appearances

The group made a variety of promotional appearances on television, but never toured. When Duran Duran released their '' Notorious'' album and toured, "Election Day" was included as part of the set along with "

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

" from the Power Station. Drummer Roger Taylor retired from the music business for 15 years after the release of the Arcadia album, but returned in 2001 to rejoin the most famous classic Duran Duran lineup.

Band members

* Simon Le Bon – vocals (1985–1986) *

– keyboards (1985–1986) * Roger Taylor – drums (1985)

Guest musicians

* Carlos Alomar – guitar * Pierre Defaye – violin * Rafael De Jesus – percussion * Jean-Claude Dubois – harp * Mark Egan – bass on "The Promise", "El Diablo" and "Lady Ice" * David Gilmour – guitar on "The Promise" and "Missing" *

– piano * Steve Jordan – percussion *

– voice on "Election Day" * Andy Mackay – saxophone * Masami Tsuchiya – guitar & violin * Sting – vocals on "The Promise" * David Van Tieghem – percussion

Discography

Studio albums

Video albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

So Red the Rose
– Arcadia archive and fansite * {{Authority control Duran Duran English art rock groups English pop music groups English synth-pop groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Spinoffs 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom