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Heartbroken fans have shown their support for Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor after it emerged he’s battling cancer.
Bandmate Simon Le Bon broke the news on Sunday as he read out a letter from the guitarist and said Taylor will not be ‘around for very long’.
He went on to clarify that the musician is being treated for stage four metastatic prostate cancer after being diagnosed with the disease four years ago.
The heartfelt message saw Taylor, 61, thank his bandmates for their support as well as his ‘incredibly sane wife of 40 years’ Tracey, their ‘amazing children’, Andy, Georgie, Bethy and Izzy and his grandson Albie.
‘My heart has shattered’: Devastated fans and music legends have shared their support for Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor, 61, after his terminal prostate cancer diagnosis (pictured in 2021)
Taylor’s family have not yet commented publicly on the news but fans were quick to take to Twitter to pass on their well wishes and share their shock and grief.
Billy Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens shared a snap of the pair together as he penned: ‘Andy Taylor was the very first musician to sing my praises in the press. Great times together in NYC around 86’.
‘Happy for Duran Duran to be inducted into the R&RHOF but hearing of Andy’s cancer battle truly sucks. Sending out positive thoughts buddy. ❤️’
Thin Lizzy’s Ricky Warwick was also quick to pay tribute, tweeting: ‘Thinking of my good mate Andy Taylor …sending love, strength and courage. ✊❤️’
Tributes: Taylor’s family have not yet commented publicly on the news but Billy Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens and Thin Lizzy’s Ricky Warwick took to Twitter pass on their well wishes
Duran Duran broke the news at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.
The guitarist had been due to reunite with singer Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor but he ‘suffered a setback’ that would not allow him to travel from his home in Ibiza.
The weekend ceremony was set to be the first time the five-piece band from Birmingham had played together in 17 years, having last reformed for a world tour and the album Astronaut in 2004.
Fans shared on Twitter: ‘The news of Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor’s illness is heartbreaking. Whatever type of music you like you can not deny the overwhelming influence this band has had on music from the 80’s until now.’;
‘screw cancer. i love you andy. #andytaylor ‘; ‘Tonight’s the night my heart shattered. Andy Taylor’; ‘i just opened my eyes and you mean to tell me andy taylor has cancer. and is dying. goodbye. 2022 cancelled. i am not okay.’;
‘Wow! Much love to you @AndyTaylorLives & your family. We are so sorry to hear this and you definitely need to be taking care of you first & foremost before anything else. Congratulations on your induction & you will be in our thoughts & prayers’;
‘Just absolutely devastated. The music of @AndyTaylorLives has been with us at every milestone of our lives and I hope he knows that in his most difficult moment, we’re here for him.’;
‘I’m very sorry hear about @AndyTaylorLives. I love the way he plays the guitar in his own sound and style and making circles with the arm ♥️. I just want to say that he makes happy many people with his art and I send my affection and gratitude.’;
‘@AndyTaylorLives would probably laugh at me calling him a gentleman, but AT, your letter is pure class. I’m so sorry for your health challenge & inability to celebrate your honor in person. Sending you healthy energy, healthy karma✨, & love vibes. Bless you.’; ‘Love and prayers to Andy, his family and to all of you who know him. Congratulations to you all on this achievement. Hoping you have a terrific evening.’
Cute couple: The heartfelt message saw Taylor, 61, thank his bandmates for their support as well as his ‘ incredibly sane wife of 40 years’ Tracey (pictured in 2019)
Support network: Taylor also thanked his ‘amazing children’, Andy, Georgie, Bethy and Izzy for their support (Andy, Georgie and Izzy pictured)
At Duran Duran’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, the band read out a letter from Taylor in which he revealed he had undergone ‘very sophisticated’ life-extending treatment.
‘Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer,’ the letter read.
‘Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different; so I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have and this exceptional accolade. I
‘I have the Rodgers and Edwards of doctors and medical treatment that until very recently allowed me to just rock on.
‘Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening there is no cure.’
Tributes: Fans were quick to take to Twitter to pass on their well wishes and share their shock and grief at the distressing news
Rodgers and Edwards refers to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the producers who worked with Duran Duran throughout their career.
Taylor added: ‘Recently I was doing OK after some very sophisticated life-extending treatment, that was until a week or so ago when I suffered a setback, and despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally, I would be pushing my boundaries.’
He said he was ‘truly sorry and massively disappointed’ he could not attend the ceremony, adding: ‘I often doubted the day would come. I’m sure as hell glad I’m around to see the day.’
Announcement: Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Simon Le Bon shared the news at the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Sunday
Le Bon, 64, said: ‘It is absolutely devastating news to find out that a colleague, no not a colleague, a mate, a friend, one of our family, is not going to be around for very long. We love Andy dearly and I’m not going to stand here and cry. I think that would be inappropriate but that’s what I feel like.’
The group, which formed in 1978, performed three songs: Girls On Film, Hungry Like A Wolf and Ordinary World.
Taylor was with the band since its inception in the late 1970s, left in the mid-80s amid the height of the band massive popularity, returned in 2001, only to have the band cut ties with him in 2006, citing an ‘unworkable gulf’ between him and the rest of guys.
More time: The band read out a letter from Taylor in which he revealed he had undergone ‘very sophisticated’ life-extending treatment
The guitarist who replaced Taylor in 1986, Warren Cuccurullo, was expected to attend the induction, but in the end did not go to the event.
Taylor has previously spoken out about his decision to leave the band, revealing that fame ‘nearly killed’ him.
Writing in The Daily Mail in 2008, Taylor explained: ‘What amazes me is that nobody in Duran Duran ended up dead. It’s not just the drink and drugs that can be your downfall as a pop star – there are so many things you do at such an incredible pace that you never stop to take account of the damage it might do you.
‘For me, the reality finally hit home around the time of Live Aid. We’d sung on the Band Aid single in December 1984, so we were top of Bob Geldof’s list for his grand plans for a concert the following summer…
Performance: The group, which formed in 1978, performed three songs: Girls On Film, Hungry Like A Wolf and Ordinary World (L-R Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, Andy Taylor)
‘I’d come close to a nervous breakdown from the stresses of our crazy life and my own cocaine problem. I had also nearly lost my wife, Tracey – the band’s hair stylist whom I’d married in 1982 – to severe post-natal depression.
‘We hadn’t all been together on the road since the previous year, and when we started playing it showed. Combine that with all the shouting matches and the icy silences – well, I just knew I had to get out. So I did.
‘The day after Live Aid, I stopped drinking and taking drugs. And I quietly started getting legal advice on extricating myself from Duran Duran.’
Despite the turmoil, Taylor insisted he had no regrets, stating: ‘Was the rollercoaster ride worth it? The answer is a resounding yes. Sure, there were plenty of lows, but maybe that was the price we had to pay for the highs.
‘And I can honestly say that even if I had to do it all over again, I don’t think I would change a thing.’
From the start, Duran Duran was a hitmaker, scoring 21 top 40 singles in the US Billboard Hot 100 including Hungry Like The Wolf, Girls On Film, Rio, Save A Prayer, A View To A Kill, The Reflex, Ordinary World, Planet Earth, Is There something I Should Know?, Notorious and New Moon On Monday, among many others.
The band has sold over 100 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists.
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