“I always like to say in a humble way that I discovered Duran Duran,” Andy Taylor recently told American Songwriter. “I went to Birmingham, and those three [John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor] had a great idea, but I was a mechanic, and I could put the fucking engine together.”
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Along with the addition of himself and singer Simon Le Bon, Taylor was a poignant tool within Duran Duran from its start, co-writing “Girls on Film,” “Planet Earth,” and Friends of Mine” and more off the band’s eponymous 1981 debut, along with “Hungry Like a Wolf,” “Save a Prayer,” “New Moon on Monday,” “The Reflex,” “Wild Boys,” and their 1985 James Bond theme song “A View to a Kill.”
[RELATED: Andy Taylor to Release First Solo Album in 33 Years]
In 1984, during a brief hiatus from Duran Duran, Andy along with Duran bassist John Taylor, late Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Robert Palmer formed the power group Power Station. They released their eponymous debut in 1985 and its follow-up, their final album together, Living in Fear, came more than a decade later in 1996. In 2006, Taylor eventually parted ways with Duran Duran after recording their 12th album, Red Carpet Massacre.
Throughout his 40-plus-year career, Taylor has written and produced albums for Rod Stewart, Tina Arena, The Almighty, and The Ting Tings, among others.
Several months after revealing that he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, prior to his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Duran Duran in 2022, Taylor also revealed his new album Man’s A Wolf To Man, his first new solo material in more than three decades since the release of his second solo album, Dangerous, in 1990.
Taylor recently reunited with Duran Duran on their forthcoming album of covers, Danse Macabre.
Comprising more components within Taylor’s musical mechanics, here’s a look at just four songs he also wrote for other artists throughout the years.
1. “Lost in You,” Rod Stewart (1988)
Written by Andy Taylor and Rod Stewart
Taylor co-produced Rod Stewart’s 15th album, Out of Order, and also co-wrote the opening lead single “Lost in You. Produced by Stewart, Taylor, and Bernard Edwards, “Lost in You” peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also features Stewart’s hit “Forever Young.”
“It was a Wednesday evening and we’d been hard at it in the studio, coming up with nothing,” said Stewart of the track in the liner notes of his 1990 release Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990. “I said to the assembled band that Wednesday evening was football practice night [and] asked Andy Taylor to experiment while I was gone and maybe have something when I returned at 11p.m.. [‘Lost in You’] was the result.”
Hey, baby
You’ve been on my mind tonight
I’m so lonely I just had to sit down and write
I spent all yesterday
Trying to figure out what I’m gonna say
One letter from the heart is so hard to start, baby
How’s your momma? How’s the weather?
How’s that son of mine? Yeah
Hey, baby
Have been a long time since we made love
I’m stone cold, the bed’s hard, and the work is tough
I’m never gonna leave you again
This job ain’t worth the pain
No money in the world ain’t worth being away from you
Ooh baby I don’t sleep without you by my side, listen
2. “She’s So Fine,” Thunder (1990)
Written by Andy Taylor and Luke Morley
British hard rockers Thunder released their debut, Backstreet Symphony, in 1990. Produced by Taylor, the album also features two tracks he co-wrote — “Until My Dying Day” and the opening “She’s So Fine,” which was released as the lead single. The album hit No. 21 on the U.K. chart and also closes on a cover of the Spencer David Group’s ‘Gimme Some Lovin’.”
Taylor also co-produced and co-wrote several tracks on Thunder’s 1992 follow-up, Laughing on Judgement Day, and continued writing for the band on subsequent albums.
It was early in the evening, I was waiting for a train
I was thinking to myself as I watched the pouring rain
I need love, but I don’t know where to get it
Then underneath this big umbrella she walked in the waiting room
I just had to tell her though it might have been too soon
I need love and I think I might have found it
She was some kind of priestess with a black dress on
With her film star kind of features, she really turned me on
3. “Delicious,” Rod Stewart (1995)
Written by Andy Taylor, Rod Stewart, Robin LeMesurier
Taylor continued working with Stewart on his 17th album, A Spanner in the Works, and co-wrote the sexified “Delicious.” The album includes Stewart’s cover of Bob Dylan’s 1983 song “Sweetheart Like You,” and The Blue Nile’s 1989 release “The Downtown Lights,” along with “Muddy, Sam and Otis,” a tribute to Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding.
Everyday I get up
And drag myself out of bed
While you’re still sleeping
On your tummy
With your long legs spread
Call me a copy cat
Dressed
Kiss you good-bye
I’m like a lion in winter
I don’t want to say good-bye
I’m trying to pull
On my socks
You get me horny and hot, darling
That’s why I’m late on the job
You’re delicious
You’re delicious, babe
4. “Wrong Club,” The Ting Tings (2014)
Written by Andy Taylor and The Ting Tings’ Katie White and Julian de Martino
British indie pop duo The Ting Tings recorded their third album, Super Critical, in Ibiza, Spain. Taylor also co-wrote the entire album with the duo, Katie White and Julian de Martino, including the single “Wrong Club,” which went to No. 2 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
“The song’s about being in the club at four in the morning when everything you’ve taken has worn off and you’ve just realized what a shitty club you’re in, and what terrible music,” said White of the track. “I think everyone’s been there. You’re not drunk anymore and you’ve got beer all down you and you’re just re-evaluating your life.”
And if you wanna come in
We can sit on boxes
I keep everything
Oh, and if you’re standing in the corner
You can tell me you don’t wanna talk
And I tell you how it’s always been
Did I ever tell you about the way I wanna feel
Giving it up and fly away
And did I ever tell you about the good times that you get
Don’t know if you got another day
Photo: Courtesy of Andy Taylor / Shore Fire Media
