Wild Boy is the story of pop legends Duran Duran’s longtime guitarist and founding member, Andy Taylor. It relates the Duran Duran saga through the eyes of Taylor, who was a member and primary songwriter for the band from their inception until just before the Notorious album (but returned again for their mildly successful reunion and Astronaut album). This book is pretty much only for those familiar with Duran Duran. In some autobiographies you can find a lot to relate to with the other artists, but this is a much more fan oriented release.
For the most part this book is a bit choppy. Fans of other rock-related autobiographies will likely not be surprised by this though and, despite it, Wild Boy is really enjoyable. Taylor spends a great deal of time building up to their success and noting how different they became after they found it. He openly admits that their look and charm were a large part of their success but also seems annoyed by the many people over the years who felt that the band was style over substance. He flips back and forth candidly throughout the early eighties, which makes for a confusing read but interesting none the less.
Another fascinating aspect of this book is how openly Taylor discusses his personal life. He manages to clearly separate it from his professional life, leading me to believe that he has actually always impressively separated the two. From his mother leaving him at age eleven, never to return, to his marriage and birth of his children (during which his wife suffered a very rare psychosis) to his father’s death, it’s easy to understand how these monumental moments affected his professional life, even though he seemed to try desperately to make them two separate entities.
If you are looking for eye opening stories about the excesses of the world’s most successful bands (stories that will never again happen due to the rapidly declining music industry), from cocaine to multi-million dollar video shoots to tours that cost more money for each show than many people see in a lifetime then this book is for you! Taylor seems very common sense throughout, noting numerous times that he understood this success wouldn’t last and was often ill at ease with the money being spent by the band. Fans will also be interested in learning why the reunion didn’t last, due in no small part to Taylor and the events of his life.
Taylor is, was, and always will be the rock and roll heart of Duran Duran. There is simply no denying it. For those that love the band, this is much better than the band’s official autobiography as Taylor refuses to pull punches or sugarcoat. Definitely recommended.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
