Andy Taylor (musician)
Andrew "Andy" Taylor (born February 16, 1961 in Cullercoats , Tyne and Wear , England ) is an English guitarist. He was a member of the bands Duran Duran and Power Station .
Career
Andy Taylor grew up in the coastal town of Cullercoats, Northumberland and began playing guitar at the age of eleven. In 1980 he became a member of the band Duran Duran, founded in Birmingham in 1978 . Taylor left the band in June 1986 while recording the album Notorious to embark on a solo career. While still a member of Duran Duran, he was on the benefit single Do They Know It's Christmas? involved and performed at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in July 1985 .
Together with John Taylor of Duran Duran, with whom he is not related, and Tony Thompson of Chic and Robert Palmer , he formed the short-lived band Power Station in late 1984 . Palmer left the band after the recordings for the album The Power Station and was replaced by Michael Des Barres , who had previously played with the Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones in the band Checkered Past. With Power Station Taylor also appeared on Live Aid in Philadelphia.
Since 1985 he has worked as a composer, arranger or producer for other artists, including Rod Stewart and the hard rock band Thunder , whose successful debut album Backstreet Symphony he produced in 1990.
He moved to Los Angeles and released his first singles as a solo artist. He wrote the titles Take it Easy , Wings of Love and Angel Eyes for the sports film American Anthem (1986) by Albert Magnoli . Take it Easy reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 . In the same year When the Rain Comes Down (1986) was released for the soundtrack Miami Vice II and reached number 73 on the US singles charts.
For his first solo album Thunder , Taylor teamed up with Steve Jones. Jones was involved in the composition of most of the songs on the album and plays guitar alongside Taylor on the album. Both produced together in the summer of 1986 at The Record Plant studios in Los Angeles . The album was released in March 1987 and reached number 61 on the UK album chart and number 46 on the Billboard 200 .
He subsequently produced bands such as Gun and Slide and wrote the song Dead on the Money for the score for Tequila Sunrise by Robert Towne .
The second solo album Dangerous consisted of covers only and was produced by Taylor in the summer of 1990 at Trident II Studios in London . On the album Taylor edited titles by Thin Lizzy , Foreigner , AC / DC , JJ Cale and the Rolling Stones, among others . Session musicians such as drummer David Palmer, percussionist Luis Jardim, saxophonist Gary Barnacle and bassist Richard "Cass" Lewis were involved in the recordings. The released cover version of the Kinks song Lola only reached number 60 in the British charts in October 1990.
In 1996 Taylor reunited with Power Station for the album Living in Fear and went on tour.
From 2001 he played again with Duran Duran, released the album Astronaut with the band and took part in the world tour before the band again announced Taylor's departure in October 2006.
Discography (excerpt)
- with Duran Duran → see Duran Duran / discography
- with Power Station → see Power Station
- as a producer
- 1988: Out of Order , Rod Steward
- 1990: Backstreet Symphony , Thunder (Geffen / EMI)
- 1990: Not a pretty sight , Skin and Bones (DGC)
- 1991: Soul Destruction , The Almighty (Polydor)
- 1992: Laughing on Judgment Day , Thunder (DGC)
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1987 | Thunder |
UK61 (1 week) UK |
US46 (17 weeks) US |
First published: April 1987
|
more publishments
- 1990: Dangerous
- 1999: The Spanish Sessions EP (with Luke Morley)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1986 | Take It Easy Thunder |
UK95 (1 week) UK |
US24 (17 weeks) US |
First published: May 1986
|
| When The Rain Comes Down Thunder |
- |
US73 (6 weeks) US |
First published: October 1986
|
|
| 1990 | Lola Dangerous |
UK60 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 1990
|
| Stone Cold Sober Dangerous |
UK94 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: November 1990
|
|
Publications
- Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran . Autobiography. Grand Central Publishing, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-446-50930-5 .
Web links
- Works by and about Andy Taylor in the catalog of the German National Library
- Andy Taylor at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Duran Duran at Allmusic (English)
- ↑ The Power Station at Allmusic (English)
- ↑ a b c Andy Taylor. In: billboard.com. Retrieved September 20, 2011 .
- ↑ a b Andy Taylor in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ^ Andy Taylor splits with Duran Duran. In: billboard.com. Retrieved September 20, 2011 .
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Skin-Bones-Not-A-Pretty-Sight/release/2435398
- ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Taylor, Andy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Taylor, Andrew |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English guitarist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 16, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cullercoats , Tyne and Wear , England |