London, UK – Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor is stepping down from the group and will retire from drumming due to a “worsening of his recently diagnosed tinnitus,” the band said.
Formed in Birmingham, central England, in 1978, Duran Duran was one of the leaders of the UK “New Romantic” movement and enjoyed huge success in Britain and the US in the 1980s.
With hits such as Girls on Film, Rio, and Hungry Like the Wolf, the line-up of Taylor with frontman Simon Le Bon, keyboard player Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, and guitarist Andy Taylor helped define the music of the decade.
Announcing his retirement, the band said he had been “at the heart of Duran Duran’s sound across two remarkable chapters.”
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“He played on the band’s era-defining early records, then returned for the celebrated reunion of the original line-up in 2001, writing and playing on six additional chart-topping albums and performing with them to millions of fans around the world,” it said in a statement on Instagram on Thursday.
Taylor, who now lives in the US, described stepping back as “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
“Playing drums in this band has been the joy of my life, and I’ll never be able to properly thank the fans for the love they’ve shown us over the years,” he said.
“But the truth is that my tinnitus has been getting steadily worse, and I’ve reached the point where I must now listen to my body and my doctors,” he added.
Remaining band members Le Bon, Rhodes, and John Taylor paid tribute to him.
“Roger is our brother. His drumming helped define the sound of Duran Duran,” they said.
“We completely support his decision and wish him health and happiness. He will always be part of this family,” they added.
The group, which is considered an innovator in the medium of early music videos, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the US in 2022.
People suffering from tinnitus hear sounds like ringing or buzzing when no sound is present.
