Overview
- Roger Taylor said on Thursday that he is stepping down from Duran Duran and retiring from playing drums after a recent diagnosis of tinnitus that has steadily worsened.
- Taylor’s final performance with the band was at Madrid’s Movistar Arena on Nov. 6, which closed their fall UK and European tour.
- Bandmates Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor issued a joint statement backing his decision and saying he will always be part of the band’s family.
- Taylor joined the group in 1979, played on the band’s early era-defining albums, left in the mid-1980s, rejoined for the 2001 reunion and contributed to six further studio records.
- Tinnitus is a chronic hearing condition linked to noise exposure and hearing loss, and Taylor’s decision to stop playing aims to protect his long-term hearing and could affect the band’s touring and recording plans as they seek a replacement.