Arcadia were a new wave British group formed in 1985 by

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...

, and Roger Taylor of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...

as a side project during a break in the band's schedule. The project was active only during 1985 and 1986 and for just one album, '' So Red the Rose'', which was certified Platinum in the United States and included the singles "

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

", " Goodbye Is Forever", " The Flame", and " The Promise" (featuring

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

). Drummer Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and one music video ("Election Day"), and stated he was to be involved only in the recording side of the project (he also had minor involvement in The Power Station, the other Duran Duran splinter group, formed by Duran Duran's

Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pia ...

and John Taylor alongside Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson of

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

). The name of the band reportedly was inspired by the

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

painting '' Et in Arcadia ego'' (also known as "The Arcadian Shepherds").

Music career

''So Red the Rose'' (1985)

The group recorded just one album, the platinum-selling '' So Red the Rose''. It peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 23 in the US, and featured the UK/US Top 10 single "Election Day", as well as the top 40 hits "The Promise" and "Goodbye Is Forever". It also contains the single "The Flame" and the promo-singles "Missing", "El Diablo", and "Keep Me in the Dark". Simon Le Bon described ''So Red the Rose'' as "the most pretentious album ever made", while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

called it "the best album Duran Duran never made". Musicians who contributed to the album included guitarists

(

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

) and

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garson. He has als ...

, pianist

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

(who provided backing vocals on "The Promise"),

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

(who provided the spoken-word intro/interlude on "The Flame" and "Election Day"), bass player Mark Egan of the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...

(whose distinctive fretless sound can be recognised in "The Promise", "El Diablo", and "Lady Ice"),

Masami Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician, coming to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the group Ippu-Do. His subsequent output includes solo work and collaborations. Tsuchiya's career in music started with ...

, and

David Van Tieghem David Van Tieghem (born April 21, 1955) is an American composer, percussionist and sound designer, best known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument and for his collaborations with the experimental artists ...

, a percussionist from New York. A video collection was also released which featured music videos for the singles directed by Roger Christian,

Marcelo Anciano Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos ...

, and Dean Chamberlain. The band also recorded and released the stand-alone single "Say the Word" for the '' Playing for Keeps'' movie soundtrack, which was not included on ''So Red the Rose''. EMI re-released the album as a three-disc box set in April 2010. This remastering collected all permutations and remixes of tracks released by the band. The third disc comprised the video collection on DVD, but it does not include the video for "Say the Word".

Band changes

Arcadia continued the Duran Duran tradition of a slick image. For the Arcadia incarnation of their ever-changing band aesthetic, Le Bon, Rhodes, and Roger Taylor donned an upmarket '

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

' look of black tuxedos, vintage formal wear, and bow ties. The three also dyed their hair black, as seen when they performed (as Duran Duran, with Andy and John Taylor) at the 1985

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. By the time the video for their single " The Flame" was made in early 1986 (in which John Taylor made a cameo), Rhodes had changed his hair colour to

golden blond Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a Human hair color, hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish co ...

and Le Bon had returned to his regular highlighted hairstyle.

Other appearances

The group made a variety of promotional appearances on television, but never toured. When Duran Duran released their '' Notorious'' album and toured, "Election Day" was included as part of the set along with "Some Like It Hot" from The Power Station. Drummer Roger Taylor retired from the music business for 15 years after the release of the Arcadia album, but returned in 2001 to rejoin the most famous classic Duran Duran lineup.

Band members

- vocals (1985-1986) *

- keyboards (1985-1986) * Roger Taylor - drums (1985)

Guest musicians

* Carlos Alomar : Guitar * Pierre Defaye : Violin * Rafael De Jesus : Percussion * Jean-Claude Dubois : Harp * Mark Egan : Bass on "The Promise", "El Diablo", and "Lady Ice" * David Gilmour : Guitar on "The Promise" and "Missing" * Herbie Hancock : Piano * Steve Jordan : Percussion * Grace Jones : Voice on "Election Day" * Andy Mackay : Saxophone * Sting : Vocals on "The Promise" * David Van Tieghem : Percussion

Discography

Studio album

Singles

Videography

Video albums

Music videos

References

External links

So Red The Rose
Arcadia archive and fansite {{Authority control Duran Duran English art rock groups English new wave musical groups English pop music groups British synth-pop new wave groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Spin-offs 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom