John Taylor Seven and the Ragged Tiger One

Color photograph of John Taylor in black with red sleeves and white text

English musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor John Taylor (born June 20, 1960) is one of the founding members of Duran Duran. Duran Duran was a popular new wave and synth-pop band that first emerged in the late 1970s and went on to achieve international success in the 1980s and 90s. Taylor played bass guitar in Duran Duran from 1978 through 1997, when he left the band to pursue a solo career. John Taylor reunited with the original five members of Duran Duran in 2001 and has continued to play with the band since.

Released in November 1983, Seven and the Ragged Tiger is Duran Duran’s third studio album. After the massive success of their previous two albums, Duran Duran struggled to write and record new material for Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Although the album was commercially successful, eventually becoming Duran Duran’s first and only number one album in the United Kingdom, critical reaction was mixed. In an interview with AV Club/Music, John Taylor looks back fondly on his band’s third album: “I love the sound of that album now. It’s just not in-your-face like the first albums. It’s a much softer, much more subtle seduction…We were trying to be grown up.”