Nick Rhodes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nick Rhodes
Rhodes in 2023
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas James Bates
Born	(1962-06-08) 8 June 1962 (age 63) Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Genres	Pop pop rock synth-pop new wave hard rock heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Musician producer
Instruments	Keyboards vocals
Years active	1978–present

Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English musician and producer. He is best known as a founding member and the keyboard player for the famous band Duran Duran.

Rhodes has also worked on other music projects outside of Duran Duran. In 1985, he released an album with Arcadia, which included other Duran Duran members. In 2002, he recorded music as the Devils with his longtime friend Stephen Duffy, who was the first singer for Duran Duran. In 2013, he released a project called TV Mania with former Duran Duran guitarist Warren Cuccurullo.

Early Days and Duran Duran

Nicholas James Bates was born in Birmingham, England. He left school in 1978 when he was sixteen years old. That same year, he started the band Duran Duran with his childhood friend John Taylor. Stephen Duffy, an art school friend, was also part of the early band.

They chose the name "Duran Duran" from a character in the sci-fi movie Barbarella. They made their first recordings on a cassette recorder above Nick's parents' toy shop. Their first live show was on 5 April 1979 in Birmingham.

Nick decided to change his name to Nick Rhodes because he liked how it sounded. He made this decision during the band's first official interview. The band started playing at a local club in Birmingham called the Rum Runner. The club owners became the band's managers. Nick also worked there as a disc jockey.

In 1980, the band's final lineup came together with guitarist Andy Taylor and lead singer Simon Le Bon. Soon after, they signed a record deal with EMI.

Nick Rhodes is said to own the name "Duran Duran." This was mentioned in the diaries of artist Andy Warhol. In 1986, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor left the band. They both returned in 2001 to reunite the band and create the Astronaut album.

His Role in Duran Duran

Rhodes in 1986

Duran Duran quickly became very successful. Nick Rhodes was a key part of their sound. He taught himself music and experimented with his analogue synthesisers. He created unique sounds that made Duran Duran stand out.

You can hear his special keyboard sounds in songs like "Save a Prayer" and "A View to a Kill." He also created the string sounds in "Come Undone" and "Ordinary World. His futuristic synth sounds were a big part of Duran Duran's first album.

Rhodes was also one of the first to see how important music videos would become. He encouraged the band to put a lot of effort into their early videos, even before MTV existed. When the band became famous, he was only around twenty years old. He often wore heavy makeup and changed his hair color, creating a unique and bold image.

By the late 1990s, Nick started writing lyrics for Duran Duran songs, along with the music. You can hear his digitally changed voice on the song "Medazzaland" from their 1997 album.

Producing Music

Rhodes performing on stage in 2015

Nick learned about music production while working in the studio with Duran Duran. He helped mix several songs on their Rio album. He also co-produced many of the band's later albums.

In 1983, he helped a band called Kajagoogoo. He co-produced their first song, "Too Shy," which became a number one hit in the UK.

In 1996, Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo wrote and produced three songs for the band Blondie. These songs were not used at the time. However, one of them, "Pop Trash Movie," was later recorded by Duran Duran for their 2000 album Pop Trash.

In 2002, Nick co-produced and played extra synthesizers on nine songs for the album Welcome to the Monkey House by the Dandy Warhols. In 2004, he produced the British pop group Riviera F for their first EP, International Lover.

Other Music Projects

While Duran Duran took a break in 1985, Nick Rhodes formed a side project called Arcadia with Simon Le Bon. This band had a moody sound with lots of keyboards.

Arcadia had a big hit song called "Election Day." Their only album, So Red the Rose, sold very well in the US. The band did not tour and ended when Duran Duran got back together in 1986.

In 1999, Rhodes worked again with Stephen Duffy, Duran Duran's first singer. They created new music based on some of the earliest songs they wrote together. This resulted in the album Dark Circles, released under the name the Devils. Also in 1999, Nick had a small voice role in the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

In 2006, Rhodes and John Taylor worked together on a music collection called Only After Dark. In 2011, Nick helped remix the song "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. Also in 2011, he wrote the afterword for a book about 1980s vinyl record covers.

In March 2013, TV Mania, a project by Rhodes and former Duran Duran guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, released their album Bored with Prozac and the Internet?. Nick also had a photography exhibition in London to celebrate the project's launch.

In 2021, Rhodes worked with Wendy Bevan on a series of albums called Astronomia. In 2022, he collaborated with other musicians on a cover of "Mahogany Wood" by the Residents.

Personal Life

Nick Rhodes met Julie Anne Friedman in 1982 and they got married on 18 August 1984. They have one daughter named Tatjana Lee Orchid, born in 1986. They divorced in 1992. Nick has had other long relationships but has not remarried.

Nick has always loved the art world. Early in his career, he became friends with the famous pop artist Andy Warhol. He often went to art exhibitions around the world. In 1984, he released his own book of abstract photographs called Interference. Many of these photos were shown at an exhibition in London. He still shows his photography sometimes.

In November 2011, Nick Rhodes received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts degree from the University of Bedfordshire. This award was for his important contributions to the music industry.

Nick has been a vegetarian for a long time, sometimes eating fish. He enjoys Italian, Lebanese, and Indian food. He moved to central London a few years after Duran Duran became famous and still lives there today.

Discography

with Duran Duran

• Duran Duran (1981)
• Rio (1982)
• Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)
• Notorious (1986)
• Big Thing (1988)
• Liberty (1990)
• Duran Duran (1993)
• Thank You (1995)
• Medazzaland (1997)
• Pop Trash (2000)
• Astronaut (2004)
• Reportage (2006; unreleased)
• Red Carpet Massacre (2007)
• All You Need Is Now (2010)
• Paper Gods (2015)
• Future Past (2021)
• Danse Macabre (2023)

with Arcadia

• So Red the Rose (1985)

with the Devils

• Dark Circles (2002)

with TV Mania

• Bored with Prozac and the Internet? (2013; recorded in 1996)

Compilation albums

• Only After Dark with John Taylor (2006)

Nick Rhodes and Wendy Bevan

• Astronomia I: The Fall of Saturn (2021)
• Astronomia II: The Rise of Lyra (2021)
• Astronomia III: Heaven and Hell in the Serpent's Tail (2021)
• Astronomia IV: The Eclipses of Algol (2021)

See also

In Spanish: Nick Rhodes para niños