John Taylor(IV)

Nigel John Taylor is most well-known for his bass work in the popular band, Duran Duran, which he also co-founded. As schoolboys, he and Nick would sit around and daydream about the band they would one day front. It was then that they finalized a timeline for the band: they were to play Hammersmith Odeon by 1982, Wembley Arena by 1983, and Madison Square Garden by 1984. They managed to accomplish their goal, and also became one of England's biggest acts worldwide. However, their success was short-lived as internal tensions drove the band to split in two. John, with guitarist Andy Taylor, formed the splinter group Power Station, with singer Robert Palmer and drummer Tony Thompson, most well-known for his drumming with Diana Ross, Chic and David Bowie. Power Station's music was more rock-oriented than what Duran Duran had been doing. Remaining members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor (no relation to the drummer of Queen, or either Taylor in the band) formed the avant garde band, Arcadia. These two bands, in turn, splintered Durannies (the fanatical, at times obsessive Duran Duran fans) into two groups as well, not knowing whose side to be on. This was a short-term problem, however, as Andy and Roger Taylor separately left the group in the 1985-1986 period. The recording of their fourth studio album, "Notorious", became a nightmare with remaining members arguing, John threatening to leave the group too, and them having to resort to suing Andy to get him to come record. No one is now sure which guitarist appears on what song (aside from Andy, they also used Nile Rodgers on some songs, who also produced the album, and Warren Cuccurullo, formerly of Missing Persons and later to become a member of Duran Duran). By the release of their album, their popularity had waned, especially when fans heard a different, more mature sound. They were no longer just pop, and had ventured into a more funky territory. As their popularity waned and all but dried up into the rest of the 80s and early 90s, John met and eventually married hopeful actress Amanda De Cadenet. The two also had a daughter a couple months later, Atlanta Noo Taylor (Noo is short for Noodlehead, not Knew as the press reported). The marriage was short-lived, as arguments and rumours of infidelity caused the couple to file for separation in 1995. Their divorce was finalized in 1997.

Around this time, John's tensions with the band reached a head. With each album, John threatened more and more to leave the band and, in early 1997 at the DuranCon, he finally announced to everyone, including the band, that he was leaving. He'd already recorded and released some solo material, so he wasn't really leaving to go solo, at least not in terms of music. With his divorce and drug problems (since the early 90s, he'd tried to kick his coke habit), he felt he needed to be free of everything for once. In 1999, he finally regained some stability in his life and married Gela Nash, co-founder of the hugely successful "Juice Couture". Also, in 2001, things came full circle as he and the rest of the Taylors announced they would be rejoining Duran Duran.