Duran Duran Announce Tour Dates and Discuss New Album Paper Gods

The Timex Watch of bands Duran Duran have announced tour dates in support of their upcoming album Paper Gods.

On Tour:
June 20: Sonar by Night Festival, Barcelona
June 27: Night At The Park, The Hague, Netherlands
June 28: Killarney Festival, Kerry, Ireland
Aug. 5: FreakOut! Festival, Riverhead, N.Y.
Aug. 6: Musikfest, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, Penn.
Sept. 1: Heart at the Ibiza Gran Hotel, Ibiza
Sept. 5: Gibraltar Music Festival @ Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar
Sept. 11: Bestival @ Robin Hill Park, Isle of Wight, U.K.
Sept. 20: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo. (with Chic)
Sept. 23: Washington State Fair, Puyallup, Wash. (with Chic)
Sept. 25: Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, Nev.
Sept. 26: Life Is Beautiful Festival, Las Vegas
Sept. 27: Cal Coast Union Open Air Theatre, San Diego
Oct. 1: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles (with Chic)
Oct. 2: The Greek Theatre, Berkeley, Calif. (with Chic)
Oct. 3: The Show, Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Nov. 27: Manchester Arena, Manchester, U.K.
Nov. 28: First Direct Arena, Leeds, U.K.
Nov. 30: Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, U.K.
Dec. 2: Brighton Centre, Brighton, U.K.
Dec. 4: Genting Arena, Birmingham, U.K.
Dec. 5: Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, U.K.
Dec. 6: The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
Dec. 8: The O2, London, U.K.
Dec. 9: Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, U.K.
Dec. 11: Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, U.K.
Dec. 12: Echo Arena, Liverpool, U.K.

The first single will be "Pressure Off" featuring the extremely talented guitarist John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers and amazing eclectic solo work) and Janelle Monae. Paper Gods also includes collaborations with Mark Ronson old friend and former producer - musical legend  Nile Rodgers (Chic). And in the stunt casting bad idea of the year - the album also apparently features Lindsay Lohan.

Discussing tour plans on Duran's website, singer Simon Le Bon said “I’ve loved making the album, but I still feel most at home on stage.” Nick Rhodes (keyboards) added, “Simon gets a bit funny if he’s not in front of a crowd for too long. The new songs feel like they should go down very well when we play them live.”

In a press statement John Taylor (bass) said “It really goes back to that strange early Duran mix: the hard-edged pop, coexisting with this dark, weird, experimental side.” Nick Rhodes (keyboards) added, “That’s something that’s essential to all of us. It’s great to be able to lift people’s spirits—and your own—with a strong shot of pure pop, but the world we live in isn’t all just made of that stuff, so it seems natural to me that we have kept one foot in the darker, more Gothic side of life.”

Well, they're no Bauhaus, but here's hoping the band will include some of the elements they've explored via the side project Arcadia as well as on singles such as "Out of My Mind."