Duran Duran: AO Arena Manchester

Editor Stephen Hill 30th April 2023

New romantic pop band Duran Duran hit the stage at Manchester AO Arena tonight. As fans lined the city centre's streets ready to welcome the 80s pop icons, Duran Duran was readying themselves for a momentous night. 

Kick-starting their FUTURE PAST UK & Ireland tour at Manchester’s AO Arena, they were greeted with a hero's welcome. Last night (April 29) marked Duran Duran’s first UK concert since headlining London’s Hyde Park in the summer of 2022 in front of 60,000 fans.

It’s not that often with older bands like this that you can feel the electricity in the crowd so early on, but support act Jake Shears has an easy job tonight as the whole room is in a party spirit from the get-go. 

As he works through the expected “best of Scissor Sisters” set, there’s much dancing and singing along, which helps greatly when he’s trying to sell his newer material; they are eating out of his hand. It’s been 20 years since they supported Duran Duran at the Manchester Arena, back in 2003.

Finally Duran Duran came on stage and they did not disappoint the 21,000 fans that attended the show this evening.  Using state-of-the-art Augmented Reality technology, the crowd was treated to an unforgettable experience, with some surprising moments throughout the set. Following an extraordinary pre-show film where metahuman versions of the band prepare for a futuristic voyage to Earth from outer space, Duran Duran arrived on stage at 9 pm sending the crowd into a frenzy.

After performing Night Boat and Wild Boys, frontman Simon Le Bon greeted fans saying: “Good evening Manchester! How are you feeling? It’s going to be a good night tonight, we are counting on you!” As he introduced Notorious, the whole arena were up on their feet dancing: “So what do you say when I say no, notorious? Are you ready for this?!” The crowd was more than ready.

The icons of British music delivered an incredible show playing some of their most beloved songs including Wild Boys, Hungry Like The Wolf.

After performing Careless Memories, Simon said: “There’s not a lot of songs we’ve got that can follow that. But we’ve got a song we put out in 1993. It saved the life of this band. And so it’s very special. It means different things to different people, and everyone’s interpretation counts. That’s what keeps a song alive in people’s hearts. Whatever you think it’s about, this is for you tonight. This is Ordinary World.”

After performing ANNIVERSARY, Planet Earth, White Lines, The Reflex and Girls on Film, the crowd erupted with deafening cheers and rapturous applause, demanding an encore. Returning to the stage to perform Come Undone as a duet with backing singer Anna Ross, Simon said: “So! I think you’re properly warmed up now. Do you feel you are? Could you go all night? You should say to yourselves - I am looking good tonight! Everyone does!” Following tonight’s momentous welcome to Manchester, after leading a mass singalong of Save A Prayer and Rio, the band were met with a standing ovation. Simon said: “Thank you so much Manchester, you sound great!”