In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran

Hearing the story from JT directly really brought the stories to life. His honesty and emotion really set the tone for the stories.

Finally having a glimpse into what their lives were really like at the height of their popularity was fun to hear.

Loved it. He is engaged and passionate. Great performance.

I enjoyed every minute of it.

His honesty really struck me. Any fan of the band will enjoy reliving the heydays!

It's John Taylor's voice narrating his own story, what's not to love? Yes, yes, I am a Durannie who has loved JT since 1983 when I was 13, but when I first read that he would be narrating his own story I was hesitant to buy it. He is, after all, a musician not an actor, so it could be stilted and dry. BUT JT is funny and does some great voices/parodies of various people, so it really brings the whole story to life. He's got such great perspective on his life too, but also walks you through his youth and early days in Duran in such detail you are reliving it all right there with him. I definitely was sad when the story came to a close. It was a lot of fun listening to him talk to me for so many hours. :)

So many: His memories of walking to church every day with his mom when he was a small child. His descriptions of how important fashion was to him waaay back in Birmingham and his rebellious teenage years. His interactions with his father.

The voices he mimics of all the people he talks about in his book. His humor. His lovely voice in general.

When his parents died.

I think you definitely get so much more with this audiobook than you would just reading his story. Definitely worth purchasing, even if you already owned the book.

As a fan of Duran Duran when I was a teenager, I enjoyed this look at what life was like for members of the band. In particular, I thought John's look at his early life, his flaws, drug use, and recovery was both brave and honest. The central question, perhaps, is how do people retain their humanity when beset with the excesses of superstardom? John Taylor recovered his humanity, and I felt happy for him when he did.

I have already listened to it twice already. I think it's great that John Taylor narrated this book as well. It brought me back to the 80's when I had Duran Duran all over my bedroom walls. I liked hearing about the bands rise to the top.

Listening to when John had basically taken the car keys away from his aging father brought back memories for me. Reminded me of times with my grandfather. Made me tear up.

I have seen Duran Duran in concert...nothing compares to that. But I did think it was awesome to listen to him narrate his book. I hope he does another.

I almost didn't get this due to one negative review indicating he was a wuss who had nothing bad to say about anyone. I'm glad I didn't listen - I didn't mind that the autobiography was so positive. He doesn't gloss over his own past, the gritty parts, etc., so I didn't have a problem.

I found it interesting because also I've always liked Duran Duran, I wasn't a "Durannie" back then, so I didn't realize it was John and Nick who formed the band and were the driving force through all of this. I had assumed it was Simon since he was the frontman, as it often is with bands. I also thought John was sort of the 'dumb blonde' of the band and was shocked he even came out with a book...shows how much I know!

I found myself interested throughout the whole program, and glad I took the chance to get to know him.

My heart broke a little bit when I realized that I was quickly coming to the end of this audio book. John became a treasured friend, someone who I quickly became accustomed spending my early morning driving time with, and also someone who I daydreamed about since the early 80's from the first moment I listened to Planet Earth!! I loved every single moment that I spent listening to John as he told his story of a young lad growing up in Birmingham, being a teen in the 70's music scene, meeting Nick Rhodes, and becoming a driving force behind Duran Duran. What I LOVED most was how authentic John was in telling his story. He didn't sugarcoat any of his mistakes, his drug and alcohol abuse, and being a lousy boyfriend. He was also such a true gentlemen by NOT dishing the dirt on his fellow bandmates and friends, and for that I respect him.

Recommend? If you were a Duranie then YES, of course you MUST read this. I was in love with John Taylor from the first moment I saw him. I knew one day that my last name would be Taylor...had to be, because I was so going to marry this man!! (Got the same last name just a different guy!!) I saved my money so that I could buy the teen mags that always had some type of poster of Duran Duran or one of the guys. My bedroom walls were one big Duran Duran collage with John being the main focus. What I learned from this audio was that all those years mooning over a fantasy has led me to now realize that John Taylor is so very human, down-to-earth, and truly someone I would be honored to call friend!

* Warning: Listening to this audio book can lead to hours spent on YouTube watching Duran Duran videos, interviews, and singing at the top of your lungs....Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand.....

Source: Audible.com
Narrator: John Taylor (I admit to pretending that he was sitting beside me in the car telling his story)
Length: 7 hours and 55 minutes


Six Sentence Bookish Thoughts #97
© 2013, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

To relive his moments and pain with his family. The addiction that crippled him and being able to kick the evil habit. Love this book! Nicely done John!

John, seeing his wonderful ride in a wonderful band Duran Duran.

Love the voices of his parents that he would mimick. it had me laughing.

I've never been a Duran Duran fan and I'm not sure why I even gave the book a try. Well I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed the book, I like John Taylor's style of writing and obvious honesty. The book helped me understand the 80's english music invasion and gave me a good appreciation for the key members of the group. JT did a great job reading, the best read by an author I've so far encountered.

Yes-Hearing the passion, excitement, sadness as John is reading his life story just made the audio edition unbeatable.

Listening to John's early life and the love for his parents. So sweet.

I loved relating to all the music that I loved in the 80's and just remembering my love of Duran Duran as a 18 year old!

How honest John is about himself and how much he is so self aware after everything he lived through.

Any 80s music/Duran Duran fans-a must read.

Anyone who lived through the 80's, witnessed the rise and fall of Punk, can remember reading Smash Hits, Melody Maker and NME every week without fail! Lay down your prejudice for all that is tainted by the Spandau Ballet types and listen to this tail of Roxy Music wannabes. A top draw pop tail with sex, drugs, guns, make up, a VW Golf, more drugs, Chic, a Sex Pistol and Robert Palmer and more drugs.

John Taylor delivers...

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The decline in health of John's Father and his eventual death.

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