Duran Duran at BST Hyde Park 2026: Four Decades On and Still Hungry Like the Wolf

More than four decades after Duran Duran became one of the defining British bands of the 1980s, there is little evidence that Simon Le Bon and company are interested in behaving like a heritage act. At Hyde Park on Sunday, in front of a reported 65,000 people, they delivered two hours that leaned heavily on the hits without feeling like a trudge through the back catalogue.

They didn’t waste much time getting there either. Is There Something I Should Know? opened proceedings before A View to a Kill and Hungry Like the Wolf arrived in quick succession. Three enormous singles within the opening stretch might seem extravagant, but Duran Duran have enough of them to spare.

The current live band remains centred around Le Bon, keyboard player Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor, with guitarist Dom Brown, saxophonist Simon Willescroft and backing singers Anna Ross and Rachael O’Connor filling out the sound. It is a formidable live unit. John Taylor’s bass remains particularly important: those elastic, funk-influenced lines give songs such as The Reflex, Notorious and Rio much of their movement, while Rhodes’ keyboards ensure the band’s more atmospheric material retains its character rather than simply becoming louder festival-rock versions of the originals.

Le Bon, now 67, remains an engaging frontman and, importantly, the songs are still being performed with conviction rather than reverence. Invisible, from 2021’s Future Past, fitted comfortably among the older material, while a cover of ELO’s Evil Woman was one of the less predictable choices. Long-standing fans were also given Lonely in Your Nightmare, with the set reaching beyond the obvious greatest-hits package.

The day’s supporting bill was unusually well matched. Groove Armada and Melanie C both played DJ sets, while Nile Rodgers & CHIC provided what amounted to a masterclass in dance-floor songwriting. John Taylor even appeared during CHIC’s Good Times, before Rodgers returned the favour later in the evening by joining Duran Duran for Notorious and the newer Free to Love. Given Rodgers’ long history with the band, the appearance felt considerably more substantial than the usual festival guest spot.

Scissor Sisters were another highlight, bringing the necessary flamboyance and a notably tight live band. Melanie C joined them for Take Your Mama, adding another crowd-pleasing moment to a day that rarely seemed short of them.

Back with the headliners, Ordinary World and Come Undone provided the evening’s more restrained moments before things built again towards Planet Earth and Girls on Film, the latter worked into a medley with Psycho Killer. An encore of The Wild Boys, Save a Prayer and, inevitably, Rio was about as dependable a festival finish as Duran Duran could offer. There were pyrotechnics for The Wild Boys and a Hyde Park full of phone lights for Save a Prayer, but neither was required to carry the songs.

There was room for one particularly British diversion. With England due to face Mexico in the World Cup during the early hours, Le Bon dedicated Ordinary World to the national team and confidently predicted they would overcome Mexico and the altitude of the Azteca Stadium. England duly won 3-2.

Duran Duran have long since reached the point where nostalgia is unavoidable, but Hyde Park suggested nostalgia isn’t the whole story. The image remains immaculate, the choruses remain enormous and the audience knows every word. More importantly, the band underneath it all still sounds alive.

Four decades on, the pop veterans remain very much Hungry Like the Wolf.

BST Hyde Park 2026 continues with Pitbull on 10 July and Lewis Capaldi on 11 and 12 July.

Tickets and further information are available at www.bst-hydepark.com.