Duran Duran have announced the release of an exciting new live concert film, Secret Oktober, available exclusively on StagePlayer+ from Friday 25th October, in time for Halloween 2024.
Secret Oktober presents the origin story of Duran Duran’s latest studio album, Danse Macabre. The concert film was recorded at the Encore Theatre at Wynn, Las Vegas, October 31st, 2022. Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor, in full costume, took to the stage complete with 20-foot high skeletons, tombstones, cobwebs, coffins and ghouls, for a unique, themed set. The ultimate Halloween party ensued.
The concert film includes a parade of rarities and special covers – Duran Duran’s first live performance of ‘Secret Oktober’ since 2011, their first of ‘Love Voodoo’ since 2017, and first of ‘Nightboat’ since 2005. Covers of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘Spellbound’, Cerrone’s ‘Supernature’ and The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’ were also debuted in what has gone down in Duran Duran history as a Halloween show for the ages. The band and their audience had so much fun that they decided to put the set down in the studio, creating a worldwide annual Halloween event for all of the band’s fans to enjoy, immortalised in their latest album Danse Macabre.
Secret Oktober is available to watch via the StagePlayer+ app on Amazon Fire TV, LG, Samsung, Netgem (ISP partners include TalkTalk, Community Fibre, and others), casting to Apple TV and Roku devices, or via browser at: https://www.stageplayerplus.com/duranduran. A digital download of Danse Macabre De Luxe comes free to all fans who purchase the film.
The Secret Oktober film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Gavin Elder, who has worked and collaborated with Duran Duran for over 20 years, most recently on the band’s globally released docu-concert film, A Hollywood High.
Speaking about the Secret Oktober concert film, Duran Duran founding member and keyboardist Nick Rhodes said:
“October 31st 2022 is where our strange journey into the world of Halloween began. It was dark, we didn’t have a torch and we somehow wandered down a pathway that led us to some surprising places… First was this show in Vegas, where we reimagined some of our own songs and played them alongside appropriately themed cover versions by some of our favourite artists. Our longtime collaborator, Gavin Elder, filmed the performance and managed to capture the spirit of the project (pun intended), with all the madness, dark humour and energy it has created.
Often spontaneous ideas turn out to be the most special. Last year we released the Danse Macabre studio album and now we continue the celebration this year by streaming the Secret Oktober film, on the days leading up to our Halloween show at Madison Square Garden.”
The Secret Oktober concert film arrives amongst a wave of celebratory activity. On 31st October 2024, Duran Duran will summon all Halloween enthusiasts to show up, dress up, and celebrate All Hallows’ Eve in style for a special live show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a major performance following their huge headline show at Latitude 2024 this summer.
To celebrate the first anniversary of the Danse Macabre album, a De Luxe version of the original is now available digitally, with CD and box set formats coming on 25th October via Tape Modern under exclusive licence to BMG. The De Luxe CD and digital editions feature three new bonus tracks – an instrumental entitled ‘Masque of the Pink Death,’ a cover of ELO’s ‘Evil Woman’ (currently on the BBC Radio 2 Playlist) and ‘New Moon (Dark Phase)’, a reimagined version of their classic song ‘New Moon On Monday’ from the Seven and The Ragged Tiger album, featuring Andy Taylor. The limited-edition, three LP vinyl box set, includes a bonus disc featuring seven new tracks, four of which are not available in any other format. The Halloween-inspired box also includes a spirit board, metal planchette, bespoke tarot cards, four art prints, and a booklet.
In each format, Danse Macabre – De Luxe contains the original collection of 13 songs, including haunting covers of Billie Eilish’s ‘Bury A Friend’, Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ featuring Victoria De Angelis, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black,’ and The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town,’ plus new versions of Duran Duran classics from their own catalogue. Guest artists include producer, guitarist, and composer Nile Rodgers, Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin, and former Duran Duran band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo. Exquisitely packaged, the record features images adapted from a collection of authentic vintage séance photos that Nick Rhodes sourced at auction.
Danse Macabre will also be available in an innovative, limited-edition version KiTalbum. Duran Duran have announced an exclusive collaboration with South Korean-based media and music technology company, KiTbetter to create the Danse Macabre KiTalbum – a new format that unites the physical and digital worlds within a special mobile-based KiTplayer (available for both Android and iOS) to create a full album experience.
The Danse Macabre – De Luxe KiTalbum comes in an exclusive coffin-shaped, foiled box and includes an insert card, four exclusive photo cards in an envelope, a 22-page album booklet, a wearable button, and a customised black ball chain. The KiTalbum unlocks the experience on the KiTplayer where, in addition to the full 16 album tracks, the stunning music videos for both ‘Black Moonlight’ and ‘Danse Macabre’, the lyric videos for ‘Psycho Killer’ and ‘Evil Woman’, documentary footage about the making of the record, song lyrics and exclusive photos are featured, together with a special VIP fan hub.
Danse Macabre has been described as “great ghoulish fun” by the Evening Standard, “an outrageous soundtrack for the witching hour” by the Daily Telegraph, “a treat” by the Daily Mirror, “Spooky fun” in The Times, “a demonic delight” by the Daily Star, with Sunday Times Culture confirming, “they’ve hit a purple patch.”
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