Arcadia -

Arcadia was an English art-pop trio that released the 1985 Capitol album So Red the Rose. The project comprised three-fifths of Duran Duran on pause from their main band.

Members: Simon Le Bon (vocals), Nick Rhodes (keyboards), Roger Taylor (drums)

Background

Arcadia formed in 1985 when Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes started a separate recording project while guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor pursued the Power Station. Drummer Roger Taylor joined as the project took shape.

Rhodes had co-founded Duran Duran in Birmingham in 1978 with John Taylor and singer-bassist Stephen Duffy. Roger Taylor entered the evolving lineup in 1979 after drumming with Birmingham group Scent Organs. Le Bon joined in May 1980 after a Rum Runner employee recommended him for the vacant singer position. The resulting five-man lineup released three studio albums and the 1984 concert album Arena.

Duran Duran completed the Sing Blue Silver tour in 1984, after which Rhodes rejected an extended break and called Le Bon about making a record. Le Bon abandoned plans for a Caribbean holiday and joined Rhodes for the new project. The pair initially planned to record several tracks, then invited Roger Taylor once the work expanded. Taylor divided his time between both Duran Duran offshoots but gravitated toward Arcadia because the Power Station already employed Chic drummer Tony Thompson. Rhodes chose the name Arcadia after encountering the phrase “Et in Arcadia ego” in a Nicolas Poussin painting at the Louvre in Paris. Arcadia entered Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris with producer Alex Sadkin and began the sessions for So Red the Rose.

Discography: