Boys on film: Duran Duran photographs exhibited in Birmingham

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-32327470

Version 0 of 1.

Previously unseen photographs of Duran Duran are to go on display in the band's home city of Birmingham.

They were taken during the height of the group's fame by rock photographer Denis O'Regan, who joined the Sing Blue Silver tour in 1983 and 1984.

The pictures show Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and Simon Le Bon on and off stage in France, Japan and North America.

Duran Duran were formed in Birmingham in 1978, with core members Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor still in the line-up today.

The band had a string of hits in both the UK and US, including Hungry Like The Wolf and Rio.

O'Regan said his work "documents the excitement of the shows, the hysteria and mayhem that surrounded them, and the tedium of life on the road as they became prisoners of their own success."

Keyboard player Rhodes said: "We had seen the stunning results Denis achieved with other artists and wanted him to do the same for us.

"It helped enormously that his personality fitted in so well too. We laughed a lot together.

"If you weren't able to keep up with the constant humour we survived on, you really didn't stand a chance."

The band are playing a few European festivals this summer before releasing their 14th album in September.

The exhibition, called Careless Memories, opens to the public at the Malmaison hotel on 23 April.