Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor says nuclear cancer drug has given him five more years

11 August, 2023

John Taylor, Simon Le Bon and Andy Taylor performing live on stage with Duran Duran

Former Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor has said a drug he is taking to treat his prostate cancer has extended his life by five years.

Taylor, 62, opened up about living with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer during an interview back in January. He had been diagnosed with the disease around four years prior. Last November, the musician was forced to miss the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony due to ongoing treatment.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast today (August 11), Taylor explained that Prof Sir Chris Evans, founder of the Cancer Awareness Trust, got in touch after he went public to offer him “a nuclear medicine, Lutetium-177, which is targeted so it only sees cancer cells”.

“It can’t see healthy cells,” he continued (via BBC News). “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”

Taylor had his first round of the innovative drug six weeks ago. “I’m in next week for another round,” he told the programme. Before accessing the treatment, the guitarist was on what he called “the blacklist”.

“I had to get in very, very good health to have this treatment,” he said. “So I really took care of myself in a different way. And then after the first round of treatment, I said, ‘If I’m OK, and you guys [his doctors] say I’m OK, is it OK to start work again?'”

John Taylor, Simon LeBon and Andy Taylor perform live at The Spectrum 03/10/1984 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
John Taylor, Simon LeBon and Andy Taylor perform live at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1984. CREDIT: Bill McCay/Getty Images

Taylor went on to say that he doesn’t want to be “a patient stuck in”, adding: “I want to be a working patient.” He then said that the drug – which he described as “a little beacon of hope” – had allowed him to work again.

The musician is due to release ‘Man’s A Wolf To Man’ – his first solo album in over 30 years – on September 8 via BMG (pre-order/pre-save here).

Elsewhere in the BBC interview, Taylor said he was “massively disappointed” to have missed Duran Duran’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last year. “A few days before, I couldn’t really stand up and play,” he recalled of his condition at the time.

Frontman Simon Le Bon explained at the ceremony how “four years ago, Andy was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer”, before reading a letter from his former bandmate onstage.

Taylor had not told the group about his illness until shortly before the Hall Of Fame event. He said on BBC Breakfast that Le Bon read the note with “real dignity”, adding: “He’s a very classy fella, I love him dearly.”

Next Saturday (August 19), Duran Duran will play a special benefit concert in honour of Taylor. Proceeds from the Northern California show will go to UK charity Cancer Awareness Trust.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Duran Duran were working with Andy Taylor again on a new album.

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