The band was already busy finding a singer before Andy joined; they talked about installing Elayne Griffiths, but soon realised that this won't work. The vocal job was offered then to Gordon Sharp from The Freeze, who had come down from Edinburgh and briefly stayed in Birmingham. But Sharp decided that Duran Duran's ambitions did not sit well with his own direction. Next recruited was Oliver Guy Watts, he lasted a few days.

Finally Fiona Kemp, a waitress at the Rum Runner, suggested her ex-boyfriend to come down and meet the band. The ex-boyfriend was no other than Simon Le Bon.

The poetry arrived; Simon Le Bon showed up on May 11th and completed what became known as the classic line-up:
John Taylor - bass
Nick Rhodes - synthesizer
Roger Taylor - drums
Andy Taylor - lead guitarist
Simon Le Bon - lead voice

Previously already being in bands (Bolleaux, Dog Days and Rov Ostrov), Simon, who comes from Pinner, was currently a first-year drama student at Birmingham University. He turned up for the audition wearing pink leopard-skin-print trousers, a suede jacket, sunglasses and pointy boots.

The other members of the band played him an instrumental backing track, they had been working on, when Simon returned the next afternoon and within this audition the song Sound Of Thunder was completed. Simon had a blue book, which was filled with lyrics and ideas for songs. The four members of Duran Duran were impressed. That book contained the lyrics for many of Duran's future compositions, but also for songs that have never been recorded, such as On A Dead Child, Underneath The Clocktower and Beverly Hills.


The following day, Simon took a taxi to Moseley with John Taylor after rehearsing at The Rum Runner. They were still getting to know each other, and Simon asked John what his ambition was. Simon was wondering how the band would gain street credibility. "Street credibility?", John replied, "Duran Duran has got about as much street credibility as Chanel N°19! We are in it for the big time, we are going to the top". Simon then first realised the band was a serious endeavour and they might actually succeed.
Within a few weeks, the band had put a set together, and played their first gig on July 16th at the Rum Runner. They went on stage to Tomorrow Belongs To Me from Cabaret, which launched into a cover version of Donna Summer's I Feel Love. Also, never recorded songs like Secret Success and Amy a Go Go have been on the setlist.

The Berrow brothers invested heavily in Duran Duran and formed the Tritec Music company, named after the triangular-themed bar inside the club, while the band played steadily around Birmingham:
July 19th - Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham

July 22nd - Holy City Zoo, Birmingham
Aug. 6th - Rum Runner, Birmingham

Sept. 16th - Hostaria One, Birmingham
Oct. 3rd - Aston University, Birmingham
Together with the band Bodysnatchers.
Oct. 4th - Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham
Together with the band Classix Nouveaux.

Oct. 9th - Lyceum Auditorium, London
Opening for Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls plus John Cooper Clarke.

The Berrows and the band then printed 5,000 labels with a new Duran Duran logo, designed by John Warwicker, and planned to independently release the previously recorded Planet Earth and Is There Anyone Out There? on the Tritec Music label.

This intention was finally scrapped when the band was signed several weeks later by a major label.

Oct. 22nd - Holy City Zoo, Birmingham
Dave Ambrose from EMI travelled to Birmingham to catch Duran at the Holy City Zoo on
this date. He was convinced that this band were going to be massive.

Oct. 24th - Cedar Ballroom, Birmingham

Nov. 9th - Marquee Club, London
Rob Hallett, a young agent from London, was impressed by the show Duran did at the Lyceum Auditorium, and offered the band this cancellation gig, standing in for The Associates.

Michael Berrow then mortgaged his house, raising the cash for a support slot on tour with Hazel O'Conner. Up to this point, Duran Duran played a number of club gigs, but now they stepped up to auditorium size venues with the support for the Hazel O'Conner and Megahype tour.

While touring with Hazel O'Connor, the band attracted more labels to sign them, resulting in a bidding war between EMI and Phonogram. And although Phonogram made the better offer, Duran Duran wanted to go with EMI.

  
Photos copyright Trevor Benbrook

These pictures have been taken by Trevor Benbrook, a Student Union photographer at the time, on Dec. 4th in Norwich at the University of East Anglia. On the following day (Dec. 5th), the band inked their record deal in London.

Dec. 8th, the band went to EMI's Manchester Square studios in London and demoed 4 tracks (Anyone Out There, Planet Earth, Friends Of Mine and Late Bar). Later that night, they played the Marquee Club in London.

Dec. 11th - The Venue, London

Dec. 13th, Sounds, a big music paper at the time, has the first National article about Duran Duran in their issue from December 13th. It was the New Romantic Movement; Beverley Glick (aka Betty Page) wrote about Spandau Ballet, a band from London, who was part of that movement. Duran read the article (issued September 13th in Sounds), haven't heard of that movement at that point, but suggested that it would fit perfectly to what they were doing. Even Simon then adopted the term into the lyrics for Planet Earth: "Like some new romantic looking for the TV sound". The guys invited Betty Page to meet them at the Rum Runner. She initially had doubts to go all the way up to Birmingham, but upon meeting the band, she was forced to reassess, and wrote an amazing first article about them:

By the end of 1980, everything was prepared for Duran Duran to finally get out there and to grab the world's attention! And that's what they did ...