Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer)
Roger Andrew Taylor (born 26 April 1960) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the new wave band Duran Duran from their inception until 1985, and again from 2001 onwards. Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records worldwide.[1] Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022 as a member of Duran Duran.[2]
Roger Taylor
Musician
1979–1986; 1994–1995; 1997–present
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Giovanna Cantone(m. 1984; div. 2005)
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Gisella Bernales(m. 2007)
4
- Drums
- percussion
Life and career[edit]
Early life[edit]
Roger Andrew Taylor was born into a modest family and was brought up in the Shard End area of Birmingham until the age of 11, and then a small suburban house in Castle Bromwich (15 Hawthorne Road). His father worked in the car industry. He began drumming at around the age of 12, teaching himself by playing along with his favourite records. His first ambition was to be a goalkeeper for English football club Aston Villa, and as a child he was taken to every home match by his father. He would eventually "play" at Villa Park but as Duran Duran's drummer for their 1983 charity concert there.[3] Taylor has cited Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones and Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees as two of his favourite drummers.[4]
Before joining Duran Duran, Taylor performed with several school (Park Hall School in Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire) and local club bands. After being inspired by the punk bands playing at Barbarellas club in Birmingham, he formed the new wave/punk outfit Scent Organs, who became regional finalists in the Melody Maker young band of the year in 1978, and was briefly a member of post-punk band Cult Figures. After Scent Organs split in 1979, he joined Duran Duran. He became known as 'the quiet one' and has said that he has always preferred to speak through his drums.
Personal life[edit]
Taylor has three children with his first wife Giovanna Cantone, whom he later divorced. In 2004, he was named Britain's fifth most eligible bachelor in the UK high society magazine Tatler, alongside Prince William and Hugh Grant. Taylor married Peruvian national Gisella Bernales on the Caribbean island of St Lucia in 2007. She gave birth to their first child on 9 July 2011.