When Duran Duran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November, it turned into a bittersweet moment when the band revealed that former guitarist Andy Taylor is battling Stage 4 prostate cancer. Taylor, who hasn’t performed with Duran Duran since 2006, was initially intending on joining his former bandmates for the ceremony, though his condition prevented him from doing so.
Taylor, 62, has opened up about his condition in a new interview with the U.K.’s 5 News, in which he urged men to get tested if they notice symptoms. The musician said he was diagnosed five years ago after going jogging and experiencing “what you would think was as kind of maybe arthritic sort of pain.” Soon, he noticed growths that “felt like tumors” on his neck and had a biopsy done. Taylor recalled the moment he received the diagnosis: “I’m like, ‘Yeah, well, my dad had that. I understand.’ [The doctor] said, ‘But it’s stage 4, metastatic … which is a death sentence.’”
As for the Rock Hall ceremony, Taylor said, “I did a lot of preparation with those those fabulous people.” When he realized he’d have to miss the ceremony, he came up with a Plan B. “I wrote a letter to the band, just explaining the situation, and they very graciously, generously read that out before the ceremony,” he said. “And that’s when it went public.”
In the interview, the guitarist said he felt that sharing his health news gave him a platform to talk about prostate cancer. He implored other men to get screened, and suggested ladies should “give them a nudge, go get a test.” As for his status, he offered, “there’s some new treatments that can help me. And I just thought I’m just going to live life. … Every minute is like an hour, every day is like a week You really want to get the most out of life. And I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had so much in terms of living the dream.”
See the full interview below.
