JOHN

Music of the Year
I am always all over the map, you know me. I really like the Megan Thee Stallion album, I listened to it a few times and started to warm to it. A few songs surprised me. I like Simon's WHOOOSH! playlists, there's always interesting. I watch quite a lot of TV and a really good TV show has a really good playlist.

Movie of 2020
I can't remember seeing anything that blew my socks off. I liked "Hillbilly Elegy," but I haven't seen a lot.

Binged TV of 2020
It has been a good year for TV. I liked "Roadkill," I loved "Queen's Gambit." "Dublin Murders" I was very into. I really liked "Mrs America." "The Crown" is magnificent.

Podcast of 2020
I listen to "I'm Over It".

Something that Happened in 2020 that You Hope to Never Experience Again
I am really glad to have the antibodies for COVID since I had it in March so...having COVID.

Something You Did in 2020 That You Hadn't Done in a Long Time
(long long silence....) Wow. Can I call a friend? I have been doing my art work pretty consistently, so that wasn't new. Maybe doing the Tutorials.

Event(s) of 2020
ZOOM. For all of the fault finding and criticism, it has been a sanity saver for me and many, many people I know. As much as we'd rather do this in person, and we've been stuck in our intimacy cells, ZOOM allows us to interface with a larger pool of friends. Not sure what I would have done without it.

Looking Forward to in 2021
I don't want to get political, but I do want an end to all of this here in America. I'd like to play some concerts next summer. I'd initially been cavalier about all this, and then seeing how it unfolded... I take it one day at a time. All of us, psychologically, have been challenged. I just want to be able to look back on this period and know I didn't handle it like a chump.

ROGER

Music of the Year
I don't usually choose our own music but we have been mixing and updating the new record remotely and , I have to say, it sounds incredible. We have been so fortunate to have something to work on.

I am a little bit late to the table with Miley Cyrus, but I've really liked her new record! I really love "Nothing Breaks like a Heart," what a voice she has. And , from Yorkshire, I really like Working Men's Club. They remind me of early Simple Minds a bit.

Movie of 2020
I watched "1917" at the beginning of this year, and that's my favourite of the year. I love a good war movie. I heard a lot about the war years growing up and we were brought up with it, so it's interesting to see the detail of what happened back then.

Binged TV of 2020
We don't really watch any TV in this house but what I have "binged" on was the News! In 2020, I've been glued to it!!

Best Books You've Heard or Read in 2020
I haven't been able to read my yearly Biography, which is what I do when I travel. I did read "The Theatre for Dreamers" by Polly Samson and really liked it.

Something that Happened in 2020 that You Hope to Never Experience Again
I never want to go through a pandemic again! We're used to freedom and that was taken away - for good reason - but it was hard to get used to.I have a real appreciation for our freedom.

Something You Did in 2020 That You Hadn't Done in a Long Time
We played some checkers, that was a bit desperate! But actually, we bought a dog! And that was something I hadn't done in years. I had a dog in my twenties, but I'd forgotten what beautiful animals dogs are and how amazing they are.

Event(s) of 2020
The arrival of the COVID vaccine, which, to me, is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Looking Forward to in 2021
Playing shows again with the band. We are really excited about it happening again! We have the feeling that by next summer, we will be out there and playing shows.

NICK

Music of the Year
I seem to have moved back toward my classical roots. Classical has been quite inspirational for me and , actually, I've created a lot of music. I've made 4 instrumental albums with Wendy Bevan, that I think we're going to release quarterly starting in the Spring. I've also listened to a lot of ambient music, chill-out playlists, hip hop, and film music, especially Nino Rota.

Movie of 2020
Thus far, I've seen nothing significant in 2020. I've tried to re-mine fabulous movies of the past, and went through some French Surrealist films and Jodorowsky films. I also watched a lot of documentaries.

Binged TV of 2020
When this season of "Black Mirror" came out, I watched, and I think it was early 2020. I also decided to watch all the seasons of "Stranger Things"; I thought Winona Ryder was great. Of course I watched "Tiger King," which I found both incredibly entertaining and horrifying.

Book of 2020
I started re-reading Dracula, but we all know how that ends! If I wasn't reading art of photography books, then I was reading news about technology, music and theatre online.

Podcast of 2020
Nothing for me this year.

Something that Happened in 2020 that You Hope to Never Experience Again
A pandemic! We have never lived through such a catastrophic event and it showed we took a lot for granted. You could have never imagined that we'd end up in a state where the simplest things become so complicated. It has had a profound effect on everyone.

Something You Did in 2020 That You Hadn't Done in a Long Time
Some positives were that I started to write music very freely. I also got the chance to log thousands of digital photos. I got to see my daughter more often, which was very nice. And I also transferred many of my written lists online!

Event(s) of 2020
Pre-pandemic:
*I went to the Scottish Highlands for Burns Night.
*I did some filming with Mark Ronson for his upcoming documentary.
*In February, I went to Pam Hogg's Fashion Show at Victoria House.
*On March 10, John and I attended the Warhol Retrospective at the Tate Modern, which was beautifully curated.
Post-pandemic:
*Duran Duran received the Yuri's Night award for the performance we did at the Kennedy Space Center.
*The US Presidential Election had a fair outcome.

Looking Forward to in 2021
Normality!
Joy!
Hope!
Sensitivity!
Regaining empathy around the world!
People caring more about the environment and other nations!
The end of this wretched virus!
Duran Duran putting out an album!
Duran Duran playing concerts!

SIMON

Music of the Year
I'd actually say it's a track by FOR THOSE I LOVE with "I Have a Love." It's extraordinary, you have to listen to it. I was also turned on by Sinead O'Brien, another spoken word song. So many highlights for me: Blood Orange, Caveman, Working Men's Club, the list goes on and on and on. I am very pleased, and invested, in WHOOOSH!, my show with Katy.

Movie of 2020
I saw Jojo Rabbit in 2020. I loved that movie. It was amazing, what an incredible piece of work by Taika Waitiki. It was a brilliant movie and it meant so much to me. It's as valid as any other movie about World War II.

Binged TV of 2020
Absolutely genius - The Queens Gambit. I think Anna Taylor-Joy is a real talent.

Best Books You've Heard or Read in 2020
I'm still reading Milkmen. There are a set of 9 books by Len Deighton, three sets of three novels focused on Bernard Samson. I've listened to all 9 of them and the prequel.

Podcast of 2020
I like true crime podcasts, The Missing Cryptoqueen really stuck with me. It's about a woman from Bulgaria that launched a so-called crypto currency on the world, but it wasn't a proper currency in any way whatsoever. It's so interesting.

Something that Happened in 2020 that You Hope to Never Experience Again
Corona Virus. Lockdown. We've had a shit year, but we've all just had to make the most of what we had to deal with.

Something You Did in 2020 That You Hadn't Done in a Long Time
Listen to loads and loads of new band and artists.

Event(s) of 2020
The awful incident with George Floyd. The whole Black Lives Matter movement and how it developed. It awakened the world.

Looking Forward to in 2021
Releasing our new album, playing new shows, getting on the road with Duran Duran. Oh - and Hyde Park on July 11!