Editing John Taylor (bass guitarist) (section)

==Career==
===1978–1997: Duran Duran and the Power Station===

In 1978, Taylor and school friend [[Nick Rhodes]] formed [[Duran Duran]] with [[Stephen Duffy]] while attending the School of Foundation Studies & Experimental Workshop at Birmingham Polytechnic (now [[Birmingham City University]]). Soon after, Taylor underwent an "[[ugly duckling]]" transformation—ditching the glasses for [[contact lens]]es, adopting the ruffles and sashes of the fashion that would become known as the [[New Romantic]] style, and learning to wear eyeliner and lipstick. He stopped using the name "Nigel", and has been known throughout his professional career as John Taylor.

Taylor played guitar when Duran Duran was founded, but switched to bass guitar after discovering the funky rhythms of [[Chic (band)|Chic]], and learned to enjoy playing in the [[rhythm section]] with Duran's newly recruited drummer [[Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer)|Roger Taylor]]. He has frequently cited [[Chic (band)|Chic]]'s [[Bernard Edwards]] and [[the Clash]]'s [[Paul Simonon]] as his strongest influences, in addition to [[Paul McCartney]], [[James Jamerson]], and Roxy Music players [[Graham Simpson (musician)|Graham Simpson]] and [[John Porter (musician, born 1947)|John Porter]]. Duran Duran released their first album in 1981, and went on to worldwide success in the early 1980s.

In 1985, after recording the [[A View to a Kill (song)|theme song]] to the Bond movie ''[[A View to a Kill]]'', Duran Duran split into two side projects. John Taylor and guitarist [[Andy Taylor (guitarist)|Andy Taylor]] joined forces with former Chic drummer [[Tony Thompson (drummer)|Tony Thompson]] and [[Robert Palmer]], who earlier met at [[Duran Duran's charity concert at Villa Park 1983]], to form the band [[The Power Station (band)|the Power Station]]. With the guidance of producer Bernard Edwards, they released one album, ''The Power Station'', which produced the hit singles "[[Some Like It Hot (song)|Some Like It Hot]]" and the [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] cover song "[[Get It On (T. Rex song)|Bang a Gong (Get It On)]]".
That year, Taylor also launched his first solo effort, recording the single "[[I Do What I Do (Theme for 9½ Weeks)|I Do What I Do...]]" for the soundtrack to the movie ''[[9½ Weeks]]'' starring [[Kim Basinger]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/9-1-2-weeks-mw0000191234|title=Original Soundtrack 9 1/2 Weeks|publisher=allmusic.com|access-date=30 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=9 1/2 WEEKS|url=https://moviepie.com/9-1-2-weeks/|access-date=7 December 2021|website=Moviepie.com|date=23 September 2012 }}</ref> He also wrote some instrumental music for the movie's score with collaborator [[Jonathan Elias]].

When Andy and Roger Taylor left the band, the three remaining members reformed Duran Duran for the 1986 ''[[Notorious (Duran Duran album)|Notorious]]'' album, and continued to record and tour throughout the 1990s with new guitarist [[Warren Cuccurullo]].

On 24 December 1991, Taylor married [[Amanda de Cadenet]], who was already pregnant with his daughter Atlanta (born 31 March 1992). He moved from England to Los Angeles to help further his wife's acting career, as well as to escape constant attention from the British tabloids. Taylor's marriage declined even as Duran Duran's star rose with the success of 1993's ''[[Duran Duran (1993 album)|Duran Duran]]'', also known as ''The Wedding Album''. He and de Cadenet separated in May 1995.

Duran Duran's success rapidly waned with the widely derided 1995 covers album ''[[Thank You (Duran Duran album)|Thank You]]''. Following that album's supporting tour, Duran Duran spent part of the summer of 1995 in London working on the album ''[[Medazzaland]]''. Concurrently, Taylor devoted time to the side project [[Neurotic Outsiders]], recording and touring with that band from the end of 1995 through the start of 1996.

===1997–2001: Solo music career===
In January 1997, Taylor announced at a Duran Duran fan convention that he was leaving the band.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070320075523/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johntaylor2/articles/story/5924427/duran_duran_comes_undone  Duran Duran Comes Undone]", ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', 23 January 1997.</ref>

During 1997 and 1998, Taylor built and toured with a band called "John Taylor Terroristen" ([[Gerry Laffy]] on guitar, Michael Railton/Tio Banks on keyboard, Larry Aberman on drums, [[Crooks and Liars|John Amato]] on sax and flute) which played numerous shows in Southern California before touring the East and West Coasts of the United States. Terroristen released a live EP ''5.30.98'' and the accompanying video ''Better Off Alive'' through the Trust The Process website. After [[9/11]], Taylor said he would never use the band name "Terroristen" again.

Taylor also began making forays into acting. His long friendship with [[Allison Anders]] led to a starring role in her independent film, ''Sugar Town'', in 1998. He also appeared in small roles in several other movies and TV programmes over the next couple of years.

In 1999, Taylor released two albums of earlier material. The first, ''Résumé'', was made up of unreleased music that he and [[Jonathan Elias]] had worked on together during the 1985 sessions for the ''9½ Weeks'' movie soundtrack. The second, ''Meltdown'', was a collection of tracks Taylor had laid down in 1992, during the extensive delays in Duran Duran's recording of ''The Wedding Album''.

Later in 1999 Taylor signed a recording contract with the Japanese record label [[Avex Trax]], and released an album labelled simply ''John Taylor'' on the cover, but listed in his official discography as ''The Japan Album''. He continued recording for Avex in 2000, and early in 2001 released ''Techno for Two'' (featuring the international hit "6,000 Miles" co-written by [[Matthew Hager]]), a decidedly non-[[techno]] album filled with very personal songs. Shortly after, as talks began for a potential Duran Duran reunion, Taylor decided to create a retrospective package called ''Retreat into Art'' demonstrating his development over the previous five years.

Taylor's final solo release, completed after the Duran Duran reunion was under way, was the collection ''MetaFour'' released in 2002. It features a 17-minute Q&A interview with fellow bass player [[Christopher Maloney]] at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. 

In October 2012, Taylor released an autobiography called ''In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780525958000,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517182934/http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0%2C%2C9780525958000%2C00.html |archive-date=17 May 2013 |title=In the Pleasure Groove |url-status = dead}}</ref> In 2013, the Writers in Treatment organisation awarded Taylor with the "Experience, Strength and Hope" award for his work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.duranduran.com/wordpress/2013/duran-durans-john-taylor-to-receive-experience-strength-and-hope-award-on-february-15th-2013/ |title=Duran Duran's John Taylor to receive Experience, Strength and Hope Award on February 15th, 2013 |publisher=Duran Duran |access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref>

===2001–present: Duran Duran reunion===
[[File:John Taylor(2015).JPG|thumb|Taylor performing in 2015]]
In 2000, Taylor was approached at his home in Los Angeles by singer [[Simon Le Bon]] about a possible reunion with the original Duran Duran lineup, and he was enthusiastic about the idea as long as the other Taylors (Roger and Andy, who had left the band in 1986) were willing to rejoin as well. An agreement was soon reached, and Taylor demonstrated his renewed commitment to the band by getting an enormous linked-D's tattoo on the upper side of his right arm.

After a highly successful tour of Japan in 2003, the reunited band was signed with [[Epic Records]], and released the album ''[[Astronaut (Duran Duran album)|Astronaut]]'' in October 2004. They toured throughout the first half of 2005 before returning to the studio to work on their next new album. Guitarist Andy Taylor left the band again in October 2006, and recordings from this session (with the working title ''[[Reportage (album)|Reportage]]'') were set aside when the band got a chance to work with famed producer Timbaland. The resulting album, ''[[Red Carpet Massacre]]'', was released in November 2007. To celebrate its release the band took the unprecedented step of performing the album in its entirety for 10 special performances on Broadway in New York City, with a world tour in 2008.

In December 2010, the band released its 13th studio album, ''[[All You Need Is Now]]'', on its own record label, Tapemodern. Initially, an abbreviated version was offered to [[iTunes]], but the physical album arrived in shops in March 2011.

In February 2013, he placed 29th in MusicRadar's greatest bassist poll.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass/the-60-greatest-bassists-of-all-time-279007/60 |title=The 60 greatest bassists of all time |publisher=musicradar.com |access-date=1 March 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304114018/http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass/the-60-greatest-bassists-of-all-time-279007/60 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In December 2021, ''[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]'' magazine awarded Taylor a Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CWeYXFFLYZC/ | title=Duran Duran on Instagram: "It's a real honor to get this from my bass playing brothers and sisters. From the moment I started playing a friend's borrowed instrument, I knew it was my jam. And I'm grateful to all the dudes along the way who have helped me keep time, particularly my brother -in- rhythm Roger Taylor" - JT on his Bass Player magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. Congrats John!! 🎉🎉🎉 }}</ref>