Editing Duran Duran (section)

===1997–2000: John Taylor's departure and second trio===
After the promo tour for ''Thank You'' was completed, John Taylor co-founded the B5 Records label, recorded a solo album, founded and toured with the [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]] [[Neurotic Outsiders]], and reunited the Power Station, though the project proceeded without him when he had to withdraw to deal with his divorce. Finally, after struggling for months to record the next album, ''[[Medazzaland]]'', in January 1997, John Taylor announced at the DuranCon [[fan convention]] that he was leaving the band "for good".<ref>{{Cite magazine|last = Green|first = Michelle|title = Duran Duran Comes Undone|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|publisher = Wenner Publishing|date = 23 January 1997|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johntaylor2/articles/story/5924427/duran_duran_comes_undone|access-date = 18 May 2007|archive-date = 14 April 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090414131052/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johntaylor2/articles/story/5924427/duran_duran_comes_undone|url-status = dead}}</ref> His departure reduced the band to two long time members (Le Bon and Rhodes) and Cuccurullo, who decided to continue recording under the name Duran Duran.

Freed from some internal writing conflicts, the band returned to the studio to rewrite and re-record many of the songs on ''Medazzaland'' (John Taylor's work remains on only four tracks). The album marked a return to the layered experimentation of ''Big Thing'', with intricate guitar textures and processed vocals. The track "[[Out of My Mind (Duran Duran song)|Out of My Mind]]" was used as the theme song for the film ''[[The Saint (1997 film)|The Saint]]'' (1997), but the only true single to be released in the United States was the quirky "[[Electric Barbarella]]", which is one of the first singles ever to be sold online.{{sfn|Haring|2000|pp=77–79}} The music video for this single, featuring a sexy robot purchased and played with by band members, had to be censored before airing on MTV, but there was little of the controversy that had surrounded "Girls on Film". "Electric Barbarella" peaked at number 52 in the US in October 1997.{{sfn|Malins|2005|p=246}} Although ''Medazzaland'' was released in the US in October 1997, the album was never released in the UK. "Electric Barbarella" was later released in the UK as a single from the 1998 ''[[Greatest (Duran Duran)|Greatest]]'' compilation album and peaked at number 23 on the UK chart in January 1999. The group played a set at the Princess Diana Tribute Concert on 27 June 1998 by special request of her family.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thousands in party tribute to Diana |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/121635.stm |work=BBC News |date=28 June 1998 |access-date=18 May 2007 |archive-date=14 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814020215/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/121635.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Duran Duran parted ways with Capitol/EMI in 1999, although the label has since used Duran Duran's back catalogue to release several compilations of remixes and rare vinyl-only B-sides. The band then signed what was intended to be a three-album contract with [[Disney Music Group]]'s [[Hollywood Records]], but it lasted only through the poorly received 2000 album ''[[Pop Trash]]''. This slow-paced and heavy album seemed out-of-keeping with earlier band material.{{sfn|Malins|2005|p=256}} Rhodes' intricate production and Cuccurullo's songwriting and experimentation with guitar sounds and time signatures were not enough to hook the public, and the album did not perform well. The dreamy single "[[Someone Else Not Me]]" lasted barely two weeks on the radio, although its video was noted as the first to be produced entirely with [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] animation. While supporting ''Medazzaland'' and ''Pop Trash'', Duran Duran toured with bassist [[Wes Wehmiller]] and drummer Joe Travers.