In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran: A Memoir by John Taylor

From Goodreads: John Taylor, Duran Duran’s co-founder, takes the reader on a wild ride through his life. From the eighties through today, from Rio to All You Need is Now, John writes about the music, the parties, and the MTV videos that made millions swoon. With Duran Duran, John Taylor has created some of the greatest music of our time. From the disco dazzle of debut single ‘Planet Earth’ right up to their latest number one album, All You Need is Now, Duran Duran has always had the power to sweep the world onto its feet. It’s been a ride – and for John in particular, the ride has been wild, thrilling... and dangerous. Now, for the first time, he tells his incredible story. A tale of dreams fulfilled, lessons learned and demons conquered. A shy only child, Nigel John Taylor wasn’t an obvious candidate for pop stardom and frenzied girl panic. But when he ditched his first name and picked up a bass guitar, everything changed. John Formed Duran Duran with his friend Nick Rhodes in the summer of 1978, and they were soon joined by Roger Taylor, then Andy Taylor and finally Simon Le Bon. Together they were an immediate, massive global success story, their pictures on millions of walls, every single a worldwide hit. In his frank, compelling autobiography, John recounts the highs –hanging out with icons like Bowie, Warhol and even James Bond; dating Vogue models and driving fast cars – all the while playing hard with the band he loved. But there were tough battles ahead – troubles that brought him to the brink of self-destruction – before turning his life around. Told with humor, honesty and hard-won wisdom, and packed with exclusive pictures, In the Pleasure Groove is a fascinating, irresistible portrait of a man who danced into the fire... and came through the other side.

I loved it!  Towards the end I was looking for excuses to run errands so I could finish listening to it, then when I did finish, I was very sad that it was over!  Duran Duran, especially John, were a huge part of my teenage experience, and this memoir by him, read by him, is very special to me.  It made him a much more real person, very different from the perfect rockstar god that nothing could touch.  While he was inspiring us to want to be just like him, he was living the nightmare of having gotten exactly what he set out to do, and all the things that came with it.  This is a very honest look at his life, yet very classy, he calls a spade a spade, but doesn't point fingers or dish secrets that weren't his to tell.  This made me feel so connected to him as a person, and I have even benefitted from one of his favorite lines received through rehab/therapy that was very pertinent in my life right now.  There were many things familiar, and also a lot I never knew but was very interested by, and he reads it very well.  I could go on much longer, but sometimes less is more, so I'll stop at I loved it, and I think any Duranie, especially those favoring John, should definitely give this a listen/read.