Duran Duran Recruit Maneskin's Victoria De Angelis For 'Psycho Killer'

Keavin Wiggins | 10-27-2023

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Duran Duran have highlighted their new cover The Talking Heads classic "Psycho Killer" featuring Victoria De Angelis of Maneskin as their new album, "Danse Macabre" hits stores just in time for Halloween.

John Taylor says of the collaboration with De Angelis, "The first time I met Vic, I asked her who her bass inspirations were. Right away, she said, 'Tina Weymouth!' I said, 'Me too.' When the idea of covering 'Psycho Killer' came up, I thought, 'I'm going to call Vic'. She loved the idea, naturally!"

Victoria added, "I got a call from John...saying he was working on a cover of Psycho Killer, and he wanted to ask me first about playing on it. It was insane being asked by one of the greatest bass players ever to play one of my favorite songs with Duran Duran. Absolutely insane.

"I'm so grateful and honored, it was so much fun recording together with John and he was so sweet to me and encouraged me to express myself and play it my own way. I'll always remember that day."

Danse Macabre album arrives

High Rise PR sent over these details about the new album (available to stream here,) Catalyzed by one special live performance that Duran Duran filmed in Las Vegas on October 31 of last year, Danse Macabre is the soundtrack to their ultimate Halloween party. Included across the album's 13 tracks are Halloween covers of Billie Eilish's 'Bury A Friend', Talking Heads' 'Psycho Killer', The Rolling Stones' 'Paint It Black', the Rick James-inspired 'Super Lonely Freak', Siouxsie and the Banshees' 'Spellbound', Cerrone's 'Supernature' and The Specials' 'Ghost Town'.

The album also includes special collaborations with former Duran Duran band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo, Nile Rodgers, and producers Josh Blair and Mr. Hudson.

Andy Taylor originally joined Duran Duran in 1980, co-writing and playing guitar on their first three studio albums: Duran Duran (1981), Rio (1982), and Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), before leaving the group to pursue a solo career. 16 years later he returned for 2004's Astronaut (2004), before parting company once again with the other four original members in 2006.

With Andy's departure, Warren Cuccurullo joined the band full time in 1989, contributing both song writing and guitars to the albums Big Thing (1988), Liberty (1990), The Wedding Album (1993), Thank You (1995), Medazzaland (1997) and Pop Trash (2000).

Fast forward to 2023 and Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo's presence on Danse Macabre captures the true spirit of the album - a celebration of the raw energy and sense of fun that comes when friends make music together in a room.

But Danse Macabre is not just an album for Halloween... Elsewhere, 'Black Moonlight' sees the band's timeless song writing break into dance-rock glamor with the addition of Nile Rodgers and Andy Taylor on guitar, where epic coda 'Confession In The Afterlife' finds Duran Duran reunited with producer Mr. Hudson anew.

As well as a second collaboration with Warren Cuccurullo on 'Love Voudou', Danse Macabre features newly recorded versions of 'Nightboat' and fan favorite 'Secret Oktober 31st' (both featuring Andy Taylor on guitar). The song made its first appearance as a b-side to the 7" single 'Union of The Snake' and is now, 40 years later, seeing its first ever physical release on a Duran Duran studio album.

Speaking about Danse Macabre, keyboardist Nick Rhodes said: "The song 'Danse Macabre' celebrates the joy and madness of Halloween. It is the title track of our album, which gathers together an unusual mix of cover versions, reworked Duran Duran songs and several new compositions. The idea was born out of a show we played in Las Vegas on October 31st, 2022. We had decided to seize the moment to create a unique, special event...the temptation of using glorious gothic visuals set to a dark soundtrack of horror and humor was simply irresistible. That evening inspired us to explore further and to make an album, using Halloween as the key theme. The record metamorphosed through a pure, organic process, and not only was it made faster than anything since our debut album, it has also resulted in something none of us could have ever predicted. Emotion, mood, style, and attitude have always been at the heart of Duran Duran's DNA, we search for light in the darkness and darkness in the light, and I feel we have somehow managed to capture the essence of all of that in this project."

Simon Le Bon elaborates: "It's about a crazy Halloween party. It's supposed to be fun!"

John Taylor said: "After all these years, Danse Macabre offers an interesting insight into the personality of the band. The music packs a real punch."

Roger Taylor adds: "I hope you take a journey with us through the darker side of our inspirations into where we're at in 2023. Maybe, you'll leave with a deeper understanding of how Duran Duran got to this moment in time."