Profiled in FANTASTIC MAN Magazine
Issue No. 23 |UK edition| Spring Summer 2016 (April)
Issue No. 23 |UK edition| Spring Summer 2016 (April)
Typed out from personal collection :).
INTERVIEW BY GERT JONKERS
PORTRAITS BY DANIEL RIERA
As a teenager, Nick Rhodes the enduringly glamorous keyboards player of Duran Duran, toyed with the idea of calling himself Nik Dior but decided that doing so would reveal his interests a bit too obviously. His acute fashion sensibility, after all, has always spoken for itself. Indeed as MTV launched in 1981, affirming the centrality of music video in popular culture, Duran Duran quickly became masters of form, their legendary clips communicating that fashion and glamour were as crucial a part of the band’s package as its music. Still following a full hair and make-up regime daily and still an avid reader of French and Italian ‘Vogue’, 53 –year old Nick says he’s never owned a pair of blue jeans.
G: Let’s talk about your beauty regime.
N: My beauty regime? Well, I suppose it’s actually very basic: skincare. I think skincare is the most important. I’ve always used a moisturiser, ever since I was very young.
G: Who told you that?
N: I don’t know I think it was more of a gut feeling. All the people I saw with good skin usually kept it moisturised. If you get really dehydrated, your skin doesn’t look good, does it? So it’s always worth drinking as much water as makes sense, and a bit of moisturising never does any harm.
G: What kind of moisturiser do you use?
N: I never had a specific product. Honestly I don’t think it really matters. More recently I‘ve been using this product GENEU, which is based on your own genetics and what your skin requires.
G: It’s a cream that has to be made especially for you?
N: What happens is, you have a very quick DNA test, which is a little swap of your salvia, to be analysed for two or three specific genes, to see which ones your body is expressing most strongly, and then it tells you what your balance is and you get the product that closest to that. I have to say the clinical tests and everything have been pretty amazing. So I use that now.
G: When did you start using make-up?
N: I’ve experimented with make-up since I was probably about 15 years old. People always say. ‘Oh well, that must be because you grew up with glam rock. ‘Well, no, not specifically. Of course, there was glam rock, and early Hollywood stars and dandies and vampires. There was something about make up that was just magnetic to me, and in the 80s we were all plastering make-up on. In a way, some of it just stuck with us. To me, it’s a matter of, do I look better with or without? So, yeah, I don’t wear make-up every day, but sometimes I just stand in from of the mirror and put on some make-up and go. ‘Oh there he is! There’s NICK!’
G: You’re wearing a bit of mascara today is that right?
N: Yeah just a very little bit
G: Do you wear more make up on stage than in daily life?
N; Yes, because it’s more theatrical and you’re far away from the audience. Everyone in my band wears makeup on stage. I’m sure I’m more known for wearing make-up than the others but they're a bunch of old tarts too. (laughs)
G: How do you know how to use things like exfoliants and cleansers? It’s not something that men discuss among each other is it?
N: I don’t use much of that stuff at all. I keep it simple. Wash your face with water. And good hair products, of course. That ORIBE Dry Texturising Spray is a nee favourite. It’s so food! It’s very a very modern product. I like that.
G: You went through quite a big-hair period in the late 80s.
N: Yes, it was mostly backcombing, but actually a bit of product and sticking your fingers in for a while would do the trick perfectly. I quite like doing hair and make-up with my fingers.
G: Which brings us to another man with amazing make-up: ROBERT SMITH.
N: I love THE CURE! I’ve seen Robert and THE CURE many times, of course. He has his own iconic image. So much so that they even made a move for which the literally nicked his image. Which actor was it? Was it Sean Penn? I can’t remember what it’s called, bit it literally stole his identity.
G: Have you made any dramatic style changes of late?
N: Hmm. No. I don’t feel I’ve changed a lot over the years. I changed my hair colour a lot though the 80s but I think you do tend to slow down a little with that and find things that you're more comfortable with. I think you do settle on certain things that suit you. Interestingly, when we were working on the artwork for our album last year, the ‘Paper Gods’ album, this was the first time I’ve worn a bikers jacket since probably 1991.
G: What caused this sudden revolution?
N: I don’t’ know what it was that made me wear it. Well, no, I do know what it was it was a particularly nice ALEXANDER McQUEEN jacket that I saw and I thought. ‘Yes! That’ll be a different me!’ Because generally it wouldn’t cross my mind to wear a leather biker’s jacket it’s so not my style. Like I never wear jeans...
G: You don’t own a single pair of jeans?
N: Not blue jeans, no. I’ve never had blue jeans. This sort of causal look never really appealed to me. Jeans, a sweatshirt and a pair of trainers, it just doesn’t...
G: You’re describing my look today!
N: (laughs) I’m not! You haven’t got a pair of trainers on you.
G: That’s true.
N: But yeah, it’s not that I mind it on other people. To each their own. But it’s never appealed to me. I’ve always believed in individualism most of all. I always relate more to characters who are trying to do something special. You know, I grew up on DAVID BOWIE, ROXY MUSIC and punk rock – THE SEX PISTOLS, THE CLASH, who were incredibly stylish.
G: How long did it take you to find your own style?
N: Well, I think it’s still a project in development. I think your while life you just have to figure out what you’re comfortable with, don’t you? There were a lot of things bubbling at that time. We were lucky to be signing a record label in 1980 around the same time as the first ‘i-D’ magazine came out, ‘The Face’ came out – it was the birth of style magazines. I also looked at a lot of fashion magazines, particularly Paris ‘Vogue’ and ‘Vogue Italia’. Designers like VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and MALCOM McCLAREN were a big influence earlier on. And we were lucky enough to have a spectacularly good store in Birmingham called Kahn & Bell that was run by two of the most beautiful and colourful, crazy characters. We used to buy a lot of clothes from them. John Taylor and I used to buy a lot of clothes from women’s stores because menswear was pretty dull in Birmingham in the 70s. There was a boutique called Oasis where Martin Deg vile worked – who later did SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK. He always had the most unusual style.
G: I can imagine!
N: Yeah. It was still post-glam rock, post punk rock and everybody wanted to stand out. When the 90s came along and everybody wanted to wear the same jeans and the same trainers – that was my ultimate horror! I thought it was ridiculous. Everybody looked the same.
G: Did you keep a lot of your old clothes?
N: I literally have thousands and thousands of pieces. It’s crazy really. It takes up and enormous amount of space.
G: Do you keep them at home?
N: Oh no, it’s way too much or that. Most of it’s’ in storage, and it’s all being archived at the moment. It’s interesting to see. Sometimes I see something that I’ve not worn for twenty years and think it looks more modern now than it did then. Like, this suit I’m wearing today is 80s THIERRY MUGLER. I love the shape of it.
G: And your silver-studded shirt, is that MUGLER too?
N: No, that’s BALENCIAGA.
G: Which pieces in the archive show your most hysterical side?
N: Our dear friend ANTONY PRICE has done the most extravagant things for us over the years – these amazing hand embroidered things. He’s a real perfectionist. I’ve got a big ARMANI fake fur somewhere and a great STEPHEN SPROUSE fake fur somewhere too. There may be a tiny bit or LIBERACE in me somewhere, but there’s not enough of it for me to go completely overboard with special outfits. One of the greatest things ANTONY did more recently was the fabulous Union Jack jacket that he made for SIMON to wear, for when where were doing the pre-Olympics show in Hyde Park and we wanted something very British but still different.
G: Do I sense a bit of fashion envy?
N: Oh no, I wore a waistcoat covered in peacock feathers. I likes SIMON’s jacket but my waistcoat felt a little more me.
G: I hope you have a nice studio full of instruments, keyboards, synthesizers and other machines that you kept the way you took care of your clothes.
N: I do. I’ve still got most of my instruments. We had this really unfortunate thing happen sometime in the mid 80s when we had a lot of our equipment and stage clothes in storage and for some reason somebody mover out and didn’t keep on top of paying rent, and suddenly we went there and it was literally gone and all sold off. We lost quite a lot of stuff during that period.
Including some of my favourite keyboards. But I re-bought thee or four significant ones that were lost, and I still have everything else. They're fantastic tools, beautifully created pieces, and they’re all different. That’s the thing with synthesizers. People say guitar are all different, and sure there’s a difference between a Washburn and a Fender Stratocaster, but to me most guitars make the same sort of sound.
G: Any guitarist would be horrified to hear you say that.
N: I should be nailed on the cross for it.
G: What’s that fancy keyboard you’re playing in last year’s video for ‘Pressure off’?
N: Oh that’s a fantastic thing. It’s a Seaboard.
G: It looks so smooth and slick, it almost looks fake.
N: Oh no, it’s real. It’s black rubber and everything on it is touch-sensitive. It’s the perfect keyboard for fetishists. (laughs) The aesthetics of a keyboard are so important. I used to go on tour with my Prophet-5 keyboard, and the end of it, the cheeks and the side, were wood, so I had my technician paint it black for me. You have no idea the amount of notes I got from keyboard players and other people saying, ‘How did you get a black Prophet-5? Where did you buy it? Did they make it especially for you?’
G: So you don’t’ envy your band mates with their fancy drumkits and guitars?
N: Oh no. I don’t think there’s anything more glamorous and sexy than a synthesizer, I’m afraid.
PORTRAITS BY DANIEL RIERA
As a teenager, Nick Rhodes the enduringly glamorous keyboards player of Duran Duran, toyed with the idea of calling himself Nik Dior but decided that doing so would reveal his interests a bit too obviously. His acute fashion sensibility, after all, has always spoken for itself. Indeed as MTV launched in 1981, affirming the centrality of music video in popular culture, Duran Duran quickly became masters of form, their legendary clips communicating that fashion and glamour were as crucial a part of the band’s package as its music. Still following a full hair and make-up regime daily and still an avid reader of French and Italian ‘Vogue’, 53 –year old Nick says he’s never owned a pair of blue jeans.
G: Let’s talk about your beauty regime.
N: My beauty regime? Well, I suppose it’s actually very basic: skincare. I think skincare is the most important. I’ve always used a moisturiser, ever since I was very young.
G: Who told you that?
N: I don’t know I think it was more of a gut feeling. All the people I saw with good skin usually kept it moisturised. If you get really dehydrated, your skin doesn’t look good, does it? So it’s always worth drinking as much water as makes sense, and a bit of moisturising never does any harm.
G: What kind of moisturiser do you use?
N: I never had a specific product. Honestly I don’t think it really matters. More recently I‘ve been using this product GENEU, which is based on your own genetics and what your skin requires.
G: It’s a cream that has to be made especially for you?
N: What happens is, you have a very quick DNA test, which is a little swap of your salvia, to be analysed for two or three specific genes, to see which ones your body is expressing most strongly, and then it tells you what your balance is and you get the product that closest to that. I have to say the clinical tests and everything have been pretty amazing. So I use that now.
G: When did you start using make-up?
N: I’ve experimented with make-up since I was probably about 15 years old. People always say. ‘Oh well, that must be because you grew up with glam rock. ‘Well, no, not specifically. Of course, there was glam rock, and early Hollywood stars and dandies and vampires. There was something about make up that was just magnetic to me, and in the 80s we were all plastering make-up on. In a way, some of it just stuck with us. To me, it’s a matter of, do I look better with or without? So, yeah, I don’t wear make-up every day, but sometimes I just stand in from of the mirror and put on some make-up and go. ‘Oh there he is! There’s NICK!’
G: You’re wearing a bit of mascara today is that right?
N: Yeah just a very little bit
G: Do you wear more make up on stage than in daily life?
N; Yes, because it’s more theatrical and you’re far away from the audience. Everyone in my band wears makeup on stage. I’m sure I’m more known for wearing make-up than the others but they're a bunch of old tarts too. (laughs)
G: How do you know how to use things like exfoliants and cleansers? It’s not something that men discuss among each other is it?
N: I don’t use much of that stuff at all. I keep it simple. Wash your face with water. And good hair products, of course. That ORIBE Dry Texturising Spray is a nee favourite. It’s so food! It’s very a very modern product. I like that.
G: You went through quite a big-hair period in the late 80s.
N: Yes, it was mostly backcombing, but actually a bit of product and sticking your fingers in for a while would do the trick perfectly. I quite like doing hair and make-up with my fingers.
G: Which brings us to another man with amazing make-up: ROBERT SMITH.
N: I love THE CURE! I’ve seen Robert and THE CURE many times, of course. He has his own iconic image. So much so that they even made a move for which the literally nicked his image. Which actor was it? Was it Sean Penn? I can’t remember what it’s called, bit it literally stole his identity.
G: Have you made any dramatic style changes of late?
N: Hmm. No. I don’t feel I’ve changed a lot over the years. I changed my hair colour a lot though the 80s but I think you do tend to slow down a little with that and find things that you're more comfortable with. I think you do settle on certain things that suit you. Interestingly, when we were working on the artwork for our album last year, the ‘Paper Gods’ album, this was the first time I’ve worn a bikers jacket since probably 1991.
G: What caused this sudden revolution?
N: I don’t’ know what it was that made me wear it. Well, no, I do know what it was it was a particularly nice ALEXANDER McQUEEN jacket that I saw and I thought. ‘Yes! That’ll be a different me!’ Because generally it wouldn’t cross my mind to wear a leather biker’s jacket it’s so not my style. Like I never wear jeans...
G: You don’t own a single pair of jeans?
N: Not blue jeans, no. I’ve never had blue jeans. This sort of causal look never really appealed to me. Jeans, a sweatshirt and a pair of trainers, it just doesn’t...
G: You’re describing my look today!
N: (laughs) I’m not! You haven’t got a pair of trainers on you.
G: That’s true.
N: But yeah, it’s not that I mind it on other people. To each their own. But it’s never appealed to me. I’ve always believed in individualism most of all. I always relate more to characters who are trying to do something special. You know, I grew up on DAVID BOWIE, ROXY MUSIC and punk rock – THE SEX PISTOLS, THE CLASH, who were incredibly stylish.
G: How long did it take you to find your own style?
N: Well, I think it’s still a project in development. I think your while life you just have to figure out what you’re comfortable with, don’t you? There were a lot of things bubbling at that time. We were lucky to be signing a record label in 1980 around the same time as the first ‘i-D’ magazine came out, ‘The Face’ came out – it was the birth of style magazines. I also looked at a lot of fashion magazines, particularly Paris ‘Vogue’ and ‘Vogue Italia’. Designers like VIVIENNE WESTWOOD and MALCOM McCLAREN were a big influence earlier on. And we were lucky enough to have a spectacularly good store in Birmingham called Kahn & Bell that was run by two of the most beautiful and colourful, crazy characters. We used to buy a lot of clothes from them. John Taylor and I used to buy a lot of clothes from women’s stores because menswear was pretty dull in Birmingham in the 70s. There was a boutique called Oasis where Martin Deg vile worked – who later did SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK. He always had the most unusual style.
G: I can imagine!
N: Yeah. It was still post-glam rock, post punk rock and everybody wanted to stand out. When the 90s came along and everybody wanted to wear the same jeans and the same trainers – that was my ultimate horror! I thought it was ridiculous. Everybody looked the same.
G: Did you keep a lot of your old clothes?
N: I literally have thousands and thousands of pieces. It’s crazy really. It takes up and enormous amount of space.
G: Do you keep them at home?
N: Oh no, it’s way too much or that. Most of it’s’ in storage, and it’s all being archived at the moment. It’s interesting to see. Sometimes I see something that I’ve not worn for twenty years and think it looks more modern now than it did then. Like, this suit I’m wearing today is 80s THIERRY MUGLER. I love the shape of it.
G: And your silver-studded shirt, is that MUGLER too?
N: No, that’s BALENCIAGA.
G: Which pieces in the archive show your most hysterical side?
N: Our dear friend ANTONY PRICE has done the most extravagant things for us over the years – these amazing hand embroidered things. He’s a real perfectionist. I’ve got a big ARMANI fake fur somewhere and a great STEPHEN SPROUSE fake fur somewhere too. There may be a tiny bit or LIBERACE in me somewhere, but there’s not enough of it for me to go completely overboard with special outfits. One of the greatest things ANTONY did more recently was the fabulous Union Jack jacket that he made for SIMON to wear, for when where were doing the pre-Olympics show in Hyde Park and we wanted something very British but still different.
G: Do I sense a bit of fashion envy?
N: Oh no, I wore a waistcoat covered in peacock feathers. I likes SIMON’s jacket but my waistcoat felt a little more me.
G: I hope you have a nice studio full of instruments, keyboards, synthesizers and other machines that you kept the way you took care of your clothes.
N: I do. I’ve still got most of my instruments. We had this really unfortunate thing happen sometime in the mid 80s when we had a lot of our equipment and stage clothes in storage and for some reason somebody mover out and didn’t keep on top of paying rent, and suddenly we went there and it was literally gone and all sold off. We lost quite a lot of stuff during that period.
Including some of my favourite keyboards. But I re-bought thee or four significant ones that were lost, and I still have everything else. They're fantastic tools, beautifully created pieces, and they’re all different. That’s the thing with synthesizers. People say guitar are all different, and sure there’s a difference between a Washburn and a Fender Stratocaster, but to me most guitars make the same sort of sound.
G: Any guitarist would be horrified to hear you say that.
N: I should be nailed on the cross for it.
G: What’s that fancy keyboard you’re playing in last year’s video for ‘Pressure off’?
N: Oh that’s a fantastic thing. It’s a Seaboard.
G: It looks so smooth and slick, it almost looks fake.
N: Oh no, it’s real. It’s black rubber and everything on it is touch-sensitive. It’s the perfect keyboard for fetishists. (laughs) The aesthetics of a keyboard are so important. I used to go on tour with my Prophet-5 keyboard, and the end of it, the cheeks and the side, were wood, so I had my technician paint it black for me. You have no idea the amount of notes I got from keyboard players and other people saying, ‘How did you get a black Prophet-5? Where did you buy it? Did they make it especially for you?’
G: So you don’t’ envy your band mates with their fancy drumkits and guitars?
N: Oh no. I don’t think there’s anything more glamorous and sexy than a synthesizer, I’m afraid.