YA Author Jane McGarry's Band Crush on Duran Duran!

I'm continuing my blog guest post series with other writers sharing who their teen and preteen music crushes were to celebrate the release of my music crush rom-com, In Over Her Head: Lights, Camera, Anxiety. I'm excited to have YA author, Jane McGarry on to talk about her band crush on Duran Duran. Such a fun post! Check it out below!

Ah, the 80’s—the fashion, the decadence, the music. I was there when MTV signed on the air in back in 1981 (please feel free not to do the age math) and, wow, was that a game changer. Now, you had faces to go along with the voices for all your favorite songs. The music video became a crucial marketing piece for a song’s success. Singers and bands soon upped their game from the boring old concert style video to miniature movies with excitement, chills and, most importantly, their beautiful selves front and center. Into this new craze stepped Duran Duran.

I remember the first time I saw them—the centerfold of a teen magazine. My bestie opened to it and pointed to bassist, John Taylor. “He is mine,” she announced. Not wanting to break the unspoken rule of “no crush stealing”, I chose drummer, Roger Taylor (no relation—and I mean really, three dudes in the band with the same last name all not related? what are the odds?). Not that you could go wrong, like the formulaic boy bands that followed, whatever your type was, there was a guy for you.

For a few years, these five guys were the virtual center of our world. The sheer excitement of listening to their albums, of papering every inch of wall space with their photos, and of course, of watching their videos over and over, dominated our existence. Back then, if you can imagine it, MTV actually played music videos most of the time. We waited with bated breath for every DD world premiere video, the next few hours spent rewinding and pausing the VHS tape for every squeal worthy moment.

It was fun to come across fellow Duranies , others who clearly understood the importance of Duran Duran in the universe. They, too, always had their band crushes divided considerately amongst themselves. We would ask them, “Are you a Simon? Or a John?; once in a blue moon, you would even find an “Andy”.  But at the end of the day, my friend and I knew no one could possibly know them and love them as much as we did.
The highlight of the worship came when we saw them in concert. That night, in a crowd filled Madison Square Garden, we screamed our hearts out along with 30,000 other crazed fans. The rush of just knowing you were actually in the same place at the same time as your idols was like nothing I had experienced in my young life and remains one of my most vivid memories.

And then, somewhere along the way, we grew up. Life marched on. Boy band crushes were replaced with real boy crushes, teen magazines with college applications and the looming reality of grownup life just around the corner. The carefree days of early teendom were left in the rearview mirror, along with frivolous devotions.  Still, every once in a while, one of their songs will come on the radio (the oldies station now) and I am transported back to that faraway time with my bestie, days we thought our love for Duran Duran would last forever, and I have to smile.
 

Jane's Bio: Reading was always a big part of Jane’s life. Over the years, creating stories developed out of this love. Finally, she decided to try her hand at writing a novel and that was when Not Every Girl was conceived.

She lives in New Jersey in a house full of boys, including one over-indulged cat. When she is not running around with her family or writing, she can be found curled up with said cat and a good book.

You can visit her online at: www.janemcgarrybooks.com .

Author website:
http://www.janemcgarrybooks.com/
Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-McGarry-Author/712005068914626
Twitter link:
https://twitter.com/JMcGarryauthor
Instagram link:
https://instagram.com/janemcgarryauthor/
Pinterest link:
https://www.pinterest.com/janem0378/
 

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