Arcadia

Born as a side project during Duran Duran’s hiatus between 1984 and 1985, Arcadia was a short-lived British synthpop outfit composed of singer Simon LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor. Though still rooted in the 80s New Romantic sound, the trio offered an edgier, artsier spin on Duran Duran’s slick new wave stylings. Featuring a whole host of A-list artists such as Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Grace Jones, and Sting, So Red the Rose, their first and only studio album, saw the light during the peak of Duran Duran’s popularity in 1985. Propelled by lead single “Election Day,” which reached the Top 10 in both the US and the UK, the LP obtained platinum certification across the Atlantic and reached Number 23 on the Billboard 200. Shortly after the release of their first full-length, LeBon and Rhodes went back to touring and recording with Duran Duran, while Roger Taylor quit the music industry altogether, recluding himself in his farm estate in Gloucestershire.