The news of his diagnosis was shared in 2022
Duran Duran have issued an update on guitarist Andy Taylor after his absence at an event.
The Tynemouth-born music star is battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, which is incurable.
The news of Andy’s diagnosis was revealed by the band back in 2022, after he was unable to join attend the bands induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The band played at Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, however the 63-year-old guitarist was unable to join them.
Duran Duran lead vocalist Simon Le Bon updated fans on Andy’s health.
He said: “I am sure he would love to be here. As you probably know, he’s got prostate cancer. It’s very late stage, fourth-stage metastasised cancer. He’s fighting as hard as he can, and we are with him in that fight,” he said at the event’s press conference.
He added: “There is something between us that keeps us together. First of all, we love the music we make together. Nobody else makes music like we do. We’ve all tried to do things on our own, and it just doesn’t seem as exciting as when the four of us get together and work.
“We make each other laugh, and I think that’s very important in a long relationship. When we are under stress, we laugh all the way through it, and it keeps everything light and fun. And the other thing is, we split all the proceeds equally. No one takes all the publishing. We all share the finances equally.
While the star’s cancer is incurable, he has previously spoken about a nuclear drug, Lutetium-177 that targets cancer cells in the bones and has allowed him to live a better quality of life while fighting the disease.
Appearing on Lorraine, he shared: “I’m doing great. I’ve had two rounds of treatment over the past couple of months. I’m like from the walking dead to the singing and dancing.”
Lorraine replied: “It’s incredible, because in many ways, you shouldn’t be here.”
The guitarist agreed and said: “When I was diagnosed five years ago that was the time span… I had to live with that and so did my family,” he explained, before adding that he believes that he’s been visited by “an angel” since starting Lutetium-177.
