Duran Duran and Mark Ronson Make Unique Musical History, at Smirnoff Experience Paris Event

July 3rd 2008 – Last night, La Cigale in Paris hosted the third global Smirnoff Experience event, showcasing a dream collaboration between Mark Ronson and Duran Duran, continuing the tradition of unique original performances. The event unveiled live performances of Ronson’s reworkings of his favourite Duran Duran classics along with songs from their new album. Highlights included View to A Kill, Rio, Red Carpet Massacre, Planet Earth and Girls on Film, performed by the band together with Ronson. Earlier in the evening, Simon Le Bon provided guest vocals with Daniel Merriweather on Stop Me during Mark Ronson and the Version Players’ set.

The 1200-capacity invitation-only event attracted a star-studded crowd including, Eva Mendes, Philippe Starck, John Galliano, Ellen Von Unwerth, Santogold, Kenna, Tim Burgess, Yasmin Le Bon and Daisy Lowe.

During the 90-minute performance the crowd enjoyed specially created versions of classic Duran Duran tracks. The collaboration came about when Smirnoff invited Ronson to bring his unique perspective to the Duran Duran catalogue, forming the centrepiece of this latest Smirnoff Experience event.

Mark Ronson vs Duran Duran at Smirnoff Experience

Mark Ronson shared of his experience in working with Duran Duran: "This has to be one of the highlights in LIFE for me."

Commenting on the collaboration, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon said: "There’s not that many people on Planet Earth (!) right now who’ve got what it takes to work with Duran Duran both musically and visually. In fact, when I look at it like that, Mark Ronson may be the only man alive who is. And, being very big fans of his, we couldn’t be more thrilled".

Duran Duran bassist, John Taylor, commented: "Mark is one of the most exciting talents in music today. He’s a super-nice guy too, which makes it even better. He had a lot of crazy ideas which all seemed to work out. So many, in fact, that what was supposed to be a thirty-minute set turned out to be an hour and a half! And it’s great to have his big band wrap themselves around us too, horns, strings and percussion. It was really magical!"

The night opened with the Smirnoff Experience resident DJ Tom Middleton celebrating the 20th anniversary of Acid House music with a unique collaboration. Classically trained pianist Maxence Cyrin from Paris, joined him to create a collection of dance classics performed on a grand piano.

After the live music, the crowd were treated to an original and underground set from Busy P aka Pedro Winter, owner and founder of uber-cool Parisian electronic label Ed Banger Records. Busy P played a DJ set that premiered his Smirnoff Experience rework of Duran Duran’s hit The Reflex, before Middleton came back to close the event in his own unique party style.

A series of original Smirnoff cocktails were created specially for the event, including a choice of four martinis, two of which were strawberry basil and melon and mint. The invited guests were offered a special sampler on entering the venue. Bottled water was given out throughout the evening, as well as a plentiful supply of canapés.

Smirnoff Experience is a global experiential marketing program, celebrating the brand’s rich heritage and originality. The program features original collaborations fused with unique and interactive entertainment – all showcased in four of the cities most relevant to the history of the brand: Moscow, Shanghai, Paris and New York City.

[heads up by Apollo Zero, THX!]