ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A British new wave band that was among the best-selling acts of the 1980s, with five gold and platinum albums, says it will play in Allentown soon.
The question is where?
Duran Duran, which has 14 Top 25 hit songs including the No. 1 hits “Hungry Like the Wolf” in 1982, “The Reflex” in 1984 and “A View to a Kill” in 1985, on its Facebook page lists Allentown among seven cities in which it will announce shows "early next week."
"Psst ... We've got some scoop," it says. "If you live near any of these places, then please watch this space (or the member portion of the Duran Duran website) for an announcement early next week."
Also listed are Verona and New York, New York; Uncasville, Connecticut; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Baltimore; and Manchester, New Hampshire.
The post does not identify the venues where the shows will be played.
The new dates are not yet listed on the band's website, which has it touring abroad through July 30, when it's playing in Croatia.
Two possibilities — and a third
The only two venues in Allentown currently large enough to hold a concert by Duran Duran are Allentown Fair's grandstand, which seats 10,500 people, and PPL Center, which seats 10,000 for concerts.
Allentown Fair has an open date, after rock band Heart on Tuesday announced it had canceled its current tour, including the fair's Aug. 28 opening night grandstand show, as singer Ann Wilson undergoes treatment for cancer.
The fair said Tuesday it was actively working to find a replacement show, but the Duran Duran announcement came barely a day later, making it less likely the fair is the venue.
PPL Center, on the other hand, has plenty of open dates — with just five events scheduled for the entire rest of the year and none between a Monster Jam truck show on July 14 and a concert by The Doobie Brothers on Sept. 28.
There is another possibility.
Duran Duran would be a great act to boost the expected opening this year of Allentown's new concert venue, The Archer, an 1,800-capacity room being built along Hamilton Street.
Duran Duran would be an exceptionally large show for a venue that size, but concert venues typically book exceptional acts to start their businesses.
Duran Duran would fit that bill for The Archer.
History in the Lehigh Valley
Duan Duran last played the Lehigh Valley in 2016 at Sands Bethlehem Event Center, now Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.
That show was a mix of seating and general admission standing that had a capacity of probably 3,000.
Before that, the last time Duran Duran played the Valley was in 2015, when it which made history by playing Bethlehem Musikfest's first "preview" date a day before the festival kicked off.
The show was then the first time in Musikfest’s history that the main stage was used for more than 10 days.
Duran Duran also played a sellout show at Musikfest’s then-main stage, the 6,500-capacity RiverPlace, in the venue’s first year in 2000.
The band also played a near-sellout show at Bethlehem’s 6,000-capacity Stabler Arena in 1993.
Duran Duran also had the hits “The Wild Boys,” which hit No. 2 in 1984, and the radio hits “Girls on Film,” “Rio” and “Is There Something I Should Know?”
It also had two No. 1 dance hits, “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” in 1988.
The group continued to have hits through 1993's "Ordinary World," which peaked at No. 3 and was certified gold, and "Come Undone," which peaked at No. 7 that same year.
In addition to its hit albums, the group had two compilation albums and a live disc, 1984’s “Arena,” that also went platinum.
Its most recent disc was "Dance Macabre" in 2023. That disc peaked at No. 57 in the United States.
Known for its videos
Duran Duran is perhaps best known for its high profile on then-fledgling MTV, where its racy videos led a second “British Invasion” of the United States.
Duran Duran was among the first bands to have their videos shot by professional directors.
In 2003, MTV gave Duran Duran a Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the channel has included several of the band’s videos among the 100 Greatest Ever.
The band still has four of the five members from its peak lineup: singer Simon LeBon, bassist John Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor.
Only original lead guitarist Andy Taylor no longer performs with the band, though he recorded with it on "Dance Macabre."
