![]() A vandal is thought to have smashed the giant tank by swinging a bottle against the glass as a prank.” ![]() No one was bitten, but a few customers received an unwelcome soaking when 200 gallons of water in the tank gushed out. “Bar staff at Rio rushed to rescue the fearsome fish, which eat human flesh, by scooping them into pint pots from between the feet of horrified customers. “Panic broke out at the Tyneside wine bar owned by Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor when someone freed man-eating piranha fish from their tank,” we revealed. Plans to extend it in 1984 were blocked after locals complained about noise from the premises.Īnd the following year the Chronicle reported on an even more bizarre problem. Running the bar, however, wasn’t all plain sailing for its pop star owner. Rio, on North Parade, became a hugely popular haunt for 1980s revellers and, for a while, Whitley Bay rivalled Newcastle as THE place to enjoy a night out. ![]() John Taylor and Andy Taylor, right, of Duran Duran in concert at Villa Park, Birmingham, in July 1983 (Image: Mirrorpix) Screams brought out drinkers from other bars on Whitley Bay’s sea front to watch as the girls mobbed heartthrob Simon Le Bon”. Police picked the pair off the ground and half carried them through the crowd. Schoolgirls formed a solid block and scrambled to touch their heroes. We reported: “Andy and Roger Taylor (no relation) were first to arrive - in a white Rolls Royce. The invitation-only opening of the sea-front bar hit the headlines as hundreds of baying female fans waited for a glimpse their idols in bitter winter weather. The new venue on the town's North Parade would open in a three-storey building that had been home to a restaurant called Alice's. It is to be called Rio after Duran Duran’s million-selling single of the same name.” ![]() He is to officially open a new wine bar in Whitley Bay. In early December that year, the Chronicle reported: “Pop star Andy Taylor is coming home this weekend to fulfil a long-standing ambition. The former Rio wine bar in Whitley Bay was owned by ex-Duran Duran star, Cullercoats-born Andy Taylor (Image: Newcastle Chronicle) Many of a certain vintage who enjoyed partying in the era of big hair and padded shoulders will remember it well. The band comprised three Brummies - keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor singer Simon Le Bon who met the others while studying at Birmingham University and Andy Taylor who gave Duran Duran just the hint of a rock edge.Īt the height of the band's popularity in 1983, 22-year-old Andy embarked on a business venture on his native Tyneside. Their dandyish clothes, coiffured hairstyles and lipstick didn’t really endear them to the boys, but they were massively popular among the ladies. READ MORE: The Tube at 40: The TV music series that made Newcastle the capital of cool Duran Duran were the pretty boys of the so-called New Romantic scene, with a string of hits that included Girls On Film, The Reflex, Save A Prayer, View To A Kill, and Rio. Hailing from Cullercoats, North Tyneside, and a one-time pupil at Marden High School, Andy began playing guitar at 11, before going on to be part of one of the biggest pop bands of the 1980s. Pop fans will be wishing Andy Taylor well after the former Duran Duran guitarist revealed he is suffering from cancer.ĬhronicleLive reported how the 61-year-old had opened up on his four-year battle with the disease which forced him to miss teaming up last Saturday with his former band mates in Los Angeles at the star-studded Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.
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