31 October 2026 (gig)
1 h
Duran Duran’s Halloween Show at the O2 was more than just about the music.
For lifelong Duran Duran fans like me, this spooktacular show is a show like no other. It was a chance to see the Wild Boys embrace the eerie and the extravagant, turning their concert into a truly theatrical spectacle.
Witches descended from the ceiling, giant skeletons stood at either end of the stage, and pyrotechnics lit up a scene framed by haunting, ghoulish video backdrops.
And the band well and truly played their part in the theatrics, stepping into this Halloween world in ghostly costumes and macabre make-up.
With his face painted entirely gold and Egyptian-style make-up completing the look, Simon Le Bon took on the role of a ghostly sea captain. Later in the concert, he added Medusa arms to his costume, lending a further flourish of mythological menace.
The costumes included John Taylor as a freakish vicar, Roger Taylor was a spooky captain whilst Nick Rhodes relished the chance to bring his creative side to the fore - at one point dressing as a devilish Pope.
Introducing Nick to the audience, Simon Le Bon described him as the completely satanic, demonic Nick Rhodes, and told the crowd that Halloween was Nick’s most favourite day of the year.
The spooky spectacle spilled beyond the stage and into the crowd, where fans in an array of costumes became part of the theatre, intensifying the evening’s eerie atmosphere.
Applauding the crowd, Simon Le Bon said: “I’m looking at some pretty spectacular people, we love that you’ve made the effort. That’s what makes tonight special – you guys!”
Previously staged only in the US, Duran’s Halloween Show made its UK debut in Manchester last year.
The excitement of it finally reaching London was almost palpable among the fans, some of whom had travelled across the world to witness the spectacle.
The beauty of the show lies in its unexpected covers, rarely heard at Duran Duran’s usual concerts, even if some classic hits - notably Save a Prayer, The Chauffeur and Ordinary World - are absent from the setlist.
Songs like The Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black, Spellbound (complete with witches’ cauldrons on stage), the Ramones’ Pet Sematary and Cerrone’s Super Nature gave the night its eerie feel.
Slower, more chilling, musical arrangements to Duran songs like New Moon on Monday all added to the atmosphere, as did some of the newer additions to Duran’s usual concert setlists – ELO’s Evil Woman, Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer and Rick James’ SuperFreak.
Other Duran favourites proved a natural fit for the Halloween theme. Hungry Like the Wolf opened with howls from Simon Le Bon, while Wild Boys delivered its own dose of drama. A slow chant of The Clash’s London Calling first set the scene, before grotesque video imagery and spectacular jets of flame heightened the song’s theatrical impact.
Closing the concert with the classic Rio, the band rounded off the Halloween celebration as orange and black balloons cascaded from the ceiling onto the crowd.
For Duran Duran’s lifelong fans, the Halloween show offered something refreshingly different from the usual hits-filled concert.
In a spellbinding collision of music, mischief and the macabre, the Wild Boys had made The O2 their own haunted playground – and us Duran Duran fans loved it.
Photo credit: Paul Wallace, Another Day, Another Gig
