Nick Rhodes

Nicholas James Bates (he changed his name to Rhodes) was born in Birmingham, England. His father is an engineer, and he describes his mother as a "happy housewife".

"I'm a Gemini," Nick says, "and I believe in immense detail." He also admits to an intense curiosity about the world, and, in fact, his very first memory is of mixing stones in with his mother's potatoes to see what her reaction would be.

His curiosity, however, did not show itself much in school, which he hated. "School really stifled me," he says. "I really didn't feel that I needed to know what sodium bicarbonate and sulfuric acid make."

But one thing positive did come out of formal education for Nick. "The main thing I learned at school," he muses, "which was invaluable to me later on, was about people and psychology."

Another thing he learned to do, perhaps because of his lack of interest in classes, was to fantasize about the future. "I wanted to be a pop star since I was twelve," he reminisces. "But then, of course, it's a dream." Nonetheless, he asserts, "I had a very vivid impression of what I wanted to do."

What he wanted to do was leave school and play music, which he did as soon as he turned sixteen and passed his O levels (tests required for a diploma), although he says now, "I swore when I left school that I was never going to use any of my O levels or anything, ever. I knew they were entirely useless to me."

What was useful to him was a passionate interest in music, especially in artists such as David Bowie, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, and Rod Stewart. Not coincidentally, he was also very interested in clothes and in hanging out at Birmingham nightclubs such as Barbarella's.

All of this led to his getting together with his childhood friend John Taylor (who had grown up down the block from him) to form a band that would embrace all of their interests. (More about that later.)

Nick is very fond of animals, especially cats, and says sadly that what upsets him the most is "animals dying," although he is not a vegetarian because "I like steak too much, unfortunately!"

Does he have any pets of his own? "I did have some pets when I used to live at home with my parents a few years back, and they're still there. My mum has to look after them because I travel so much and I can't look after them. I've got a black cat called Sebastian and a black-and- white collie dog called Raffles." He laughingly adds that "the cat gets more fan mail than me!"

Nick also enjoys French food, strawberries, champagne, all kinds of films (especially those starring Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sophia Loren), "Family Feud" (one of his favorite phrases is "good answer, good answer"), and sleeping.

New places he'd like to go to include China, Iceland, Russia, and Brazil. He says that his current favorite cities are "London, New York and Paris--not necessarily in that order!" He has a house in a chic section of London.

Orange-haired Nick--his hair has been fifteen different colors at different times--talks in a very animated way, using his hands to emphasize a point. His green eyes flash when he speaks.

Although he is known as the comedian of the group, and does joke around a lot, he can be very serious.

Photo captions: p. 18 "It's too bad Nick doesn't have anybody at home to fix his collar for him!" (one of his lapels was under his tie instead of over it); p. 19 "A rare smile from Nick during a performance."; p. 20 "Of all the Durans, Nick seems to prefer suits the most."; p. 21 "Nick is often chosen as the band's spokesman because he has such a thoughtful way of expressing himself."