Duran Duran and Nile Rodgers are back together, and the result sounds exactly like you’d hope. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have released “Free to Love,” their first new music of 2026, a disco-driven synth-pop anthem co-written with Rodgers that carries the unmistakable warmth of their four-decade creative partnership. It’s upbeat, it’s urgent, and it lands at exactly the right moment.
Simon Le Bon calls it “disco for the 2020s,” and that description holds up. The track is built for open spaces and loud speakers, with a chorus that pushes freedom as something personal and non-negotiable. Nick Rhodes put it plainly: “Every time we plug in and play with Nile, the electricity he generates could light up a whole city.” Rodgers adds, “Whatever chaos is going on outside, inside the studio we’re free to love our peace.”
The music video, directed by Jonas Åkerlund (Madonna, Beyoncé, Metallica) and featuring British broadcaster Clara Amfo, pulls from the visual language of classic TV music shows, disco balls included. It’s a deliberate, joyful throwback that suits the song perfectly.
The Rodgers connection goes back to his remix of “The Reflex” in 1984, the band’s first Billboard Hot 100 number one, and has continued through their 2004 album ‘Astronaut’ and the 2015 track “Pressure Off.” “Free to Love” is the latest chapter in one of pop music’s most reliable collaborations.
Duran Duran headline BST Hyde Park in London on July 5th with Scissor Sisters as special guests, following a BeachLife Festival appearance and a four-night Las Vegas residency at Fontainebleau. A full European run follows.
Duran Duran 2026 Tour Dates:
May 1, BeachLife Festival, Redondo Beach, CA
May 2, Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, NV
May 6, Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, NV
May 8, Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, NV
May 9, Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, NV
June 19, Heartland Festival, Kværndrup, DK
June 22, Spoorpark, Tilburg, NL
June 24, O2 Arena, Praha 9, CZ
June 26, Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart, DE
June 28, Papp Arena, Budapest, HU
July 1, Sofia Arena, Sofia, BG
July 2, Arena Boris Trajkovski, Skopje, MK
July 5, BST Hyde Park, London, UK
July 7, Arena di Verona, Verona, IT
July 9, La Reggia Di Caserta, Caserta, IT
July 11, Villa Manin, Passariano, IT
July 12, Piazza Grande, Locarno, CH