Duran Duran's benefit concert at Aston Villa football ground 1983

On July 23, 1983 Duran Duran staged an open air benefit concert at Villa Park  Birmingham England [1]in front of 18,000 people who paid £8.50 a ticket to raise money for MENCAP. [2] It was one of only two concerts that summer by the band, the other being on July 20 before the Prince and Princess of Wales at London's London's Dominion Theatre .Birmingham was chosen as the venue, as it was where the band members' first met and formed the group [3]. The concert and subsequent shows in the area have always been regarded as a "homecoming" [4]. This event was particularly special to Roger Taylor as he once had ambitions to be Aston Villa's goalkeeper and was a regular spectator at the ground. [5].

The show started at 6pm when the host, BBC Radio 1 presenter Peter Powell, introduced the opening act "Prince Charles and the City Beat Band", which was followed by Robert Palmer who included the songs "John and Mary" and "Some Guys Have All The Luck" in his performance. [6]. Friendships from this concert helped Palmer, in late 1984, to join members of Duran Duran as lead singer of the super group Powerstation. [7]

Concert
Finally, Duran Duran took to the stage at 8.40pm, beginning their opening song as two giant black curtains slid open revealing them on a brightly lit stage with a backdrop consisting of six Roman-style pillars. The band performed the following:
 * 1) Is There Something I Should Know?
 * 2) Hungry Like The Wolf
 * 3) Union of The Snake
 * 4) Lonely In Your Nightmare
 * 5) New Religion
 * 6) Waiting For The Night Boat
 * 7) Friends Of Mine
 * 8) Save A Prayer
 * 9) Planet Earth
 * 10) My Own Way
 * 11) Hold Back The Rain
 * 12) Careless Memories
 * 13) Rio
 * 14) Fun Time
 * 15) Girls On Film

The concert finished at 10pm with an after show "homecoming" party held at the city's Rum Rummer nightclub. [8].

Memorabilia from the concert, including the programme which consists of 11 glossy double sided flyers with pictures on each side housed in a white glossy folder, have now become very collectible items. The programme, which was originally bought for £2.00, now sells for many times this value.

This was the first of two large benefit concerts held in the city during the early/mid 1980s, the Heart Beat 86 being the other.