It’s been 50 years since Apollo 11 first took humankind to the moon for the first time back in 1969, and to celebrate, the Kennedy Space Center (where the mission was launched) threw a little party to commemorate. English new wave band Duran Duran are apparently big fans of the whole “landing on the moon” thing, and performed a concert at the center to pay tribute to its anniversary.
The band’s keyboardist Nick Rhodes reckons the lunar mission was super impactful for the group, saying that the “indelible impact of the moon landing has been one of Duran Duran’s main sources of inspiration.
“In the last half-century, there have been very few events that have captured the world’s attention and united everyone in such a positive way. We are truly thrilled and honored to be a part of the 50-year celebration of the Apollo 11 mission, the performance tonight, at KSCVC where the launch took place.”
In a video posted by the band, Duran Duran are joined by a 16-piece orchestra and 40-person choir to perform the band’s 2015 track ‘The Universe Alone’ below a swirl of CGI stars. It’s a pretty stunning visual.
As Rolling Stone point out, Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon recently spoke about meeting Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon’s surface.
“To actually meet somebody who stepped on another celestial body than this one was incredible,” said Le Bon. “It was extraordinary. It’s amazing. He had a little laptop with him. He said, ‘I’ve got to play you guys this music. And he played us this song that went, ‘I want to go back to the moon.’ It’s an incredible thing what he did. I also think it’s a tough thing to have your life defined by one single event.”
Watch a snippet of the performance below.
