KUALA LUMPUR: Popular 1980s pop band Duran Duran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, USA on Saturday.
Although the British group performed a series of its hit songs such as Girls On Film, Rio and Ordinary World during the ceremony, it was clear that former member and guitarist Andy Taylor was absent.
Fans were expecting the event to serve as a reunion for the band but Duran Duran revealed Taylor's cancer diagnosis during its onstage speech after being inducted by actor Robert Downey Jr.
According to AFP, frontman Simon Le Bon read an open letter written by the absent personality divulging that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer just over four years ago.
Taylor wrote: "Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course, we are no different."
"So I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have, and this exceptional accolade."
"Despite the exceptional efforts of my team, I had to be honest in that both physically and mentally, I would be pushing my boundaries," he said.
Taylor added that although the disease was not immediately life-threatening, there is unfortunately no cure.
"However, none of this needs to or should detract from what this band has achieved and sustained for 44 years," he said.
After the ceremony, Le Bon who spoke to the media backstage said that the news was, "absolutely devastating."
"We love Andy dearly. I'm not gonna stand here and cry, I think that would be inappropriate, but that's what it feels like," he said.
The band, which was part of the New Wave pop movement during the 1980s, cut ties with Taylor in 2006 after citing an "unworkable gulf" between him and the other members.
Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, another former member, also did not attend the ceremony although he was initially expected to do so.
Aside from singer Le Bon, Duran Duran currently consists of keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor.
