Duran Duran: South African concerts to open ‘global campaign’ for ‘All You Need Is Now’

With its new record nearly complete, Duran Duran today announced its first South African concerts in 17 years, a five-date run in December that’s being billed as “the start of an enormous global campaign around the release of their next studio album” — which is expected in early 2011.

The band — currently comprised of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor — will perform in Durban on Dec. 7, Johannesburg on Dec. 8 and 9, and Cape Town on Dec. 11 and 12 (see full details below). The concerts mark the group’s first trip to South Africa since a 1993 visit following the end of apartheid.

Duran Duran has spent the past 18 months working with Amy Winehouse producer Mark Ronson on the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2007’s Red Carpet Massacre (hear the first taste of the new record here). A studio-bound Rhodes, in a video statement posted a month ago, said, “We are almost, very almost, nearly very almost, finished.”

To tide fans over, next week Duran Duran releases — in most of the world — the latest in its ongoing series of expanded 2CD/1DVD and vinyl reissues: 1986’s Notorious and 1988’s Big Thing (see complete tracklists here). Those titles, however, won’t be released in the U.S. until Oct 12 — and American vinyl lovers will have to seek out imports, because they’re not being released here in that format.

UPDATE 9/26/10: Duran Duran tonight announced the title of its nearly complete 13th studio album is All You Need is Now. Although, the band notes, that’s subject to change.

See Duran Duran’s South African tour dates after the jump…

Duran Duran tour dates:

Dec. 8: International Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa
Dec. 9: The Big Top, Carnival City, Johannesburg, South Africa
Dec. 10: The Big Top, Carnival City, Johannesburg, South Africa
Dec. 11: The Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, South Africa
Dec. 12: The Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town, South Africa

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• Audio: Duran Duran’s ‘Blame the Machine,’ first taste of forthcoming album
• Duran Duran’s ‘Notorious,’ ‘Big Thing’ reissues pushed back to late September
• EMI defends Duran Duran remastering, won’t replace CDs over ‘Girls on Film’ glitch
• Video: Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes promises ‘we will have a record done this year’
• Duran Duran’s ‘Notorious,’ ‘Big Thing’ to be reissued in 2CD/1DVD editions in June
• Duran Duran reissuing self-titled debut, ‘Seven and the Ragged Tiger’
• Duran Duran spinoff Arcadia reissuing ‘So Red the Rose’ as 2CD/1DVD set