With its as-yet-untitled 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.’

This week’s new releases include ‘Who We Touch,’ the 11th album from The Charlatans; ‘The Morning After,’ a new mini-album from James; a David Bowie tribute album featuring Duran Duran and Mick Karn; and reissues from Madness and Flesh for Lulu’s Nick Marsh.

The first taste of Duran Duran’s long-in-the-works 13th studio album hit the Internet this evening after Mark Ronson — who’s producing the disc — played 30 seconds of ‘Blame the Machine’ on his East Village Radio show.

Now that EMI has come out defending its last set of expanded Duran Duran reissues, the label has pushed back the release of the band’s next pair: 1986’s ‘Notorious’ and 1988’s ‘Big Thing,’ both now due on Sept. 27, nearly four months after their original June release date.

More than three months after Duran Duran reissued its self-titled debut and ‘Seven and the Ragged Tiger,’ the band’s label, EMI, is defending the albums’ remastering amid fan complaints, acknowledging that ‘the mastering on these versions is different to that of previous remasters — however that does not necessarily make it wrong.’

Monday, Duran Duran co-founder Nick Rhodes — who today celebrates his 48th birthday — posted a short video update on YouTube to bring fans up to date on the band’s lengthy sessions for its 13th studio album.