When I lived in Orlando, I went to watch Duran Duran live at The House of Blues, in Walt Disney World & I met the groups' drummer Roger Taylor.

Roger Taylor.

There was a group of about eight of us going & it was my first time seeing Duran Duran, although I had been to the House of Blues several times. When we arrived the place was packed & the girls I was with wanted to get on the dance floor as close to the stage as possible. I went with them to see where they would be, but after dancing with them briefly while the warm-up band was on, I decided I would get a beer before Duran Duran came on.

I walked towards the bar only to find that the queue of people all along the length of the bar was four deep. Realising that I would have to wait for ages to get served & remembering that at the end of & behind the bar was a staff staircase to get to the upstairs bar, I made my way to the end of the bar. When I got to the end of the bar I quickly made sure no one would see me, then ducked under the serving hatch & walked up the stairs to the bar above. When I got there I quickly ducked under the bar & was surprised to see that apart from myself there was no one else there apart from one barmaid who was serving a man at the bar.

I walked up to the bar & asked the barmaid for a bottle of beer & began talking to the man there. I told him I couldn't believe we were the only ones drinking upstairs & saying how busy it was at the downstairs bar. He asked me if I lived in Orlando & if I went to see many shows at The House of Blues. I told him that I had lived in Orlando for a few years & had seen a few groups there but that it was the first time I had seen Duran Duran. I told him that I was there with a group of friends who were all dancing right in front of the stage so they could see the bands better. When I finished my beer I ordered myself another beer & asked him if he wanted one, he thanked me for the beer & asked me what my name was. I told him my name was Alan & he told me his name was Roger. We carried on talking for a while & as we finished our beers he told me he was going to a bar above the stage & asked if I wanted another beer. I said OK & told him I didn't know there was another bar.

Staying on the floor we were on, we walked around to a side door, to another bar, which must have been directly above the stage. As we approached the door he opened it & walked through, as I walked through two large bouncers stopped me but before I could say anything to them, Roger turned around & said 'It's OK Alan is with me' & I was let in. My first guess was that Roger must work at Disney & that we were going to the staff bar.

As we arrived at the bar he ordered two more beers & as we stood at the bar talking I started looking around & saw that Simon le Bon & his wife Yasmin were standing drinking next to us. I couldn't believe it & was just about to say something to Roger when Yasmin came across to him gave him a kiss & a hug & started talking. Roger quickly introduced me to Yasmin & Simon le Bon & the rest of the band & people at the bar, telling them that I was from England but now lived in Orlando. After a short while, Simon & Yasmin said goodbye & told Roger they had better go down to the stage. Roger said goodbye to me & said it was nice meeting me but he had to go. I then thought he must be a roadie or something else connected to the band.

After the band left I walked back down to the dance floor to the girls I had arrived with. They all wondered where I had been & didn't believe a word I said when I told them I had been drinking with someone who must be something to do with the band & that I had met Simon & Yasmin le Bon at a bar above the stage. Shortly after the warm-up band finished, Duran Duran came on & started with some of their biggest hits.

After they had sung a few songs Simon welcomed everyone to the show & introduced all the band members one at a time. Each member of the band stood up as they were introduced & did a solo piece with whatever instrument they played. When he got round to the drummer in front of me & the girls I was with, he introduced the Drummer of the band Roger Taylor. Roger did a solo piece on the drums & then stood up to thank everyone for coming. As he stood up I realized the Roger I had met & been drinking with, was Roger Taylor the band drummer. As he was thanking the audience for the applause he saw me standing with my friends in front of him & said 'Hello Alan, everyone this is my good friend Alan, say hello to Alan'. At this point, the girls all around me went wild & I was swamped by girls going mad who all wanted to dance with me.

I had a fantastic night at the show, enjoyed meeting all of Duran Duran & would like to thank Roger Taylor for a great night at the show & for the great nights, I had for a while afterwards with girls wanting to buy me drinks in the bar I used in Kissimmee. They all wanted to know about my friend Roger & the band Duran Duran.