Duran Duran: We are a pop force for good

Duran Duran have earned themselves a "grudging respect" from young musicians.

The British band, fronted by Simon Le Bon, have been in the spotlight for close to four decades.

And Simon says it's this staying power that has proved inspirational to some of the industry's hottest upcoming talent. That list includes producer Mr. Hudson, who made a major contribution to the group's latest record Paper Gods, due to hit shelves on Friday.

"I've sensed a sort of grudging respect," Simon told USA Today. "It takes a lot of energy to hate, you know? It's exhausting.

It's easier for us to carry on than it is for the haters. And we're never going to give up, because we believe we are a force for good in pop music."

Uptown Funk star Mark Ronson and Chic frontman Nile Rodgers have both worked on Paper Gods.

And the group's bassist John Taylor is confident that the record is one of their best to date, simply due to the amount of life experience the four-piece have accrued since they first found fame.

"We have more life experience to draw on," John said. "When we started, none of us had full-time girlfriends or families, and everything was 100% about the band. You lose that tunnel vision, but we've all remained remarkably dedicated to the band. I think we all firmly believe that if we're going to make another record at this point, it's got to be really good — it's got to make a statement. Otherwise, what's the point?"