I’m hungry like the wolf for this Duran Duran-themed jewel-encrusted Walkman

A jewel-encrusted Walkman with a cassette tape on silver metallic table, with dark background

(Image credit: We Are Rewind)

We Are Rewind has released a Duran Duran-themed Walkman
The portable cassette player honors the album Pop Trash's 25th 'Duranniversary'
Priced $199 / £149 (approx. AU$299) – and I will dance into the fire for it

I get it. I'm the perfect demographic – call it The Reflex or my analog-loving nature, but I will Dance into the Fire to get my hands on this cassette player.

As a committed Durandy (yes, that's the term I prefer; 'Durannie' sounds so much older) I also love me a cassette Walkman – just see my love letters to FiiO's lovely option and even We Are Rewind's Elvis-themed Walkman from earlier in the year.

And this one will doubtless have me Hallucinating Elvis once more, because it celebrates the 25th Duranniversary of Pop Trash, an album that was always on heavy rotation in my five-disc CD player (why yes, right next to my Lava Lamp…) and you even get a reissue of the album on cassette with your purchase, as well as a pencil – of course you get a pencil.

I cannot wait to listen to Simon Le Bon's incredible range and Roger Taylor's impetuous drum fills on this Walkman – I feel like it's positively screaming 'Why-y-y-y don't you use me?'

We Are Rewind doesn't say what type of sparkly jewels this player is somehow encrusted with (they're probably not diamonds guys, this is Pop Trash) but in the same way that wild boys always shine, so will this player…

Above all, don't say a prayer for me now, save it 'til the morning after I've managed to get my hands on this Walkman, OK? Of all the Walkmans in all the gin joints on Planet Earth, this is the one I want.

Duran Duran x We Are Rewind's cassette player, on a gray table with black background — (Image credit: We Are Rewind)

August moon's surrender to a dust cloud on the rise?

No, it's just a very sparkly Walkman!

Do you even want to know anything about it? Because for me, the aesthetic is more than enough for my poor Gen. X heart to crave it. Whenever I imagine Rio dancing on the sand, I will now imagine her holding this Walkman, with the cool sea breeze catching the wires from her headphones – just like that river twisting through a dusty land.

But for anyone scanning this missive thinking Is There Something I should Know?, We Are Rewind (a company that specializes in such things, just see the firm's modern boombox for starters) tells me that the Duran Duran Walkman is equipped with "a unique headphone amplifier designed with cassette playback in mind".

You also get Bluetooth connectivity for hooking it up to the best Bluetooth speakers or best earbuds you can find, and a rechargeable battery (forget those nasty AAs) that should last for 12 hours before it needs a jolt of juice.

I won't cry for yesterday, but I do love digging out my old cassette collection – a reminder of the Ordinary World I sometimes feel I've lost.

How much? Of course: it's available from today, priced $199 / £149 (so around AU$299) and for that price, wild boys'll never lose it…

The best music players for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best hi-res music players
1. Best overall:
Activo P1
2. Best budget hi-res player:
Fiio JM21
3. Best step-up hi-res player:
Astell & Kern A&norma SR35

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