DURAN DURAN TO PERFORM AT ANDY WARHOL EXHIBIT OPENING

Duran Duran is gearing up to play a benefit at the Whitney Museum in New York for the opening night of the Andy Warhol retrospective on Nov. 6, dubbed The Warhol Look/Glamour Style Fashion. A spokesperson for the band says that Duran Duran was hand-picked as the sole performing act by the museum because of the close friendship Warhol shared with keyboardist Nick Rhodes.

Duran Duran will be playing a 20 to 30 minute set in the basement of the Whitney, which has been converted to replicate Warhol's Factory, the New York City art studio famous in the '60s as a place for the artist's friends -- such as actress Edie Sedgwick and photographer Billy Name -- to gather. The band will be performing several of their greatest hits as well as songs off of their upcoming album Medazzaland, which will be released on Oct. 14 on Capitol Records.

The show is scheduled to follow a $25,000- a- table dinner and a guided tour through the Factory. The private viewing of the exhibit, The Warhol Look/Glamour Style Fashion, will feature photography, videos, films, and clothing by -- and inspired by -- Warhol. For the event, shops neighboring the Whitney, including Tiffany's and Barney's New York, will be changing their storefront windows to display various Warhol- inspired themes.