IT might not be Rio but Duran Duran bassist John Taylor has swapped the lights of Los Angeles for the tranquil village of South Wraxall.

The Birmingham-born pop star and his wife Gela Nash-Taylor, founder of fashion label Juicy Couture, have bought the Manor, a mansion overlooking the village. The selling price is not known but the property was on the market in 2004 for £4.075m.

But villagers are unlikely to see the 80s pin-up popping into the local pub any time soon as the house is undergoing a complete makeover before they move in.

The Grade I listed stately home is set in 260 acres of sprawling countryside and boasts 10 bedrooms, five cottages, a cricket ground and an octagonal stone summerhouse.

The house was built between 1399 and 1423 by High Sheriff of Wiltshire Sir Robert Long and it is rumoured that the large drawing room was where Sir Walter Raleigh smoked the first tobacco in England.

The couple have employed two top designers to renovate the house with original 18th century furniture and fittings. One of the highlights of the house is the Jacobean fireplace, believed to be the finest in the country.

Taylor and his wife told fashion magazine Vogue how excited they were about the new house, which they had spotted in the pages of Country Life.

Mrs Nash-Taylor said: "John hasn't lived in England for many years but to him it will always be home. The thing that appealed most was that it's so close to Bath.

"It was the first one we saw. We went full circle and then came right back to it."

As one fifth of pop band Duran Duran Taylor, along with Simon Le Bon, Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Andy Taylor, was behind hits like Rio, A View To A Kill and Girls On Film.

He left the band in 1997 but four years ago the group reformed releasing the album Astronaut last year. They are currently on a world tour.

Villagers in South Wraxall said they were delighted the home has been bought by a family, rather than being turned into a hotel which was feared after developers bought it in 1999.

Bob Prior, landlord of The Longs Arms, said: "It's a lovely building with an especially lovely fireplace and I'm pleased it's going to be a house not a hotel. I think he's only going to be living there about a month a year so I don't think we're going to see that much of him.

"I can't say I'm a big fan of Duran Duran but I think they're very popular in Germany so maybe we'll get a lot of Germans coming to visit. The only other celebrity I know about living round here is Jane Seymour who has a house in Batheaston."