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Quick Facts
- NAME: Simon Le Bon
- OCCUPATION: Singer
- BIRTH DATE: October 27, 1958 (Age: 54)
- EDUCATION: University of Birmingham
- PLACE OF BIRTH: near Bushey, Hertfordshire, England
- Full Name: Simon John Charles Le Bon
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
Simon Le Bon was lead singer of the 1980s pop group Duran Duran, known for recording the hit song “Hungry Like the Wolf.” He left the group before they later reunited in 2001.
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Duran Duran - Full Biography (45:19)
Duran Duran - Full Biography
Duran Duran, the strikingly handsome pop quintet from Birmingham, pumped out three decades of top hits including "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Rio", "Save A Prayer" and "The Reflex."
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Play NowSimon Le Bon. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:11, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868.
Simon Le Bon. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Simon Le Bon." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 05:11 http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868.
"Simon Le Bon," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Simon Le Bon," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Simon Le Bon [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868.
Simon Le Bon, http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Simon Le Bon. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/simon-le-bon-263868. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Beyond the hysteria that surrounded them, Duran Duran had true musical talent and was able to produce infectious, modern-sounding pop music. Le Bon and the rest of the group won two Grammy Awards in 1983 for Best Video - Short Form and Best Video Album. Still Le Bon sometimes faced criticism for his vocals, his dancing style on stage and his weight.
Contents
Challenges
By 1985, Duran Duran was feeling the strain of its success. The group recorded “A View to a Kill” together as the title track for the James Bond film by the same title. That same year, the members of Duran Duran released a number of side projects. While John and Andy Taylor worked with Tony Thompson and Robert Palmer as the Power Station, Le Bon and the remainder of Duran Duran formed Arcadia, which released one album together, So Red the Rose. Andy and Roger Taylor left the group that same year.
On a personal front, Le Bon found himself in a dangerous situation that year. Pursuing his interest in sailing, he had invested in a sailing yacht called Drum. Participating in the Fastnet race off the coast of England, he and the rest of the crew (which included his brother Jonathan) nearly died when the boat capsized, trapping them inside the hull. They stayed there for approximately forty minutes before being rescued. This near tragedy did not stop him from participating in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Round the World Race aboard a repaired Drum. He and his crew came in third overall. That same year, he married model Yasmin Parvaneh. The two started dating after Le Bon saw her photograph and called her agency to get her phone number.
Waning Popularity
After Roger and Andy Taylor's departures, Duran Duran continued on with its three remaining members, releasing Notorious in 1986, which featured a funkier sound than earlier recordings. The title track was the strongest hit on the album. By the late 1980s, Duran Duran’s popularity began to wane. Their next two studio albums, Big Thing (1988) and Liberty (1990), failed to capture the attention of music buyers and critics. While a greatest hits collection, Decade (1990), sparked some interest, the band really only returned to the charts with Duran Duran (also known as the Wedding Album) in 1993. “Ordinary World” was their first major hit in years.
Their next venture, 1995’s Thank You, did not fare as well. The collection of cover songs was intended to pay tribute to their influences, but critics shredded their versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and others. The next year, Le Bon branched out on his own to support the Bosnian War Child charity. He sang “Ordinary World” as a duet with Luciano Pavarotti and joined Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries on their hit “Linger” in concert.
Duran Duran’s next album, Medazzaland (1997), was done without longtime member John Taylor who left in 1996 for a solo career. “Electric Barbarella” was perhaps the only track got some airplay, referencing the science fiction cult film that the group took its name from.
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London Cultural Renaissance - Cultural Icons: 1980s
View groupThe 1980s were an important era in London marked by several significant social and historical events. On July 29, 1981 the United Kingdom saw the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The new Princess of Wales soon became a cultural icon—noted for her patronage, charity work and refined sense of fashion. Another history maker, Margaret Thatcher, served as Britain's first female prime minister, soon establishing herself as the authoritative "Iron Lady." Biography.com looks at these powerful women and the many other figures of the '80s, who made their mark on the decade.
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James Bond Soundtrack Artists
View groupBond—James Bond—was introduced to movie fans with the release of the first 007 film, Dr. No, in 1962. The past five decades of James Bond films have included a gamut of soundtrack artists, including Paul McCartney & Wings, who performed the song "Live and Let Die" for the Bond film of the same name; Shirley Bassey, who sang tracks for the films Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger; Jack White and Alicia Keys, who performed "Another Way to Die" for Quantum of Solace; Gladys Knight, who sang the title track for License to Kill; Louis Armstrong, who performed "We Have All the Time in the World" (secondary theme) for On Her Majesty's Secret Service; and Adele, who sang the title track for the newest film of the Bond franchise, Skyfall.
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