Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

, including the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. He also received an MBE from

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

in 2024.

Early life

Le Bon was born on 27 October 1958, on his father's birthday, in Bushey Maternity Hospital in Bushey, Hertfordshire, the first of three boys for John and Ann-Marie Le Bon, followed by his younger brothers, David and Jonathan. His mother encouraged his artistic talent when he was six years old by entering him in a screen test for a

Persil Persil (, ) is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Latin America (except Mexico), China, Australia and New Zealand, where it is manufactured an ...

washing powder TV advertisement, which proved successful. He was a member of the local church

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

from a young age, and was trained as an actor.

Education

Le Bon went to

Pinner County Grammar School Pinner County Grammar School was a grammar school in Pinner, Middlesex, from 1937 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 it became Pinner Junior College and then Pinner Sixth Form College. Pinner County Grammar School was built to accommodate 508 boys and g ...

and Nower Hill High School. In 1978, he completed an art foundation course at Harrow School of Art, before studying drama at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Career

Before Duran Duran

For a time Le Bon worked as a theatre porter at

Northwick Park Hospital Northwick Park Hospital (NWPH) is a major National Health Service hospital situated in the town of Harrow, North West London, managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. It is located off Watford Road in the London Borough ...

Accident and Casualty, and also sang in a punk band called Dog Days at Harrow School of Art. He appeared in a few television advertisements and also in several theatre productions including ''

Tom Brown's School Days ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1 ...

'' in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

. Le Bon worked on a kibbutz—an Israeli

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

community—in the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

desert in Israel in 1978, and then returned to England to study drama at the

before meeting the fledgling band Duran Duran in 1980.

Duran Duran

was founded by childhood friends John Taylor and

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates; 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member and the keyboardist of the band Duran Duran. He has also been the only constant member of the group since their 1978 ...

along with singer-songwriter

Stephen Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter of Irish ancestry. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist, and then drummer of Duran Duran. He we ...

in 1978, but Duffy left a year later, convinced that the band was not going to be successful. The band went through a long succession of line-up changes after Duffy's departure, but finally settled on a guitarist and drummer. The band had a powerful pop sound flavoured with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, and electronics, built on a solid rock rhythm section, and all they needed was a charismatic singer with a distinctive voice. Le Bon's ex-girlfriend, Fiona Kemp (a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

at the

Rum Runner Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term ''rum-running'' is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; ''bootlegging'' is applied to smuggl ...

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

where Duran Duran were rehearsing), introduced him to the band in May 1980, recommending him as a potential lead vocalist. As band legend has it, he turned up for the audition wearing pink leopard-print trousers, and carrying a notebook containing a large collection of poems he had written—several of which would later become tracks on the early Duran Duran studio albums. After listening to the songs the band had already composed together, Le Bon spent some time fitting one of his poems ("Sound of Thunder") to one of the instrumentals, and found they had a good match. Le Bon agreed to "try uran Duranout for the summer"; within six weeks the band was playing steadily around Birmingham, London and Nottingham, and a national tour supporting

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

led to a recording contract with

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

in December that year. The band's debut studio album, ''

'', was released in 1981, and they quickly became famous as part of the

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

movement. Three more albums followed in quick succession: '' Rio'' (1982), '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' (1983) and the live album ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

'' (1984). Each album release was accompanied by heavy media promotion and a lengthy concert tour. By mid-1984, the band were ready for a break. Duran Duran's only other work that year was an appearance on the Band Aid charity single "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" which was recorded at

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Is ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

, London on 25 November 1984. Le Bon's vocal appears fourth on the song after

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

and

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

sing their lines. Following the departures of Roger and Andy Taylor, Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor continued on as Duran Duran, recording and releasing '' Notorious'' (1986) and '' Big Thing'' (1988). The group added guitarist

Warren Cuccurullo Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, restaurant owner, and former bodybuilder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s. In 1 ...

and drummer

Sterling Campbell Sterling Campbell (born May 3, 1964) is an American drummer and songwriter who has worked with numerous high-profile acts, including the B-52s, Duran Duran, Soul Asylum, Cyndi Lauper, Nena, Grayson Hugh, Spandau Ballet, Gustavo Cerati, and David ...

and recorded the studio album ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

'' (1990), but the band's success had begun to wane in the late 1980s. Duran Duran had a resurgence in popularity in 1993 with the '' Wedding Album'', featuring the top-10 single " Ordinary World". Several months into the extensive worldwide concert tour supporting this album, Le Bon suffered a torn

vocal cord In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when breathing a ...

, and the tour was postponed for six weeks while he recovered. In 1995, Duran Duran released the covers album ''

Thank You "Thank you" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of gr ...

'', and Le Bon had the chance to cover some of his favourite artists, (

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

), but the album was severely panned by critics from all quarters. That year Le Bon also performed Duran Duran's 1993 hit "Ordinary World" with opera

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

during a "Children of Bosnia"

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

for War Child. Le Bon described the event to Jam! Showbiz thusly: "If you're talking about name dropping, he's one of the biggest names you could drop, Pav-The-Man". When bassist John Taylor left the band in 1997, Le Bon and Rhodes remained as the only two members who had been with Duran Duran from the beginning of their recording career. The successive two studio albums with Le Bon, Rhodes and Cuccurullo—'' Medazzaland'' (1997) and '' Pop Trash'' (2000)—were not commercial successes. Simon le bon

In 2001, Duran Duran's original five members reunited to record a new studio album, ''

Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

'', for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. ''Astronaut'' was released worldwide on 11 October 2004. The album was preceded by the single " (Reach Up for The) Sunrise", their first UK Top 10 single in a decade.

Arcadia

Before Duran Duran reunited in 1986, Le Bon formed the band Arcadia with Rhodes. The band had a UK/US top 10 hit with their first single "

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

", and released one studio album, ''

So Red the Rose ''So Red the Rose'' is the only studio album by the Duran Duran-spinoff group Arcadia, released on 18 November 1985 by Parlophone. It included the singles " Election Day", " The Promise", " Goodbye Is Forever" and " The Flame". The album peake ...

'' in 1985.

Solo excursions

While Le Bon has been in Duran Duran for the band's entire recording history, he has also dabbled in solo outings. In 1985, for the Whitbread Round the World Race, he contributed a song titled "Grey Lady of the Sea" and narrated a video of that year's race called ''Drum'' (1987). "Grey Lady of the Sea" was released as a single in Japan in 1988. In 1989, for Jonathan Elias' ''Requiem for the Americas'' project, Le Bon contributed "Follow in My Footsteps", with

the Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

providing backing vocals. The track was released on 7" single in Italy that year. In 1998, along with friend Nick Wood and wife Yasmin, he set up SYN Entertainment (Simon Yasmin Nick) in Tokyo, Japan. Having first conceived the idea in 1988, Le Bon is currently described as SYN's "Founder and Chairman", while Wood is "Founder, President and Creative Director". In 2000, SYN Entertainment founded SYN Records which has released a number of compilations, some of which have included contributions by Le Bon. Another solo track, "Dreamboy", was featured on the SYN-released soundtrack to the

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

comedy film '' Love Kills'' (1998). Also in 2000, SYN co-executive produced the Duran Duran studio album '' Pop Trash'' along with Rhodes' and Cuccurullo's side-venture TV Mania. In October 2005 Dutch trance DJ Ferry Corsten released the track "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

", with vocals by Le Bon. It was a remix of the lesser known Duran Duran single " Serious", from the studio album ''

'' (1990). (full credits: Ferry Corsten feat. Simon Le Bon – Fire (Flashover remix), on Flashover Recordings) In late 2006, Le Bon became a member of Shinzou Sound, and took part in the Japan-based online

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

project, ''Synesthesia'', by co-writing the theme song "Nobody Knows" along with Nick Wood. In 2010, Le Bon collaborated on the song "Record Collection", the title track from

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

's third studio album. In the song, Le Bon is heard singing the chorus, along with

and hip hop artist Wiley. Ronson later produced Duran Duran's 2010 studio album '' All You Need Is Now'', and 2015's '' Paper Gods''. Since 2020, he has been hosting the music show
WHOOOSH!
' with Katy Krassner. Originally on the Duran Duran website, the show moved to

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and then to

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

where it airs on The Spectrum channel 28. The duo play 11 songs per week and discuss them. Le Bon curates all the tracks. In 2024, LeBon appeared as a guest judge on season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. The lip-sync song chosen for the episode was " Girls on Film".

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Le Bon was engaged to his then longtime girlfriend, model-turned-actress

Claire Stansfield Claire Stansfield (born 27 August 1964) is a British-Canadian actress, director, fashion designer, and former model who is best known for her recurring role as Alti in several episodes of the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and gue ...

. After breaking up with her, he dated fashion model Yasmin Parvaneh. Seeing her face in a magazine, he phoned her

modelling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with b ...

to track her down and they married on 27 December 1985. Yasmin suffered two

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

s, but the couple went on to have three daughters, including

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

. He became a grandfather in 2018. During Duran Duran's hiatus in 1985, Le Bon drew media attention when his

maxi yacht A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least in length. Origin The term ''maxi'' originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single ...

, ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'', lost its keel and capsized during the

Fastnet Race The Fastnet Race is a biennial offshore yacht race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) of the United Kingdom with the assistance of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes and the City of Cherbourg in France. The race is named after th ...

, just off Falmouth along the southern coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. Before being rescued, Le Bon and other crew members were trapped under the boat, inside the hull, for forty minutes. All of them were rescued by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, using a

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) helicopter from 771 Naval Air Squadron based near

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

. The rescue earned the Rescue Diver, POACMN L Slater, a

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

. Despite the accident, Le Bon and ''Drum'' went on to participate in the 1985–1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, coming in third overall in elapsed time. Le Bon and his partners eventually sold ''Drum''; the events surrounding ''Drum'' and the races were chronicled in a 1989 movie entitled ''Drum – The Journey of a Lifetime'' and the book ''One Watch at a Time'' written by ''Drum''s skipper, Skip Novak. Twenty years after his accident, in 2005, Le Bon made public his desire to race again. During a touring break in August 2005, Le Bon again raced ''Drum'' in the

, borrowing the vessel from her owner (the late Scottish multi car garage owner Sir Arnold Clark) to participate, and raising funds for charity the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI). Le Bon had to leave the race unfinished, as light winds were slowing ''Drum'' (and the other competitors), and would have delayed the boat's arrival at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, interfering with Le Bon's obligation to perform in Japan. He appears as the narrator in a documentary film project called ''The Weekend Sailor'' which is about a

Swan 65 The Swan 65 is a large fibreglass fin+keeled Masthead rig, masthead ketch- or sloop-rigged sailing yacht design, manufactured by Nautor's Swan. It was introduced as the new flagship of Nautor in 1973. At the time of its launch it was the largest ...

sailing yacht called ''

Sayula II ''Sayula II'' is a Swan 65 yacht designed by Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engine ...

'' that won the first Whitbread Round the World sailing race in 1973–1974. In 2009 Le Bon (who describes himself as a "concerned agnostic") contributed an essay to the book ''The Atheist's Guide to Christmas'', edited by Ariane Sherine. In 2014, he became a distinguished supporter of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

. Le Bon injured his

vocal cords In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...

and was unable to finish his 2011 summer tour. He remarked, "I am trying to be philosophical." In 2018, Le Bon was accused by a therapist named Shereen Hariri of sexually assaulting her at the Wherehouse, a record store where she worked during a signing session on 10 April 1995. He responded via the band's social media pages denying the allegation, saying in part, "I have always been one who can admit to my mistakes and apologize for my failings. But I cannot apologize for something I did not do." Le Bon was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2024 Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Charles III, King Charles III to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to music and charity.

Discography

with Duran Duran * ''

'' (1981) * '' Rio'' (1982) * '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' (1983) * '' Notorious'' (1986) * '' Big Thing'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Medazzaland'' (1997) * '' Pop Trash'' (2000) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

Reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

'' (2006; unreleased) * '' Red Carpet Massacre'' (2007) * '' All You Need Is Now'' (2010) * '' Paper Gods'' (2015) * '' Future Past'' (2021) * ''

Danse Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...

'' (2023) with Arcadia * ''

'' (1985)

References

External links

SYN Entertainment official website

Duran Duran official website
* * *
WHOOOSH!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Bon, Simon 1958 births Living people 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singer-songwriters 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singer-songwriters Alumni of the University of Birmingham English synth-pop new wave musicians English male new wave singers Duran Duran members English agnostics English male sailors (sport) English male singer-songwriters English people of French descent English male pop singers English tenors Ivor Novello Award winners Musicians from Hertfordshire Entertainers from Bushey People from Pinner Volvo Ocean Race sailors Members of the Order of the British Empire