Simon Le Bon | |
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Born |
Simon John Charles Le Bon 27 October 1958 near Bushey, Hertfordshire, England |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter, musician, lyricist |
Spouse(s) | Yasmin Le Bon (m. 1985) |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | John Le Bon Ann-Marie Le Bon |
Musical career | |
Genres | New wave, rock, synthpop, alternative rock |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar, harmonica, ocarina, vibraphone |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels | Various labels |
Associated acts | Duran Duran, Arcadia |
Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and musician of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.
Simon John Charles Le Bon was the first-born son of John Le Bon and Ann-Marie of Huguenot descent, followed by two further sons, 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 washing powder TV advert.
He was a member of the local church choir from a young age, but was also trained as an actor. Simon went to Pinner County Grammar School, the same school that Elton John attended some years earlier. He also attended Nower Hill High School, the same school his mother attended. He worked as a theatre porter at Northwick Park Hospital Accident and Casualty, and also auditioned for a punk band at Harrow College. He appeared in a few television commercials and also in several theatre productions including Tom Brown's Schooldays in the West End of London. He worked on a kibbutz – an Israeli collective community – in the Negev desert in Israel in 1978, and then returned to England to study drama at the University of Birmingham before meeting the fledgling band Duran Duran in 1980.
Duran Duran was founded by childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes along with singer/songwriter Stephen Duffy in 1978, but Duffy left a year later, convinced they weren't going anywhere. The band went through a long succession of lineup changes after Duffy's departure, but finally settled on a guitarist and drummer. The band had a powerful pop sound flavoured with disco, funk and electronics, built on a solid rock rhythm section, and all they needed was a charismatic singer with a distinctive voice.