Born on 27 October: Simon Le Bon, singer of Duran Duran and seasoned skipper

One might think that the singer born in 1958 is just a pretty face who has been rocking the stock market for decades. Think again!

Before seeing himself as a pop singer, little Simon, barely six years old, went to castings to play in commercials in the United Kingdom pushed by his mother. One of these, shot in 1964 for the Persil washing powder, is easy to find on the Internet. His deliciously old-fashioned side and the cute smile of the kid quickly convinced us that "all moms need that bright whiteness, essential with a boy at home". At an age when his future companions in Duran Duran were still toiling over their multiplication tables, Simon Le Bon was enjoying his first success! As he was also a member of his parish choir and wore out his pants in the same school as Elton John, it can be said that music also had a place in his childhood and adolescence.

A few years later, after short-lived experiences on the stage, he saw himself becoming an actor. Instead, he finally agreed to join Duran Duran in 1980 only in order to set to music some of the poems he had written. Nearly 45 years later, Stephen Duffy's replacement, despite some inevitable jolts, still firmly holds the helm of the English band. Their latest album "Danse Macabre" in 2023, judiciously released at Halloween (and offered again on the same date in a new version this year) certainly lacks originality and their cover of "Evil Woman" by Electric Light Orchestra does not equal the original 1975 version.

Simon Le Bon: survivor of New Romanticism

Given their track record, the group has little left to prove. These survivors of New Romanticism have an imposing string of hits in their bag that they are still working to polish. "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Rio", "New Religion", "Save A Prayer", "Planet Earth", "Girls on Film" and the inevitable soundtrack of a James Bond film with "A View to a Kill" in 1985 are more than enough to keep them as global stars.

Simon Le Bon also has sea legs. Since the mid-80s, he has been dipping into his personal kitty to satisfy his other passion. He helped finance a boat in order to take part in the Whitbread Race, the famous round the globe sailing race. After a few setbacks, he finally made his dream come true, held the helm for a few stages and placed his "Drum" (the name given to his boat) in an honourable third place. Even today, the singer takes to the sea as soon as the opportunity arises. For some years now, he has also been supporting the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for sea rescue.

(Stéphane Soupart - Trad.: MH - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo : Simon Le Bon with Duran Duran at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp (Belgium) on the 5th of Dec 1986