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 albums. Le Bon's ex-girlfriend, Fiona Kemp (a barmaid at the Rum Runner nightclub where Duran Duran were rehearsing), introduced him to the band in May 1980, recommending him as a potential vocalist. 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. The band went through a long succession of lineup changes after Duffy's departure, but finally settled on a guitarist and drummer. Duran Duranĭuran 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. 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. 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 as a theatre porter at Northwick Park Hospital Accident and Casualty, and also auditioned for a punk band at Harrow College. He also attended Nower Hill High School, the same school his mother attended. Simon Le Bon went to Pinner County Grammar School, the same school that Elton John attended some years earlier. He was a member of the local church choir from a young age, but was also trained as an actor. 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. “This feels like a Saturday night down at the local with all your best mates,” Le Bon said at one point, after roaring reactions to the band’s biggest hits “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “The Reflex” and closer “Rio” (the tour celebrates that single’s 40th birthday).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. But it was the addition of talented saxophonist Simon Willescroft and backup singers Rachael O’Connor and Anna Ross (who aced the harmonies on “Come Undone”) that fortified the live set. Guitarist Dominic Brown (the latest in the band the last decade or so after a rotating cast) added to the chemistry, with winding solos that gave extra panache. Save for a few raspy parts, Le Bon’s voice was impeccable, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Taylor held a steady rhythmic front and Nick “keyboard god” Rhodes (Le Bon’s words) was in ultra-sharp form. But that only put the focus on the prime moments of each band member. The early masters of video production brought a set full of mood-setting imagery throughout the night though short on other theatrics.
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