Q & Andy: Simon Le Bon
SIMON LE BON IN LOS ANGELES, 1982. PHOTO: BERLINER STUDIO/BEIMAGES.
It’s no ordinary world for the ’80s new romantic style icon and Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon—not just any rakish rock star sails a yacht halfway around the world. As the band sets out on a world tour in suppport of their 14th studio album, Paper Gods, out this month, the man, the myth, the dad dancer, Le Bon had a chat with Andy.
ANDY WARHOL: What did you eat for breakfast?
SIMON LE BON: What I usually have: a nice, juicy apricot. I had some dry rolled oats with Greek yogurt and a small blob of manuka honey. And black coffee. American style, so not too strong.
WARHOL: How were you discovered?
LE BON: I discovered myself lying in a cot singing along to classical music at a very early age.
WARHOL: What was your first job?
LE BON: I used to assist a local milkman. I learned the very skillful art of being able to carry four bottles of milk in each hand. You need strong hands for that. You put three between your fingers and one between your thumb.
WARHOL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has sent you?
LE BON: Many years ago we were sent a large wooden box that contained nothing but sand. We don’t even know where it came from. And the weird thing is that it was before the song “Rio,” which has the line, “And she dances on the sand.” Maybe it influenced that song. You never know.
WARHOL: Is there anything you regret not doing?
LE BON: I did the Whitbread Round the World Race in Drum [the yacht Le Bon owdned] in 1985, ’86. I regret not doing a complete circumnavigation. I only went halfway around. It’s a long sail, but I can’t officially say I’m an around-the-world yachtsman. I did go around Cape Horn, so I am a Cape Horn-er.
WARHOL: Do you dream?
LE BON: Yes. A lot. The last one I remember is all these zombies popping out of the ground in front of me and I kept battling them down. I had to get to the top of the hill for some reason. And these zombies are just completely stupid, so I could hit them. I had a tennis racket to hit them with. I think they wanted autographs or something. Or maybe they wanted to do selfies! I never did quite make it to the top of that hill.
WARHOL: What do you think about love?
LE BON: I think it’s quite handy. I’m very happy to get as much as I can.
WARHOL: What’s your favorite color?
LE BON: I’m pretty egalitarian when it comes to colors. I’m rather partial to red. If I were a color, it would be red. Blue is the best color for me to wear because I’ve got blue eyes. But red is the color that I am.
WARHOL: Do you dance at home?
LE BON: Badly. Dad dancing. But I’m not allowed to take that on stage.
