Latest news with #80sPop
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance
Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance originally appeared on Parade. As the frontman for iconic British pop/New Wave group Duran Duran, Simon Le Bon was known for his flamboyant style and pitch-perfect vocals. Over 40 years after the release of their eponymous debut album, loyal fans are still turning out to see the singer and his bandmates play their biggest hits live onstage — and they're more than ready to defend their favorite musicians from any haters out there. In a video shared to TikTok this week from a recent live performance in Amsterdam, Le Bon delivered an impressive rendition of Duran Duran's number one hit, "The Reflex," wearing a pair of tight white pants and a fitted black t-shirt. While the star seemed as energetic as ever, some commenters took the opportunity to criticize his performance, slamming Le Bon as an "aging pop star" and suggesting that it's "time to give up." Others, however, came to his defense with lightning speed. "He is 66!!! He still looks and sounds fab!" one person declared, adding, "So many rude and disrespectful comments from people who listen to remixes from the 80s. Simon le Bon was my 80s! My teenage years." "I will defend my boy simon till I die," agreed a second fan, while another pointed out, "I'm 50. My hip couldn't get that high. Fair play to him!" "Listening to the comments, jealousy is a many headed snake just saying," another commenter wrote. No matter what his critics say, it seems Le Bon isn't planning on slowing down anytime soon — and he still looks back fondly at his earlier years with Duran Duran. In an April 2025 interview with The Times, Le Bon weighed in on his trademark "1980s outfits," saying he's "not embarrassed by any of it." "I remember playing a gig in the UK in about 1980 and it was a very hot day," he recalled, adding, "We were in the dressing room, we knew it was going to be absolutely boiling, so Roger [Taylor] literally tore a strip off a towel, put it around his head and tied it in a knot at the back. I looked at him and thought, that looks cool in a Jimi Hendrix sort of way, so I did the same thing." "That was on a Saturday afternoon," Le Bon continued. "By Monday kids were wearing that — and by the end of the week it was in the fashion pages of newspapers."Legendary '80s Pop Star, 66, Has Fans Jumping to His Defense After Latest Performance first appeared on Parade on Jun 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sailing towards Glastonbury: Rod Stewart's greatest solo songs – ranked!
This is essentially a lyrical update of (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone or Where Do You Go to (My Lovely)? – in summary: peeved ex complains that former girlfriend now moves in lofty circles. But Baby Jane was as good as 80s-pop Rod got: very of-its-era arrangement, great melody, big old chorus, a UK No 1. 'I hear you've written songs for your new album,' Elton John remarked to Stewart on stage in London. 'What's it called – Rarities?' And indeed, Time's standout track was good enough to make you wonder why Stewart didn't make the effort more often: a sweet, sad acoustic memoir of love lost in the singer's beatnik youth. The title track of Stewart's second album is his early solo approach in a nutshell. Folky and sensitive yet tough in sound and mood, it somehow manages to rock despite the languid pace and lack of drums. The interplay between Rod's rasp and Ronnie Wood's slide guitar is a marvel. A perfect example of Stewart's skill as an interpreter of others' songs: he digs deep and finds a melody in the verses not fully evident in Tom Waits's original – it's masked by Waits's trademark vocal approach – and emerges with a song transformed into the stuff of arena singalongs. The same year Neil Young belatedly released Tonight's the Night – his racked response to the deaths of roadie Bruce Berry and guitarist Danny Whitten – Stewart covered Whitten's signature ballad. One is harrowing, chaotic and dissipated, the other smooth, orchestrated pop-rock, but they're equally moving: Stewart's vocal is understated, capturing the song's lovelorn misery. Co-written by Stewart and Wood, the glorious title track of Stewart's solo breakthrough – a transatlantic No 1 – has a lot of the Faces' ramshackle charm. The lyrics detail romantic mishaps around the world, the 12-string guitar is out of tune, and the backing vocals come from former mentor Long John Baldry. Noticeably more thoughtful than the rest of his Foot Loose and Fancy Free album, the remorseful I Was Only Joking unexpectedly suggests a certain darkness – and weariness – behind Stewart's playboy image: 'Illusions of that grand first prize are slowly wearing thin.' Also home to a great bit of fourth-wall breaking: 'Verse seven is never clear.' Throughout his career, Stewart has recorded dozens of Motown covers, but this might be his best: essentially a Faces track in all but name (it features all four members), it transforms the Temptations' original version into loose-limbed rock, complete with unexpectedly thrilling drum solo, without sacrificing its intensity. Stewart spent much of the 80s obviously coasting, but could still, unexpectedly, deliver something with emotional punch. The production on Forever Young suggests someone had heard U2's Where the Streets Have No Name and decided it needed a layer of gloss – but the song's reflections on parenthood are really moving. For all its lyrical references to Aubrey Beardsley and faintly Gallic-sounding violin (actually the work of bluegrass innovator Richard Greene), something of the pub at last orders rather charmingly clings to You're in My Heart: its bottom-of-the-fourth-pint blend of confession and teary sentimentality, its arms-around-your-mates chorus. A million copies were sold in the US alone: cheers! Mike d'Abo's Handbags and Gladrags had already been recorded by Chris Farlowe and the Love Affair's Steve Ellis. Both were fantastic vocalists, but it's Rod's version that nails the song. He is less anguished than Farlowe but wearier-sounding than Ellis: the perfect voice to fit the hard-won wisdom of the lyric. Another example of Stewart's transformative interpretative powers. The Sutherland Brothers' original is an ominous harmonium-and-bass-drum drone – the key line is definitely 'Will I see you, who can say?' – but Stewart recasts the song completely, making it wistful, but soaring and celebratory. Anthem status swiftly followed. To borrow an old Smash Hits phrase, there were points where Stewart's late 70s brand of raunch turned a little Uncle Disgusting – Hot Legs; the frankly creepy Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) – but his 'disco spoof' is so preposterous, so evidently performed with tongue in cheek, that it's weirdly irresistible. It had already been recorded umpteen times – by author Cat Stevens, PP Arnold, and the Love Affair (them again!) among others. You can argue for hours about the definitive reading, but Stewart's careworn take is in with a shot at the title: the cathartic orchestrated finale is particularly fine. An affecting account of a homophobic murder delivered with a cocktail of empathy, sadness and a desire to celebrate the victim's life. Part II contains the most glaring of the perennially light-fingered Stewart's musical steals, so indebted to the Beatles' Don't Let Me Down that John Lennon publicly raised an eyebrow. For a moment, it looked as if Stewart might not just be one of the 1970s' major singers, but a major singer-songwriter. It didn't turn out like that, but when he was turning out songs as great as Mandolin Wind – poignant, moving, ultimately joyous – you could understand why. One of the 70s old guard's finest responses to new wave: a Springsteen-esque 'love on the run' narrative set to a wired, urgent drum machine and synth pulse, complete with phenomenal chorus and – awww! – a happy ending. Why he didn't make more music like this is a mystery. In which Stewart transforms Tim Hardin's beautiful, but brief and sparsely arranged original into an understated epic, the piano and organ seemingly taking the title as a cue to dive into gospelly waters. It's big on shiver-inducing moments where the band drop out and his rasping voice sings unaccompanied. A follow-up that matches the big hit for quality: honestly, there's not a cigarette paper between this and the song at No 1 here. You Wear It Well wraps a saga of lost love in a melody and a loose performance that oozes an infectious, slightly boozy joy. An unmitigated delight. Apparently based on a true story (Stewart has said it's about the woman he lost his virginity to in 1961), Maggie May was initially released only as a B-side; perhaps his label balked at the idea of releasing a single without an identifiable chorus. But it doesn't need one, because it has a melody that alternately breezes and sighs – the perfect complement to the emotional twists and turns of a lyric that can't work out whether to be rueful, affectionately reflective or optimistic – and immediately lodges in your brain. Proof that sometimes, an artist's best-known is also their best full stop.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
80s pop icon who penned smash hit Christmas song is unrecognisable as he boards budget RyanAir flight - but can YOU guess who it is?
An 80s pop icon who penned a classic Christmas song looked totally unrecognisable as he was pictured hopping on a RyanAir flight this week. The famed musician organised the iconic two-venue Live Aid concerts alongside Bob Geldof some 40 years ago, bringing a host of the decade's biggest stars together to raise money for Ethiopian famine. As part of the epic Band Aid group, he co-wrote and produced one of the most-well known festive tunes ever to be released, Do They Know It's Christmas, a year earlier. The Scottish musician journeyed around several groups in the 70s and early 80s before finding real success with a revived band in 1979, dropping the smash hit Vienna a couple of years later. But can you guess who the almost forgotten star is? From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. He later shared another snap revealing he had shaved his beard - but can you guess who it is? Well, the man kicking back on a commercial RyanAir flight to Dublin is none other than Ultravox, Thin Lizzy and Visage star Midge Ure, 71. And the grey fox looks totally different to his appearance during the height of his fame, sporting a full-grown beard as opposed to his old moustache. Clad in a black cap and a pair of glasses, the 80s icon shared a selfie to his Instagram of him on his way to a show in Dublin. Acknowledging his RyanAir ticket, he jokingly captioned the snap: 'Dublin bound. The yellow and blue gives it away. Ahh the glamour.' After rocking his show in the Irish the capital, the Glaswegian musician posed for another photo as he waited in customs for his flight, revealing he had shaved his beard for the gig. 'Great night at Rewind Dublin,' he wrote with the post. 'Amazing audience & amazing weather & amazing music. A winning combination all round. Glasgow Kennington Bandstand next.' Midge's journey on a commercial flight is a far cry from his successful days as part of Ultravox. The 71-year-old Band Aid star later praised the 'amazing' Irish audience before flying back In fact, such was his success that a couple of years after Band Aid the 71-year-old was was handed a £1million advance by his record label. But four years later the rocker found himself half a million in debt and selling off assets to pay back tax and VAT demands. After a few other troubles - including a house he bought in the Caribbean that was demolished by a hurricane and engulfed by a volcano - in 2023 Midge became one of a host of musicians to sell their catalogue. The rocker's latest set of shows comes after he and former musical partner Bob Geldof, 73, reunited at Wembley Stadium last month to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Live Aid. The pair were back together to announce Just for One Day: The Live Aid Musical cast recording ahead of its West End run, as they were pictured pitch-side at the iconic English stadium. Echoing that hot summer's day in 1985, when stars such as David Bowie and Queen mesmerised fans across the world, the sun beat down as Geldof, and Ure took a trip down memory lane. Watched by an estimated 1.9billion people across the world, the two concerts raised an astonishing £150m in total for famine relief. Just seven months after the release of Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?, Geldof and Ure brought together some of the biggest artists of the 1980s for two huge concerts at Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. David Bowie, Sir Paul McCartney, Status Quo, Sir Elton John and Queen led a lengthy roster of performers in London, while Black Sabbath, Joan Baez, Run D.M.C and The Beach Boys joined a host of stars in Philadelphia. Band Aid proved the pinnacle of Midge's lofty career, which kicked off with a 1976 number one single, Forever And Ever, while playing in the band Slik. He then had a brief stint in new wave group Rich Kids before forming Visage in 1978 with Rusty Egan and lead vocalist Steve Strange. The band enjoyed a string of hits, including Fade To Grey, and successful albums Visage and The Anvil before tensions caused them to go their separate ways. He then joined Thin Lizzy in 1979 before regrouping Ultravox later that year as its singer, songwriter and guitarist. As Vienna topped the charts in 1981, Midge was also juggling his roles in Visage and Thin Lizzy. They went on to land four top 10 albums and a top three single in Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, before their greatest hits record was released and certified triple platinum. Once he focused on his solo career, Midge had a number one single with If I Was in 1985 and a number two album in the same year with The Gift. After overseeing Live 8 in 2005, Midge was awarded an OBE. He married his first wife, TV presenter Annabel Giles, in 1985 and they had one daughter Molly Lorenne before divorcing in 1989. In 2003, he tied the knot with his second wife, actress Sheridan Forbes. The duo live in Bath and have three daughters. Last year, Midge paid tribute to his friend and Ultravox bandmate Chris Cross: 'We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. 'We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades. Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed. You were the glue that held the band together.
