Simon Le Bon thinks One Direction is a cash cow for many people.
The Duran Duran singer has been fronting the British band for more than 30 years. In the group’s 80s heyday they had a worldwide following, much like One Direction today. The 56-year-old feels sorry for the four band members as he can understand the weight of expectation they no doubt carry on their shoulders.
“They are a cash cow for so many people ... there’s a huge pressure to never take a break,” he told Billboard, before adding that member Harry Styles “seems to be a decent chap. That makes me think he is handling it all very well.”
One Direction suffered a blow earlier this year when Zayn Malik left the group, leaving Harry, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne to continue with their On the Road Again World Tour as a four piece.
Over the years there have been changes within Duran Duran’s line-up too, and Simon admits that many didn’t think they would stand the test of time.
“We were the last band people thought would carry on,” he laughed. “They thought we were a flash in the pan, contrived, probably put together by management.”
It didn’t help that the band flew in the face of the 80s recession with hedonistic videos like Rio, which was shot on a yacht in Antigua. The Girls on Film hit makers also loved to hang out with fellow celebrities, but Simon insists that was just one side of the band.
“‘Glamorous’ and ‘shallow’ are never words you use to describe your own life. But, yes, it was fun,” the father-of-three confessed. “It was fun hanging out with Princess Margaret, Prince Charles and Diana and Warhol, too. But that’s all the press ever talked about: the parties, the models, the boats, the booze. But we did work hard.”
