Whose voice was "better" in the '80s/early '90s: Simon Le Bon or George Michael?

Totally subjective of course (which is why I put better in quotes). I simply selected these two singers because (music aside) they had probably my favorite two voices from this period.

Both of them sang in outfits (bands/solo) that fit loosely within the category of UK dance/pop, though I guess you can say Duran Duran came more from New Wave origins and George Michael's influences came to be more R&B/soul.

Anyway, assuming you are at least a fan of each, who would you pick?

And what songs in particular (from Duran Duran, Arcadia, Wham! and G.M.s solo career) demonstrate their power/range/control, etc. at its best?

For me, Simon Le Bon would get the slight edge. In particular, his vocals on "New Moon on Monday" and "Election Day" highlight both his amazing range (I had heard 4 octaves back in the day) and control.

As for George Michael, I think his voice shines in particular on "Kissing A Fool" and "Freedom 90" among others.

(I limited it to this time frame because it would seem that voices change over time though I admittedly have not kept up with the more recent work of either artist).

 

I was one of those teenyboppers who swooned over Simon Le Bon (and John Taylor, for that matter) but now that I am older, I think George Michael is a much better singer.

 

I have to go with George Michael- he has a great voice and I like him on Careless Whisper, Faith, Father Figure and Freedom 90. I never thought Simon le Bon had a fantastic voice. On Wild Boys he almost sounds out of tune when he hits the high notes in the chorus.

 

George Michael

 

Having heard Simon sing live once and on a couple of "unprocessed" live recordings, I think that 4 octave range is more the soundboard then his pipes. I'll vote for George.

 

Is this really a debate? George Michael has (had) a great voice. Simon LeBon was pretty much just OK even at its peak. And a 4 octave range for LeBon? Come on, not a chance.

 

spacious recording techniques aside, George Michael has one of the best voices in pop music, any decade. Simon Le Bon's voice works very well for Duran Duran, but this isn't even close. Have you listened, without prejudice, to Listen Without Prejudice?

 

George Michael, no contest. Is this a serious question? Simon le Bon is a very flat, colorless singer. Okay for what his group did, but he doesn't have the outsanding quality to his voice that George has.

 

Easily GM. I much prefer DD's music, but I can't argue that Simon's the better singer...

 

George Michael. Not a big fan personally, but I can tell he has one of the best voices ever. Simon had a certain character though he was always pitchy. Duran Duran had better music, but "Careless Whisper" alone (and perhaps "Somebody to Love" from the Freddie Mercury tribute) seals the deal for GM.

 

Objectively, even though I think most of his music sucks, I'd have to say George Michael. I like Duran Duran, but have to admit that Le Bon can be kind of whiny and "pitchy", and betrays the influence of Bryan Ferry and David Sylvian a little too much.

 

George Michael. Stepping into Freddie Mercury's shoes couldn't have been easy.

 

George Michael by a good margin.

 

George Michael without a doubt, his rendition of The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" proves my point

 

Technically it's probably GM but - and I'm a big fan of Wham/80's GM - I personally prefer Simon as I'm a bigger fan of DD. Nothing GM has done has moved me as much as "Ordinary World"

 

George Michael-Not even close.
Had tremendous range and falsetto.

 

hard to pick between two awful singers. Michael has more technical ability, but pretty much ruins it with his schmaltzy singing.

I'll go with Le Bon, for doing the least amount of damage

 

The live duet with Pavarotti on "Ordinary World" is a pretty rough road. It is on one of the War Child charity cd's and it is not a case of Simon sounding bad in comparison to Pavarotti; Simon just sounds bad!

 

Definitely George Michael

 

GM songs might not be to everyone's liking but the guy can most defintely sing.

 

George Michael, no question about it. Not a fan at all though.
Duran Duran was cool and all stylish and stuff. Some good tunes and oh man them boys was purdy. Singer was weak but still did his job well.

 

George Michael has a better voice but I prefer Simon Le Bon. If you watch the Do They Know Its Christmas video they follow each other in the vocals and sound surprisingly similar.

 

Simon had a great pop voice, but....George Michael has more depth, more feeling, more soul

 

Got to be George Michael.

Unfortunately, he hasn't released new songs regularly for at least the last 15 years. It's kind of sad he has chosen to remain so silent, especially given the kind of voice he has got. In Wham and on his first two solo records, he was more the frontman of a band even though, on his records, he always tried to do as much as he could by himself.
It seems like in later years, he was just creatively lost without the band to back him up, and maybe even to motivate him. Deon Estus and Hugh Burns - where are you? Music is a collaborative art form and the aspect of collaboration being rather absent from George Michael's later solo work is probably why his catalogue is so small even to this day.
Also, the demise of MTV must have really hurt George Michael's career.

Duran, however, have always been a band and did not need to worry about these kind of problems. And they always embraced the spirit of collaboration by doing cameos and session work with other artists. But then, they also did not have a "Last Christmas" royalty check every year to help pay the bills.

 

I like the early DD, but I've always detested the voice of Simon Le Bon with his awfull hick-ups in his singing. At the same time I've always hated Wham! and most songs of George Michael. He is, however, the better singer of the two.