36 years after the tragic death of the big hit and his bandmate, the eighties pop star is unrecognizable

He has worked with the biggest names in music from Aretha Franklin to Eric Clapton and scored hits as an artist in his own right.

And 36 years after his biggest hit as part of British duo Climie Fisher, Simon Climie looks very different.

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In those halcyon Top of the Pops days, Climie Fisher reached number two in the UK charts with the re-release of her 1987 track Love Changes [Everything].

Simon and his music partner Rob Fisher, who tragically died during bowel cancer surgery in 1999, won a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for their songwriting.

They also hit the top 10 in the UK with Rise to the Occasion, but Simon is best known for his writing and producing work with legendary artists.

The 66-year-old, who now lives in California, co-wrote Aretha Franklin’s only UK number one album, I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me), her hit duet with George Michael.

In 2018, following the soul icon’s death, Simon shared a glowing tribute BBC interview and recalled working with her on her 80s hit.

He said: “We are always blessed with great singers from time to time, but I just think Aretha is in a place of her own. It’s very, very sad to lose her.”

More recently, he has forged a successful collaboration with guitar god Eric Clapton, winning two Grammys for work on his 2000 albums Riding with the King and The Road to Escondido.

They continue to work closely together to this day and just last week Simon shared content from Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival benefit show in the US.

Bluesman Clapton was joined on stage by Stevie Wonder, who posed for a photo with Simon backstage.

Simon wrote: “What an incredible surprise for everyone when Stevie Wonder stopped by to bless @ericclapton’s benefit concert for @crossroadsantigua last night in LA. Just unbelievable!!!

“Everyone was even more overwhelmed when Stevie played with Eric on the timeless blues hit ‘Crossroads’ at the @crossroadsguitarfestival!”

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