Paul Simon ‘optimistic’ about returning to live performance

LONDON

Legendary singer Paul Simon has said he is “optimistic” about being able to return to performing live after losing most of his hearing in his left ear, CNN has reported.

In an interview with The Guardian, published on Oct. 4, the singer-songwriter said that, while his hearing loss hinders his ability to perform with a full band, he is “hoping to eventually be able to do a full-length concert.”

“I’m optimistic,” Simon said. “Six months ago I was pessimistic.”

Simon first discussed his hearing loss in an interview with Britain’s The Times newspaper back in May 2023, saying that “quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it. So everything became more difficult.”

Even before he announced the loss of his hearing, Simon toured for the last time in 2018, after which he said he was ending his touring career.

According to The Guardian, that dream instructed Simon to work on a piece called “Seven Psalms.” The lyrics came to him in dreams over weeks and months, he said. The result was a 33-minute acoustic album, released in 2023. And as the album came together, Simon was joined in the studio by veteran film-maker Alex Gibney, who documented its creation in a 3.5-hour feature, “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.”

“In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” which premiered in March in the United States, is set for release in U.K. cinemas on Oct. 13, Simon’s 83rd birthday.