Le Bon’s life nearly ended 40 years ago when his yacht overturned, trapping him and five other crew members inside for 40 minutes.
The Duran Duran singer, an enthusiastic sailor since childhood, was onboard his 78-foot maxi-yacht, Drum, racing in the Fastnet yacht race, a 608-mile journey across southern England, when the boat’s keel fell off the hull. Eighteen crew members were able to climb atop the hull, but Le Bon and five others were in danger, as an air pocket within the capsized boat was all that kept them alive. Nonetheless, their lungs filled with a combination of fuel fumes and battery acid.
“That was when I looked into the eyes of death,” he told the BBC on August 11, 1985.
After what felt like an eternity stuck under the boat, a Navy diver rescued the sextet.
Following his rescue, Le Bon grappled with the events of the day.
“About two or three days later, I had a rash all over my chest and arms. I’m sure it was stress-related.” I just couldn’t sleep because I was sleeping when the keel collapsed,” he told CNN in 2018.
It was subsequently discovered that a design flaw caused the keel, a fin-like feature on the ship’s bottommost component intended for stability, to split from the hull, the main body of the vessel.
Much of the action was captured on camera, since the race was being videotaped. For the following 31 years, however, the “Hungry Like the Wolf” singer avoided watching anything about the capsize. However, he saw his rescue for the first time in 2016 during a BBC program.
“It’s the most dangerous situation I’ve ever been in,” he explained to the BBC.
During the water rescue, Le Bon’s pants became stuck on something, causing him to remove them underwater. Footage of him being hoisted into a chopper while wearing only his underpants went viral.
“I got winched off into the helicopter, and one of the guys called, ‘Hey Simon, where’s your pants?’ because I was just standing there in my knickers,” he remembered, now laughing at the scenario. “There’s me … a rock star in his underpants.”
The story made the cover of PEOPLE in 1985, with the headline “Simon Le Bon: A Brush With Death at Sea.”
That day on the lake, which took place barely a month after the famed pop-rock band performed at the legendary Live Aid event, was “life-changing,” according to the Englishman.
“However, we all have life-changing situations. It was a well-publicized one. “That’s the big difference,” he explained. “When someone trips over a curb, the consequences can be life-changing. These things occur. It’s just a part of being human; we all go through these experiences.”
For more 1980s nostalgia, check out PEOPLE’s Special Edition Celebrating the ’80s: 1985 Edition, which is now available on Amazon.