Paul Simon has admitted that he is not on speaking terms with Art Garfunkel.
The legendary duo haven’t completed an album together since ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, which was released shortly before they split in 1970 although the pair recently played together in 2010.
But just last year, Garfunkel called Simon an “idiot” and a “jerk” and said he “created a monster” when he became his friend in grade school.
Now, when asked whether the duo would ever play together again, Simon told Rolling Stone: “No, out of the question. We don’t even talk.”
He also revealed that the reason why most people come to his concerts is because they want to hear his 1986 hit ‘You Can Call Me Al’.
“They wanna hear ‘You Can Call Me Al,'” he says. “So I play it. It’s not like I would pick out ‘You Can Call Me Al’ and play it because I really want to, but people like it so much that I’m like, ‘Of course I’ll do it.’ I’ll play ‘Me and Julio [Down by the Schoolyard]’ too, though I actually like ‘Me and Julio.'”
The singer recently announced his first studio album – ‘Stranger To Stranger’ – which will be Simon’s 13th album as a solo artist and is due for release on June 3. He also posted ‘Wristband’, the album’s first single online.
He teamed up with Clap! Clap!, an experimental Italian producer who fuses African rhythms and EDM, for the record as well as his longterm collaborator Roy Halee, and a group of flamenco musicians.
“Sound is the theme of this album as much as it’s about the subjects of the individual songs. If people get that, I’ll be pleased,” he added. “The right song at the right time can live for generations. A beautiful sound, well that’s forever.”