Sound of silence broken by reunion

Dusting the cobwebs off their friendship, the folk-rock duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are reuniting for a concert tour.

The 1960s favourites, who last recorded together in 1975, have sold more than 40 million albums in the United States with hits like The Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Mrs Robinson.”

They are titling the tour Old Friends, but the men have had a contentious relationship until the ice broke earlier this year when they performed The Sound of Silence together at the Grammy Awards.

“I never actually thought that we’d lost our ability to sing together and have a blend,” Simon said. “What we had was a friendship that was estranged, and the Grammys was an opportunity to put that behind us. That’s exactly what we did.”

Garfunkel said it was “truly a joy” to sing again with Simon, whom he has known for 50 years.

“It’s family, the two of us,” he said. “Our moms know each other. They’re still alive. There has been a deep, buried affection for the last decade or so and it was the Grammys that forced it out of burial.”

The duo sang three songs at The Bottom Line nightclub in New York City: Old Friends, Homeward Bound and The Boxer. Simon strummed an acoustic guitar and Garfunkel struck a familiar pose, clasping his hands in front of him as he reached for high notes. Both wore jeans.

They shared knowing glances during a line from Old Friends – “how terribly strange to be 70" – that has far more resonance than when Simon wrote it. Both men will turn 62 during the tour.

They will stick almost exclusively to old Simon & Garfunkel material, with maybe one or two songs from the intervening solo years.

For example, Simon said he has always imagined his solo song, Slip Slidin’ Away, as a Simon & Garfunkel tune. They might try Simon’s American Tune as well, he said. They’ll tour with a full band.

“We don’t intend to reimagine that work,” Simon said. “We’re going to try to recapture it as it was and not alter it.”

The duo revealed 28 US cities where they would perform beginning next month.

There are no plans for performances outside of North America after the tour ends in mid-December, Garfunkel said.