Simon said she had decided to speak about her diagnosis after she received letters, “kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing.”

Despite her health condition, the musician recently announced a new album – Comes In Waves – which will be released in August 2026.

The first single, Howl, was released last month. It finds the singer consoling a friend who has just been through a break-up.

“Howl like the wind, roar like the river / Wail like the rain, cry, shout, and shiver,” she advises, her tawny, contralto voice instantly recognisable.

A press release said the album would see Simon revisiting familiar themes such as “love, memory, family, self-reckoning, and forgiveness, while allowing space for contradiction, ambiguity, and emotional evolution.”

One of the most recognisable singer-songwriters of the 1970s, Simon was known for her emotionally honest, piano-led pop anthems, and intricate character studies.

Among her most beloved songs are the Bond theme Nobody Does It Better and Legend In Your Own Time, a withering portrait of an arrogant man.

The latter was something of a dry run for the scathing You’re So Vain – written about actor Warren Beatty (and two other men) .

In 2003, she auctioned off the subjects’ true identity for $50,000 (£38,000) – on the condition that the winner continued to keep the secret.