Robert Palmer (British singer)

:For the American author and blues producer by the same name, see Robert Palmer (author/producer).

1985-1995: Power Station and MTV success

In 1985, Palmer joined drummer Tony Thompson and Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor and bass player John Taylor to form the band Power Station. Their eponymous album -- recorded mostly at the New York studio for which the band was named -- reached the Top 20 in the UK and the US and spawned two hit singles with "Some Like It Hot" and the T. Rex cover "Get It On". Palmer performed live with the band only once that year, on Saturday Night Live; the band toured with singer Michael Des Barres when Palmer bowed out at the last moment to go back into the studio to further his newly revitalized solo career.

Related Topics:
1985 - Tony Thompson - Duran Duran - Andy Taylor - John Taylor - Power Station - T. Rex - Cover - Saturday Night Live - Michael Des Barres

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Palmer recorded the album Riptide in(1985), recruiting Thompson and Andy Taylor to play on some tracks and Power Station bassist/producer Bernard Edwards, who worked with Thompson in the group Chic, to helm the production.

Related Topics:
Riptide - 1985 - Bernard Edwards - Chic

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Riptide featured the Number 1 single "Addicted to Love". The single was accompanied by a memorable and much parodied music video, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female "musicians". The singles "Hyperactive" and his cover of Cherrelle's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" also performed well. Another song, "Trick Bag" was written by one of his major influences, New Orleans jazz artist Earl King. In 1987, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his song "Addicted to Love".

Related Topics:
Music video - Terence Donovan - Cherrelle - Earl King - Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance

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Palmer was approached by Little Feat to replace Lowell George as they prepared their 1987 reunion, but had to decline for contractual reasons.

Related Topics:
Little Feat - Lowell George

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In 1987, Palmer moved to Lugano, Switzerland and set up his own recording studio. Producing Heavy Nova in 1988, Palmer again returned to experimenting, this time with bossa nova rhythms, heavy rock, and white soul balladeering. He repeated his previous success with "Addicted to Love" with the video of "Simply Irresistible", again Palmer with a troupe of female "musicians". The ballad "She Makes My Day" also proved to be a hit. In 1989, he won a second Grammy for "Simply Irresistible", which would later be featured in the Tony-winning musical "Contact." Rolling Stone magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for 1990.

Related Topics:
1987 - Lugano - Switzerland - Heavy Nova - 1988 - Bossa nova - 1989 - Grammy - Rolling Stone

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Palmer collaborated with UB40 for his next album, Don't Explain. Released in 1990, it featured the Bob Dylan-penned Top 10 single "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and the Top 20 Marvin Gaye cover "Mercy Mercy Me". Throughout the 1990s, Palmer ventured further into diverse material. The 1992 album Ridin' High was a tribute to the Tin Pan Alley era.

Related Topics:
UB40 - Don't Explain - 1990 - Bob Dylan - Marvin Gaye - Cover - Mercy Mercy Me - 1990s - 1992 - Ridin' High - Tin Pan Alley

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In 1995, Palmer reunited with other members of The Power Station to record a second album. Bassist John Taylor eventually backed out of the project (due to personal problems), to be replaced by old colleague Bernard Edwards. Palmer and the rest of the band completed the album Living In Fear (released in 1996), and had just begun touring when Edwards died of pneumonia.

Related Topics:
1995 - Living In Fear - 1996

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