The Power Station (band)
The Power Station was a 1980s supergroup made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar). Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer and for a short time also functioned as The Power Station’s manager. Edwards also replaced John Taylor on bass for the recording of the supergroup’s follow-up album. The band was formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran’s schedule that became a lengthy hiatus. The Power Station was named after The Power Station recording studio where their album was conceived and recorded.
On July 23, Duran Duran’s charity concert at Villa Park 1983 took place in aid of Mencap. Duran Duran had been known to be huge fans of Robert Palmer so he was invited to take part.
After Duran Duran’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, the members of the band went on a planned short hiatus, going into two projects. One of these was the band Arcadia, which maintained the melodic and atmospheric aspects of Duran Duran’s previous recordings. The other was The Power Station, in which John and Andy Taylor worked with Palmer, Thompson, and Edwards to create a rhythmic, harder rock, funk sound. Roger Taylor was mainly the drummer for Arcadia but also contributed percussion to The Power Station.
The group began as something of a whim — it was a one-time gathering of friends to provide backing to model and would-be singer Bebe Buell who wanted to record a cover of the 1972 T. Rex song “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”. Both John and Andy Taylor were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led Zeppelin-flavoured rock and roll. The participation of their idols from Chic lent the project a horn-inflected funk vibe that meshed surprisingly well with the crunching guitars and booming drums.
Soon the project evolved into the idea of a revolving supergroup; a tentative name for the band was Big Brother. The original plan for the one-album project was for the three musicians (Taylor, Taylor and Thompson) to provide musical continuity to an album full of material, with a different singer performing on each track. Those who were approached included Mick Jagger, Billy Idol, Mars Williams, and Richard Butler (of The Psychedelic Furs), and Mick Ronson.
The group then invited Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track “Communication”. When he heard that they had recorded demos for “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”, he asked to try out vocals on that song as well. They decided to record the entire album with Palmer. The group was signed with Capitol Records.
Band members
Robert Palmer – lead vocals (1984–85, 1995–97; died 2003)
Andy Taylor – guitars (1984–85, 1995–97)
John Taylor – bass (1984–85, 1995)
Tony Thompson – drums (1984–85, 1995–97; died 2003)
Michael Des Barres – lead vocals (1985)
Bernard Edwards – bass (1995–96; died 1996)
Touring musicians
Guy Pratt – bass (1996)
Manny Yanes – bass (1996–97)
Luke Morley – guitars (1996–97)
Discography
Albums
The Power Station (1985) US #6; UK #12(Gold);AUS #15; SWI #16;[9] SWE #38
Living in Fear (1996)
Best Of (2003)
The Power Station: 20th Anniversary Edition (2005)
Singles
1985 “Some Like It Hot” 14 6 34 17 10 6 4 16 9 13 4 The Power Station
“Get It On (Bang a Gong)” 22 9 19 — — — — 37 — — 8
“Communication” 75 34 — — — — — — — — 95
1996 “She Can Rock It” 63 — — — — — — — — — — Living in Fear
“—” denotes releases that did not chart
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