- This article is about the 1980s musical group. To read about the place where electricity is generated, see power station. For the former Power Station recording studio, see Avatar Studios.
- "Power station" is also the English translation of the name of the German technopop band Kraftwerk.
Power Station was a pop group made up of singer
Robert Palmer, bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor
of Duran Duran, and former Chic drummer
Tony Thompson. They were formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran's schedule,
and were named after the Power Station
recording studio where their album was conceived and recorded.
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, John Taylor's
girlfriend at the time, who wanted to record a cover of the T. Rex
song "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". Both Taylors were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led
Zeppelin-flavored rock'n'roll; the participation of their idols from
Chic lent the project a horn-inflected funk that meshed surprisingly well with the crunching guitars and booming drums.
When Buell and Taylor broke up, 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 eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "Communication". When he heard that
they had recorded demos for "Bang A Gong", he asked to try out vocals on that one as well,
and by the end of the day, the group knew that they had found that elusive chemistry which distinguishes successful bands. Before
long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer.
On February 16, 1985, the band performed "Some Like It Hot" and "Bang A Gong" on the Saturday Night Live TV show; this was Palmer's only live performance with the band.
In March of 1985, the band issued the album Power Station (originally released
on vinyl and subtitled 33 1/3 for the turntable speed). The album was produced by Bernard Edwards, with some informal assistance from Nile
Rodgers. The band had two hit singles, "Some Like It Hot" and "Bang A Gong (Get It On)".
The group's unexpected success led to two results: the band decided to do a summer tour in America, and Robert Palmer decided
to record a new album to take advantage of his sudden name recognition. This inevitably led to Palmer's departure from the band.
Power Station went on to tour with singer Michael Des Barres (formerly of Silverhead and Checquered Past). Des Barres also performed with them at the enormous Live Aid charity concert in Philadelphia that summer.
Des Barres' friendship with actor Don Johnson led to the band's guest
appearance on an episode of the TV drama Miami Vice. Similarly, his
friendship with producer Joel
Silver led to Power Station writing a song called "We Fight For Love" for the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Commando.
The band folded late in 1985, as its members turned to other projects: John Taylor returned to Duran Duran, Andy Taylor
left Duran Duran and started a solo career, Tony Thompson was to take the place of John Bonham in a re-formed Led Zeppelin, but he was
nearly killed in a 1986 car accident before that reunion could get off the ground. Palmer went on to record a string of
chart-topping hits, including "Addicted To Love", "Simply Irresistible", and "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On".
The band reunited ten years later with its original members, including Palmer. However, divorce and drug rehabilitation forced John
Taylor to withdraw from the project before the album was complete. Bernard Edwards (former Chic bassist) stepped in and completed
the album Living In Fear (1997) in his stead, and was prepared to tour with the group, but then died suddenly of
pneumonia during a trip to Japan. The group was staggered, but decided to press
on, and toured with bassist Manny
Yanes instead, to moderate success. The group quietly disbanded shortly after.
Robert Palmer died of a heart attack in September 2003, and Tony Thompson died two months later of kidney cancer.
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