The Power Station (band)

The Power Station were a British-American 1980s/1990s rock and pop music supergroup originally formed in New York City and London in 1984. It was 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 band's second 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 in New York, where their first album was conceived and recorded.

Origins

On 23 July 1983, Duran Duran's charity concert at Villa Park in aid of Mencap, a UK charity, took place in Birmingham. Duran Duran had been known to be huge fans of Robert Palmer, so he was invited to participate.

After Duran Duran's third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, the members of the band took a planned short hiatus, going into two projects. One of these was the band Arcadia, featuring frontman Simon Le Bon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes, which maintained the melodic and atmospheric aspects of Duran Duran's previous recordings. The other was the Power Station, in which bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor worked with Palmer, Thompson, and Edwards to explore more rhythmic and aggressive music rooted in funk and rock and roll. 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 1971 T. Rex song "Get It On". Both John Taylor 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 (the two Taylors 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, Richard Butler (of the Psychedelic Furs), and Mick Ronson.

The group then invited Palmer to record vocals for the track "Communication". When he heard that they had recorded demos for "Get It On", he asked to try out vocals on that song as well. They decided to record the entire album with him. It reached number 12 in the United Kingdom

Three singles were released from the album, two of them major hits. The first, "Some Like It Hot", reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart

Palmer was also accused of ripping off the Power Station sound for his own records. He replied: "Listen, I gave The Power Station that sound. They took it from me, not the other way around."

Both Robert Palmer and Tony Thompson died in late 2003.

EMI released a new version of the album The Power Station on 21 February 2005, to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary. The package includes the original eight-song album, seven bonus tracks (mostly remixes), and a 40-minute eight-chapter DVD. Among the bonus tracks on the album is the track "Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" (from the Commando OST), sung by Michael Des Barres.

Band members

Andy Taylor – guitar (1984–1985, 1995–1997)
Tony Thompson – drums (1984–1985, 1995–1997; died 2003)
John Taylor – bass (1984–1985, 1995)
Robert Palmer – lead vocals (1984–1985, 1995–1997; died 2003)
Michael Des Barres – lead vocals (1985)
Bernard Edwards – bass (1995–1996; his death)

Touring musicians

Guy Pratt – bass (1996)
Manny Yanes – bass (1996–1997)
Luke Morley – guitars (1996–1997)

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Details

! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| UK

! scope="row"| The Power Station

Released: 25 March 1985
Label: Capitol/EMI
Formats: CD, CS, LP

| 12 || 6 || 15

! scope="row"| Living in Fear

Released: 30 September 1996
Label: Chrysalis/Capitol, Guardian (US)
Formats: CD, CS

| — || — || —

| colspan="5" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilations

Best of (2003)

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="11"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| UK

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US Main.

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| BEL

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| CAN

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| SWI

! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| AUS