The Power Station -

The Power Station was an English-American modern-rock/R&B super-project that issued a 1985 self-titled album on Parlophone (UK) and Capitol (US). Guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor (no relation) hailed from Duran Duran while drummer Tony Thompson came from Chic along with the album’s producer, Bernard Edwards. Robert Palmer fronted each track but resumed his solo career upon the album’s release; replaced on tour by ex-Silverhead/Detective frontman Michael Des Barres. Palmer resurrected the name in 1995 for a second album.

Members: Robert Palmer (vocals), Andy Taylor (guitar), John Taylor (bass, 1985), Bernard Edwards (bass, 1997), Tony Thompson (drums), Michael Des Barres (vocals, 1985)

Background

The Power Station formed in 1984 in New York when Duran Duran bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor teamed with Chic drummer Tony Thompson for a proposed recording by model-singer Bebe Buell. John Taylor conceived a version of the T. Rex song “Get It On” for Buell, then his partner, and recruited Thompson after the two Taylors met the drummer through David Bowie’s Serious Moonlight tour. Buell left the project after her relationship with John Taylor ended, but the three musicians retained the recording plan.

John Taylor co-founded Duran Duran with keyboardist Nick Rhodes in Birmingham in 1978 and moved from guitar to bass as the early lineup developed. Andy Taylor joined Duran Duran in April 1980 after answering a Melody Maker advertisement for a guitarist, then relocated from Newcastle to Birmingham for work with the group. Thompson entered Chic after earlier work with Labelle and Ecstasy, Passion & Pain. Chic ceased regular activity in 1983, after which Thompson recorded with David Bowie and joined the Serious Moonlight touring band.

Robert Palmer moved from the Alan Bown group into Dada in 1970; Dada became Vinegar Joe the following year. Island launched Palmer as a solo artist after Vinegar Joe split in 1974, and he recorded a succession of albums for the label through the early eighties. Palmer appeared on the bill beneath Duran Duran at the July 1983 Mencap benefit at Villa Park in Birmingham, where he established contact with members of the group.

John Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Thompson continued the Buell project with a plan to assign different singers to individual tracks. John Taylor approached Palmer in autumn 1984 and invited him to sing “Communication.” Palmer completed that track and then requested a vocal attempt on “Get It On,” which prompted producer Bernard Edwards to recommend Palmer for the full project. The quartet abandoned the rotating-singer plan and developed further material with Edwards as producer. The musicians took the name The Power Station from the New York studio on West 53rd Street, where they entered sessions for the self-titled debut under a Capitol agreement in late 1984.

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