The Power Station biography
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. For a short time he also functioned as The Power Station's manager. 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.
Origin
On 23 July Duran Duran's charity concert at Villa Park 1983 took place in aid of Mencap. Duran Duran had been known to be big 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 split 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 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 Taylors were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led Zeppelin-flavored 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. Before long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer. The group was quickly signed with Capitol Records.
History
On 16 February 1985, the band performed "Some Like It Hot" and "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" on the
Saturday Night Live. It was the only time that Robert Palmer performed live with the original line-up. The horn section for The Power Station's SNL appearance included saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who would join the show's house band that fall and eventually become the show's musical director.
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