Under the direction of guitarist Andy Taylor, the Power Station is an attempt to break free from the constraints of Duran Duran's polished synth pop, adding elements of funk, courtesy of Chic drummer Tony Thompson, as well as straight-ahead hard rock, courtesy of vocalist Robert Palmer. Everything is polished with a glossy sheen, which makes the record sound quite similar to Duran Duran, although without their sense of popcraft. Includes a cover of T. Rex's "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" and the single "Some Like It Hot." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Wally Badarou (Keyboards), Robert Palmer (Vocals), The Power Station (Main Performer), Bernard Edwards (Producer), Rupert Hine (Keyboards), Andy Taylor (?), B.J. Nelson (Vocals), Jimmy Bralower (Percussion), Charmaine Burch (Vocals), Jason Corsaro (Engineer), Jason Corsaro (Mixing), Rob Eaton (Engineer), Stan Harrison (Bass), Stan Harrison (Horn), Stan Harrison (Overdubs), Hollywood Paul Litteral (Bass), Hollywood Paul Litteral (Horn), Hollywood Paul Litteral (Overdubs), Curtis King (Vocals), Curtis Rance King, Jr. (Vocals), Dave Lebolt (Keyboards), Mark Pender (Bass), Mark Pender (Overdubs), Lenny Pickett (Bass), Lenny Pickett (Horn), Lenny Pickett (Overdubs), Mark Pinder (Horn), Steve Rinkoff (Engineer), Robert Sabino (Keyboards), John Taylor (?), John Taylor (Cover Art), Fonzi Thornton (Vocals), Howie Weinberg (Mastering), Mars Williams (Bass), Mars Williams (Horn), Mars Williams (Overdubs), Tony Taverner (Engineer), Roger Taylor (Percussion), Frank Olinsky (Design), Eric Boman (Photography), Tony Thompson (Drums)
Representative Albums: "The Power Station," "The Best of the Power Station," "Living in Fear"
Representative Songs: "Some Like It Hot," "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," "Communication"
Biography
Despite Duran Duran ruling the earth by late 1984 (due to countless hits and sold-out tours), the band had completely burned themselves out with a non-stop, grueling work schedule. 1985 was supposed to be a year-long break for its members from band duties, but its five members ultimately formed two separate side-projects: the Power Station, which was comprised of Duranee's John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar), plus solo artist Robert Palmer (vocals) and ex-Chic member Tony Thompson (drums); as well as Arcadia, which featured the three other Duran members, singer Simon Lebon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor.
The formation of the Power Station came as a complete accident, as John Taylor was dating model/groupie Bebe Buell at the time, and offered to assemble a funky version of T. Rex's classic rocker, "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," for Buell to contribute vocals to (with Andy Taylor and Tony Thompson joining the proceedings). But before the recording could take place, Taylor and Buell split up. The trio decided to press on, however (having already demoed several originals, as well), with a plan to have several different noted pop singers provide vocals. Robert Palmer was invited to sing on a track, but with the vocalist and the rest of the band extremely impressed with the results, Palmer ended up singing on all of the resulting album's eight tracks. Issued in early 1985, the quartet's self-titled debut was a sizeable hit, due to a pair of monster hit singles which merged rock with a dance edge, the original tune "Some Like It Hot" and the aforementioned cover of "Bang a Gong." The album's immediate commercial success prompted the group to organize a supporting tour, but surprisingly, Palmer pulled out just a few days before the tour's launch.
The Power Station first attempted to lure Paul Young into the group (who had just scored a hit with the ballad, "Everytime You Go Away"), before settling on former-Silverhead frontman Michael Des Barres. Despite an appearance at the mammoth Live Aid benefit festival in July of 1985, the bandmembers decided to call it quits upon the tour's completion. As a side note, the band member's temporary "break" from Duran Duran failed to recharge their batteries, as both Andy and Roger Taylor split from the band shortly thereafter, while Palmer would go on to issue some of the '80s biggest pop hits, including "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible." Surprisingly, the original Power Station lineup re-formed almost exactly ten years later, issuing a sophomore effort, Living in Fear, in 1996. Unsurprisingly, the album failed to replicate its predecessor's success. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
The Power Station is the debut album by Power Station. It was released in 1985 on EMI. An anniversary edition was released 21 February 2005, featuring 7 bonus tracks, as well as a 35 minute DVD.
The original plan for this 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 (who eventually contributed brass to the album) 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 "Get It On (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.
However, the union was not to hold. By the time the band decided to take the 8-track set on the road, Palmer had left to record his solo album Riptide (which, likely because of the involvement of Power Station participants Edwards, Thompson, and Andy Taylor, is very similar in sound to the Power Station album). He was replaced by Michael Des Barres (famed for co-writing Animotion's "Obsession").
During the promotion cycle for the album, EMI released three singles, including the cover of T-Rex's "Get It On". Versions of these three singles are now included among the bonus tracks on the 2005 re-release.
In addition, the re-release also includes the song "Somewhere, Somehow, Someone's Gonna Pay," the only known Power Station song featuring Michael Des Barres on lead vocals. The song was used for the end titles of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action hit Commando and was titled "We Fight for Love."
Title
While the actual name of the album is "The Power Station", the specific formats were adopted as part of the name (ala PiL's 1986 long-player "Album"), so you had "The Power Station 33 1/3" vinyl album, and "The Power Station CD" on CD.
