Remember When Robert Palmer Parlayed a Supergroup Stop Into His Biggest Solo Success in 1986?

For a good chunk of his career, Robert Palmer seemed destined to be an artist just on the fringe of mainstream success. He admirably attempted different styles and genres from album to album. But pure pop success mostly eluded him.

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His career received a boost from a one-off album with a supergroup. And that led to the 1986 solo LP that made him a late-career pop superstar.

Stylish Singing

After singing for a few bands, Robert Palmer signed a solo deal with Island Records and started churning out albums on the regular, starting with Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley in 1974. Palmer’s voice proved malleable enough to handle the many different musical fits he tried, including New Orleans funk, reggae, and New Wave.

During the first decade of his solo career, Palmer managed a couple of solid Top 20 hits in the US in “Every Kinda People” and “Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)”. But even though critics took to both his soulful interpretive skills and his strong writing ability, he couldn’t make a major dent.

If anything, many people knew him most for the impeccably tailored suits that he wore while performing. That image stuck with him. But thanks in part to his briefly joining a group again, it became a sidelight to some major hit singles.

Station Break

In 1984, the members of Duran Duran decided to take a little break and split off into side projects. Guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor joined up with Chic drummer Tony Thompson with the intent of forming a group with rotating singers. Once they corralled Palmer to sing on a track, they realized that they needed just one man on the microphone.

The quartet named themselves The Power Station in honor of the studio in New York City where they recorded the album. And they churned out a pair of Top 10 hits in 1985. With an appearance at Live Aid looming, it appeared that Palmer had found his ideal ticket to stardom.

And then he left the band. Calculating that he now had the juice to take his solo career to another level, Palmer decided to move on from The Power Station. But he carried his momentum over into the making of his 1986 album, Riptide. For the album’s biggest hits, he brought some key personnel from his supergroup with him.

The Solo Breakthrough

On the single “Addicted To Love”, Palmer enlisted Andy Taylor to play the crunching guitar while Tony Thompson added his thunderous drums. Bernard Edwards, who produced The Power Station album, played bass.

For a moment, “Addicted To Love” was meant as a duet between Palmer and Chaka Khan. But when a contractual snafu kept Khan from performing, Palmer did it alone. With the sound mimicking The Power Station’s cacophonous grind, the track shot to the top of the pop charts.

Palmer enjoyed his greatest stretch of success over the next few albums, aided by videos featuring him in front of models pretending to be his band. With Riptide, Robert Palmer found a way to achieve success to match the style.

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