The Power Station

The Power Station band was a 1980s group 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 supergroup’s follow-up 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 where their album was conceived and recorded.

After Duran Duran’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, the members of the band went on a planned short hiatus, going 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, funk sound. Roger Taylor was mainly the drummer for Arcadia but also contributed percussion to The Power Station.The group began as one-time gathering of friends but soon the project evolved into the idea of a revolving supergroup; a name for the band was Big Brother. 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.

On 16 February 1985, the band performed “Some Like It Hot” and “Get It On (Bang A Gong)” on Saturday Night Live. It was the only time that Robert Palmer performed live with the original line-up. In March 1985, the band issued the album The Power Station, produced by Bernard Edwards with some informal assistance from Nile Rodgers. It reached number 12 in the UK and number 6 on the US album chart. 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 and number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The second single, “Get It On (Bang A Gong),” went to number 22 in the UK and number 9 in the U.S., while competing against the Duran Duran single “A View to a Kill,” which was a US number one. But the third single, “Communication,” was not as successful; it barely reached the Top 40 in the U.S., and disappeared after hitting number 75 in the UK. The band folded late in 1985, as its members turned to other projects.

The band reunited ten years later with its original members: Robert Palmer, Andy Taylor, John Taylor and Tony Thompson. The group worked together on writing and arranging a new album, however, personal issues forced bassist John Taylor to withdraw from the project and leave the band before any recording took place. Producer Bernard Edwards (Chic bassist) stepped in to become The Power Station’s bassist and new fourth member, playing all bass parts on Living In Fear (1996). Source: Wikipedia.org

 

Discography:
The Power Station (1985)
Living In Fear (1996)
Best Of (2003)
The Power Station: 20th Anniversary Edition (2005)

Band members:
Andy Taylor – guitars (1984–1985, 1995–1996)
Tony Thompson – drums (1984–1985, 1995–1996)
John Taylor – bass (1984–1985, 1995)
Robert Palmer – lead vocals (1984–1985, 1995–1996)
Michael Des Barres – lead vocals (1985)
Bernard Edwards – bass (1995–1996)