The Power Station
They're a brand new group with some mighty familiar faces... They're John and Andy Taylor from Duran Duran... Tony Thompson and Bernard Edwards from Chic... And supercrooner Robert Palmer on the mike... And, as David Keeps discovers, they are... The Power Station.
John Taylor leads me down the corridor to a small, dimly lit room. Closing the door with authority, he reaches forward a rather impressive looking cassette deck and inserts a tape. The full-bodied funk of Communication roars forth and JT, grinning broadly, bops around the room playing the air bass. "Do you like it?" he enquires.
Is he kidding? This is the Power Station, the Manhattan sound studio where John and Andy, Chic superdrummer Tony Thompson, British soul singer Robert Palmer and producer Bernard Edwards (also of Chic) are hard at work on the recording project of the same name.
It was originally going to be called Big Brother, John explains, "because it was 1984, but also because Bernard and Tony are like big brothers to Andy and me. Basically, that was a working title. There was Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin's band, of course) already, so we had trouble.
"But Robert and I decided on the Power Station last night, just like that," he recalls. "We were going 'We've got to come up with a name, we've got interviews tomorrow.' So we were walking down the street and I stood back and said 'This fabulous-looking building, thsi recording studio, you know it used to be a power station.' Isn't that funny how the most obvious things are the best? 'That'd be a good name for the group... that's IT!'"
And, according to John, the Power Station could also be "the grain or your feet or your heart. That's not an egotistical statement. It's more poetic. I mean, what's power? It's an emotive or electric force or maybe both."
Well, whatever it is, JT has plenty of it. The power of Duran Duran's success has allowed for "certain individual indulgences" for all the band members, from Simon's budding career as a skipper to John's first acting role.
"I did a pilot for a contemporary version of The Twilight Zone called Time Slip. Sort of a Rod Serling voiceover, things like (affects a doomy voice) 'In a world ruled by computers, Grey Champion was one of the lucky ones.' It sounds crazy, but it's been an incredible education. When you start thinking that a ten line voiceover can actually affect your bass playing in terms of mood - you learn when to push things and when to hold back.'"
He's been holding absolutely nothing back at the Power Station. "This is like playing in a youth club band," John smiles. "All that freshness and enthusiasm and being able to play off each other. Get It On (the glitter rock anthem by T-Rex) had been nurturing in my head for three years and, being a great Robert Palmer fan, I wanted him to sing it. Everybody was into it and it's just grown into a whole album. There's been absolutely no rules laid down, that's what's so fresh about it - the smiling faces and fun and the attitude of 'let's do it.'"
And that's exactly what they're doing right now. Andy keeps vanishing to "explore different guitar things." Robert Palmer, looking totally elegant in a suit and tie, is dividing his time between interviews and vocalizing. And drummer Tony Thompson is taking a breather and inquiring about ordering sushi while producer Bernard Edwards is barricaded behind the mixing desk.
It's getting to be the end of a long and productive day, but John still has plenty to say. Lounging in the studio owner's office chair, he becomes quite thoughtful. "Duran have been on the road for four years, living out of each other's pockets. There hasn't been a day that I haven't signed my autograph or been one of the guys in the band. It did become like a circus, which is fine, when we're on a roll."
"But just because I'm doing this doesn't mean the work rate has stopped, but it has altered. It actually has quite a personal effect on me, as well. My values have completely changed. Since the end of the American tour last year I've been getting educated. I'd always been very desinterested in the studio, so I liked taking on Arena and the video soundtracks and now the Power Station. It's been a real crash course for me.
"When I'm in the studio playing in front of Bernard Edwards it doesn't matter what the hell I look like, I feel an inadequate bass player and I want to learn and get better. Things like that can put your looks in perspective very quickly."
The next new Duran song you're likely to hear will be the James Bond theme for A View To A Kill. "It's gonna have a 60 piece orchestra," John beams. "It'll be John Barry (Bond composer) meets The Reflex and obviously I'm very pleased about it.
Although if it were Octopussy, we'd probably try to write something else." It was rumored that the Birmingham boys were also asked to act in the film. "You know everyone assumes that I'd really love to play James Bond," John shrugs. "But I'd much rather play The Saint."
JT reckons they might also release a live version of Save A Prayer from Arena, "'cause we never put it out in the US as a single." And he has absolutely no worries about the fate of Duran Duran. "I think the greatest thing about it is that we are a group, there's no Boy George or Martin Fry. But at the same time, that can be frustrating - you have five very competitive and very individual people. But if we pace ourselves as a band and as individuals we could go on for at least ten years."
Right now, however, it's time for John to get a little rest. But first, he's got to shake hands with the studio's owner, who just poked his head into the office to introduce himself. "We've been trying to send the girls outside away," the owner says, hoping to impress. "Oh no, you swine," John bursts out good naturedly. And as he turns to leave, the owner's female companion extends her hand and apologizes. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"John," the tall handsome bass player answers -without the slightest trace of you-don't-know-me? surprise. "John Taylor."
David Keeps (Star Hits - 1985)