ROBERT PALMER : Music & Style

Robert Palmer calls this week's international Rock Awards "a means of getting together a broad range of acts that people normally wouldn't see."

First there was the Oscar; now there's the Elvis. This week, some top music stars will be the first ever to take home an Elvis, the statue that will be presented to the winners of the first International Rock Awards.

ABC will televise the ceremonies beginning at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday from the 69th Battalion State Armory in New York City. Honors in 12 categories of competition will be given during the special, and a Living Legend Award will go to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who also is scheduled to be among the artists performing.

Others slated to entertain the audience include Robert Palmer, David Bowie and his "all-star" group Tin Machine, Living Colour and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. The list of presenters features Ric Ocasek and Alice Cooper, again reflecting how specifically rock-oriented the new ceremony is intended to be, as opposed to the broader-based Grammys or American Music Awards.

The fact also is verified by Palmer, the British-born, customarily well-dressed singer of such distinctive hits as Simply Irresistible, Addicted To Love and I Didn't Mean To Turn You On.

However, he adds that he also considers this week's award show "an excuse for a party. In the long run, it's entertainment, a means of getting together a broad range of acts that people normally wouldn't see (in live performance). Back in the days of the touring 'road show' there would be five or six popular acts on the bill, and each would come on stage and do a 20-minute set. These days, if you want to go and see a big act, a fortune is spent on the production... and consequently, they can't play to less than 10,000 people at a time (and still make a profit), though it's usually interesting to watch."

Palmer admits that he can tolerate music-award shows only "occasionally," acknowledging complaints that were lodged against the most recent Grammy Awards.

However, he adds, "It's easier to complain than it is to see the positive side. I just think it's very interesting to see a broad range of music presented, and by and large, by the leaders in their respective fields. A lot of people tend to listen ot music like they're wearing a badge, and they say things like 'Oh, you don't listen to Country-Western, do you?' or 'You really like Heavy Metal?' If you watch a show like the Grammys, you get to see the whole spectrum."

Participating in such programs appeals to Palmer, "as long as it's well-organized and doesn't turn into a zoo. You usually run into friends that you haven't seen in a while, so it's fun."

Though he isn't an International Rock Awards nominee himself, Palmer says he appreciates the fact that such categories as "guitar" and "keyboards" recognize the skills of particular artists.

"Personally, I've never seen music as a competition. It's a little ridiculous, because nobody is like anybody else. I look at these things as (developing) from within the 'inside' of the business. The other side is that you get a representation of what people are doing across the board, but it is a bit awkward when Jethro Tull wins in the heavy-metal category (which happened at this year's Grammys). It can get bizarre, but then again, I don't happen to find the music of Guns N' Roses particularly 'heavy' or rock-oriented at all. They just look the part, but that's my personal feeling. Again, it's just a matter of seeing things across the board and trying to get an objective point of view."

Having performed as a solo artist since 1974, Palmer terms his stint as a member of the group Power Station (Some Like It Hot) earlier in the 1980s as "a thing I did on the weekends."

However, Palmer's own natty image - both in concerts and in music videos, which find him stationary while female dancers ("The Palmer Girls") do virtually all the movement - has become famous enough to inspire imitations, including the current videos for Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl and Tone-Loc's Funky Cold Medina. It also has become a valuable tool in commercials for products such as soda.

"It has captured the public's attention amazingly," Palmer reflects. "After two and a half years of maintaining that look, I guess it must be fairly intriguing. When all these videos are seen five years from now, though, I think people will say, 'Oh, yes - that must have been an '80s thing.' It has that quality to it."

Nevertheless, Palmer demurs that he had "hardly anything to do with (developing that image), apart from showing up," giving full credit to the director of his video clips, Terence Donovan. "It's seemed to take a long time for the sense of humor (in the videos) to come through," Palmer adds, "but I think people are finally getting it. It's really meant to be a campy kind of nonsense."

Each of Palmer's major hits has had a hard-driving instrumental track that makes it instantly recognizable when it hits turntables or airwaves and he says "I'd like to blame that on the attempt I make when I'm writing a song. I concentrate solely on tunes about interpersonal relationships - I don't sing about religion or politics - and the other thing is to try and find a contemporary way in which to touch today's moral behavior."

Jay Bobbin (Tribune Media Services - 1989)