ROBERT PALMER : Music & Style

Why did you cover The Isley Brothers' 'Harvest For The World'?

Andy: In the late '70s, I had cover bands who'd play clubs and air force bases. That gave me a massive repertoire, including Harvest For The World. I figured it might be worth throwing to Tony and Bernard. Originally, I sang the whole vocal, just as a guide, thinking Robert would do it later.

John: Andy is a great singer, who was a big force in Duran as a backing singer, always there behind Simon to give energy. Once Robert said: "Let's make a line each," it's actually better. Letting Robert in makes Andy greater.

Andy: Trying these things out, without having band politics going on, was one thing John and I wanted. In Duran, we didn't really have space for: "Let's try this and, if it works, off you go." Duran was a constant machine of trying to get hits together. We didn't have to go into The Power Station with that attitude.

How did the luxurious feel of 'Still In Your Heart' emerge?

Andy: That was a John-led track. I can't remember whose heart he was still in.

John: Diana Ross was also working at The Power Station studio. She wasn't above forcing her way in, asking: "Why don't you write a song for me?" I don't remember giving Diana a demo, but I was plinking on the piano, thinking about maybe writing something for Diana Ross. I've always been good at pacing an album. When it comes to writing, I'm not: "Let's write a song about heartache or world peace," I'm: "Let's write a show opener." Still In Your Heart was a show closer, a torch song. It's an incongruous song in some ways, but what's incongruous in a project like The Power Station? Everyone had so much they wanted to get over. At no point was it: "What are we going to do with this?" If we'd continued as a conventional band, we'd no doubt have hit that point, but it didn't happen on that album.

Why did you name the band after the studio?

John: Our working name was Big Brother, from the idea that Bernard and Tony were the elders, with Andy and I the upstarts. It's odd we chose the name of the studio instead, when we did a lot of work at Maison Rouge before going to New York. But The Power Station was Bernard, Jason and Nile's musical home, this mystical place that was already a legend for the amount of incredible records made there.

Andy: It's the sort of thing where you have a few drinks and go: "We're here! Why don't we just call it The Power Station?" It is a name that fits the band.

What did session musicians like Lenny Pickett, Curtis King and Wally Badarou bring to the album?

Andy: The Power Station is an amazingly efficient record, which only took about three weeks to record. Lenny Pickett's saxophones were like fries: he had small, medium, large and extra-large saxes. John and I would have a basic idea for a part, then Lenny and Bernard would speak in a studio language that was just unreal. But that was what we wanted - bringing the best people to the table and letting them cook.

How did 'The Power Station' go down with your record company?

Andy: Capitol didn't want to release the album. They started fucking us about, so John and I called up the heads of some other labels in New York, inviting them to The Carlisle Hotel so they could listen to the album on our ghettoblaster. Within 48 hours, Capitol suddenly agreed to release it.

John: Capitol couldn't believe these old dudes Andy and I were with what could make a record as good as it was. Duran was a money-making machine, and now here was this other entity Capitol hadn't even asked for. We hadn't even asked for a big advance, we'd just done it. They loved that.

How did the success feel compared to Duran?

John: The Power Station felt like a fun break, without expectations. There was so much around Duran that wasn't about music, so it was very easy to overlook the music itself - even for the musicians. It took me a long time to hear Rio for the masterpiece it is. At the time of making The Power Station, Duran alluded to musical differences. Really, the problem was our personalities. We'd worn thin on each other after a very intense few years.

Andy: We were by no means trying to form a supergroup, we were just doing a project for fun. I remember being in a limousine coming from JFK Airport. The radio was on, playing A View To A Kill. It was No 1 in the States at the time, Get It On right next to it in the chart. I was with JT and one of his very, very famous girlfriends. His dreams had come true: he had supermodel access. We were only four years into it all, and I sat there thinking: "What the fuck?!"

The original line-up only played one live performance, on 'Saturday Night Live.' What was that like?

John: It's so bizarre, but it works. You go: "Oh, my God!" Me and Andy queening it for all our worth, against this New York element of Tony, the BVs, percussion and horns. And then you've got Robert dressed like a fucking lawyer. It's such a bizarre combo, which looks so different to how it sounds. I love that performance.

Andy: We thought we were going on the road, so we really pulled it off.

Then Robert pulled out of the US tour. What happened?

John: The Power Station got Robert back under the skin of his record label. Island went: "We'd completely forgotten how good he is." They told Robert that, if he could deliver an album within three months, they'd quadruple his contract. It was an offer Robert couldn't refuse. That took him out of the tour, but I feel a part of Riptide. It's a companion volume to The Power Station.

Andy: The tour was only a couple of weeks away, so it could have been the most expensive lawsuit Robert ever had. There were two ways we could go: either cancel the tour and shit on everyone for fucking us over, or get another singer. The way we were built, we were always going to get another singer.

John: Our booking agent, Wayne Forte, reminded us of Michael Des Barres, whose band, Chequered Past had supported Duran in San Diego. Michael was hanging out on a movie set with Don Johnson. I didn't really  know much about Michael's music, but he's got one of those names. Once you've heard it, you've really heard it.

Andy: The tour's fanbase was going to be predominately ours, as Robert's career was a bit cooked at the time. There was no time to waste and Michael knew what he was doing. He'd paid his dues. Plus, he was sober and dead straight. At that time, that was very valuable to us.

How did Michael gel within the band?

John: To know Michael is to love him. He's a great guy. He was the first man I knew who was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and his wife, Pamela, was a superstar. They'd been around the block and knew everybody. Rather than tapping into somebody younger, Michael had the worldliness Robert had. That made sense.

Andy: Michael was a good-looking guy who had a presence. There was some negative reaction in a couple of places but, because of his energy, Michael was very positive.

What are your favourite memories of the tour?

Andy: New York was great, Dallas was always a hoot and Toronto was a killer show. I loved New Jersey, where Nick came on at the end and swept the stage. There's no footage of that, though I wish there was. We were living the dream on that tour. It was such good fun, and we'd knocked it in our spare time.

John: The sound of the crowd is incredible, the audiences were a full-on screamathon. But the music is pretty sophisticated rock/funk: it's not pop music. Yes, there are hooks and choruses, but it's well thought-out and performed. There's a degree of sophistication.

The tour has become known for its hedonism. How messy was it?

John: It was so messy that I was eating McDonalds every day. My hair reached an absolute low ebb on that tour. When we played Dallas, the venue had it written into the rider that everyone had to go to a particular strip club after the show. But we couldn't go, as we'd agreed to appear on Miami Vice. That said it all. Instead of a very fun night at the hotel, we were on a plane to Miami at 1am. I was so hammered, my ears didn't pop and repressurise. I was in hospital in Miami at 4am, getting my ears syringed so I could be on set on Miami Vice at 9am.

Andy: If I put that tour next to some other artists from the era, we weren't as bad as some, by a country mile. But at the level we were at, juggling two bands with that size of fanbase? If you couldn't enjoy it, if you didn't want to make the most of it, and if you didn't want to get off your nut sometimes? Then fuck off. There was a massive upside to it all: it wasn't dreary.

Andy, why didn't you go back to Duran?

Andy: Live Aid was pretty difficult. I'm glad I had the outlet of The Power Station, as we were on the road, having fun. When Roger walked offstage that night, he told our manager, Mike Berrow: "That's it. I'm done." I knew Roger was uneasy, but I didn't know things were that bad. After that, the option of a solo deal looked better. It had got so massive that the only way to go was down. It was mad, but I'd realised there was a peak. Had The Power Station not opened the door for me, I don't know what I'd have done. In those days, you couldn't blag it into your thirties. It was a young business, and I could see that looming. And, intrinsically in Duran, things had become very difficult with each other.

John, were you always going to return to Duran?

John: The Power Station tour only had seven original songs, so there were a lot of covers on the tour: Hungry Like The Wolf, Obsession, Dancing In The Street... We built a show that made sense, but it wasn't easy. At the end of that tour, I thought: "OK, I surrender. Taxi!" I was ready to go back to Duran. I look back now and think we had to do The Power Station for Duran to survive. Nick came to see me in New York, where he told me: "Duran is our home. We can always make art independently, but we've got to keep coming back." That spoke to me. We had to wrap up the extra-curricular activities and get back to the mothership.

Forty years on, what are you happiest about achieving in The Power Station?

Andy: That album is the best trophy we could have. It's our FA Cup. It's a testament to what very creative people can do. Mine and John's energy and momentum brought the whole thing to life. It's a record that so many people refer to. I got a lot of love from Gary Moore and Eric Clapton for it, and as a guitarist it's nice to get your peers liking it. Dave Grohl said recently/ "I've not made my Power Station album yet." That's pretty good.

John: There's something about it that crossed lines: it was ethnically diverse, anti-ageist. Also, each idea on the album is taken to its ultimate conclusion. I sometimes listen back to an album and think: "Oh, I wish we'd gone in that direction. If only we'd done this or that." Whereas each song on The Power Station is a perfect rendering of that idea.

The Power Station DLX reissue is available now on 4CDs or 2LPs