The Power Station

The Power Station was a British-American 1980s/1990s rock and pop music supergroup originally formed in New York City and London in 1984. It was 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 band's second 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 in New York, where their first album was conceived and recorded. Origins On 23 July, Duran Duran's charity concert at Villa Park 1983 took place in aid of Mencap, a UK charity. Duran Duran had been known to be huge fans of Robert Palmer, so he was invited to participate. After Duran Duran's third album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, the members of the band took a planned short hiatus, going into two projects. One of these was the band Arcadia featuring frontman Simon LeBon, which maintained the melodic and atmospheric aspects of Duran Duran's previous recordings. The other was The Power Station, in which bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor worked with Palmer, Thompson, and Edwards to explore more rhythmic and aggressive music rooted in funk and rock and roll. Roger Taylor was mainly the drummer for Arcadia but also contributed percussion to The Power Station. The group began as something of a whim—it was a one-time gathering of friends to provide backing to model and would-be singer Bebe Buell, who wanted to record a cover of the 1972 T. Rex song "Get It On". Both John Taylor and Andy Taylor were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led Zeppelin-flavoured rock and roll. The participation of their idols from Chic lent the project a horn-inflected funk vibe that meshed surprisingly well with the crunching guitars and booming drums.