An Introduction

As far as a potted biography is concerned Robert Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003), son of a British naval intelligence officer, spent his formative years in Malta where he picked up on blues, soul and jazz played on American Forces Radio. He was back in Yorkshire by age fifteen, attending Scarborough Boys' High School where he joined his first band, The Mandrakes. He was nineteen when a 1960s blues outfit called The Alan Bown Set passed through Scarborough, found itself without a singer after Jess Roden departed, borrowed Palmer for the night and invited him to join them in  London.

Palmer changed his name from Alan to Robert, sang on the outfit’s single Gypsy Girl and re-recorded Roden’s vocal tracks for The Alan Bown Set! From there, he moved on to twelve-piece jazz-rock fusion outfit Dada, which also featured singer Elkie Brooks. The band morphed into the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Vinegar Joe, who delivered three albums,  Vinegar Joe and Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies (both 1972) and Six Star General (1973) to Island Records before disbanding in March 1974.

Palmer’s solo debut appeared later that year with Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, recorded in New Orleans and New York with, among others, Lowell George and the Meters, brought him to my notice, and I was interested to note the follow-up, 1975’s Pressure Drop featured the whole of Little Feat and Motown bassist James Jamerson adding Philly soul and reggae elements to what was already a rather impressive stylistic melange. The 1976 follow-up Some People Can Do What They Like failed to deliver commercial success, and Palmer relocated to Nassau in the Bahamas, where he lived directly across the street from Compass Point Studios.

1978’s Double Fun produced a hit single in the form of Every Kinda People but by the time Addicted To Love zoomed to the top of the charts I had more or less lost interest, although the videos definitely provided a pleasant line in eye candy. The loss of interest probably started around 1979’s self-produced Secrets  and Moon Martin's Bad Case of Lovin’ You (Doctor Doctor) though the state of Palmer’s bank balance probably meant he wasn’t overly worried by fading interest from those disinclined to welcome commerciality.

Much of that commerciality stemmed from a move towards more New Wave-influenced synthesizer-dominated sounds on Clues (1980), Pride (1983) and the Power Station collaboration with Chic drummer Tony Thompson of Chic and guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor from Duran Duran that delivered a sleek  self-titled album and hit singles like  Some Like It Hot and a cover of T Rex’s Get It On (Bang a Gong).

Hs next solo effort, Riptide (1985) gave us Addicted to Love, while Heavy Nova (1988) delivered Simply Irresistible, while Don’t Explain (1990) began a move into other genres and popular standards. That trend continued through Ridin' High (1992) was a mix of genres from Tin Pan Alley and cabaret classics.

Suffice it to say I noted new releases and went close to succumbing to 2003’s Drive, by all accounts his most bluesy recording. 

Concerns about drug-related violence and a rising crime rate had prompted a move from the Bahamas to Switzerland and he was taking a brief break from promoting the latest album when he suffered a fatal heart attack in his room at the Warwick Hotel in Paris on 26 September 2003.

Studio albums     Live albums, Compilations, Power Station

© Ian Hughes 2015