Pitchfork

[Posted Friday, September 26th, 2003 03:20:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

According to wire reports from the Associated Press and a statement from Universal Music, '80s icon Robert Palmer died of a heart attack early on Friday in Paris. Palmer is best remembered for the ubiquitous video for "Addicted To Love," in which a wall of undulating, identically gorgeous models with electric guitars danced behind the conventionally handsome singer.

Although his music career dated back to the late '60s in soul-oriented outfits like the Alan Bown Set and Vinegar Joe, it wasn't until the late '70s that Palmer began to attract attention with AOR fare like "Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor Doctor)" (produced by Palmer himself) and collaborations with Gary Numan and the Talking Heads' Chris Frantz.

Palmer was also a member of The Power Station with Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor, yielding monster hits with "Some Like It Hot" and a cover of T-Rex's "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" in 1985. Despite being the hugest commercial success yet for Palmer, the singer refused to tour with the supergroup, who were forced to make do with Silverhead's Michael Des Barres on the tour and at 1985's Live Aid megabenefit. Instead, Palmer released Riptide, the guitar-oriented collection that yielded "Addicted To Love" and that timeless ode to accidental arousal, "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On."

His follow-up, 1988's Heavy Nova, produced another hit in "Simply Irresistable" but the singer's dapper New Wave persona was beginning to wear thin, and unlike '80s changelings David Bowie and Steve Winwood, he was never able to reinvent himself for another commercial or critical success. In 1996, Palmer even reconciled with his compadres in The Power Station, resulting in the tepid reunion album Living In Fear. A year later, Palmer reworked "Addicted To Love" for a greatest-hits album that included both of The Power Station's '80s hits amongst his career highlights.