Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He was known for his powerful, soulful voice and sartorial elegance, and for his stylistic explorations, combining

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, pop,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. While his "four-decade career incorporated every genre of music", Palmer is best known "for the pounding rock-soul classic, " Addicted to Love", and its accompanying video, which came to epitomise the glamour and excesses of the 1980s." Having started in the music industry in the 1960s, including a spell with Vinegar Joe, he found success in the 1980s, both in his solo career and with the Power Station, scoring Top 10 hits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Three of his hit singles, including "Addicted to Love", featured music videos directed by British fashion photographer Terence Donovan. Palmer received a number of awards throughout his career, including two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s for

Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containin ...

and an

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

. He was also nominated by the

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for Best British Male Solo Artist.BRITs Profile: Robert Palmer
. Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2012 He died at age 54, following a heart attack.

Music career

1964–1973: Early bands

Palmer was born in 1949 in

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...

, Yorkshire. When he was only a few months old, he moved with his family to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, where his father worked in British naval intelligence. He was influenced as a child by blues, soul, and jazz music on American Forces Radio and by his parents' musical tastes. His family returned to the UK when he was 12. In his teens, Palmer moved to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, Yorkshire. He joined his first band, the Mandrakes, at the age of 15 while still at

Scarborough High School for Boys Graham School is a coeducational secondary school in the west of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the west of the town within of grounds. The school is on Woodlands Drive. The lower site on Lady Edith's Drive closed ...

. He left school the following year to briefly study art at Scarborough School of Art & Design, before landing a job at the Scarborough Evening News. He was reportedly fired after police found "the stub of a cannabis joint in a raid on his bedsit". Palmer's first major break came with the departure of singer

Jess Roden Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Biography Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist, Kevyn Gammond, and keyboard player, August E ...

from the band

The Alan Bown Set The Alan Bown Set later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band a ...

in 1969, after which Palmer was invited to London to sing on the band's single "Gypsy Girl". The vocals for the album ''The Alan Bown!'', originally recorded by Roden (and released in the US that way), were re-recorded by Palmer after the success of the single. According to music journalist Paul Lester, Palmer rose from northern clubs in England to become "elegant and sophisticated" and the master of several styles. In 1970, he joined the 12-piece jazz-rock fusion band Dada, which featured singer

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 1980 ...

and her husband Pete Gage. After a year, Palmer, Brooks, and Gage formed

band Vinegar Joe. Palmer played rhythm guitar in the band, and shared lead vocals with Brooks. Signed to the

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

label, the band released three albums: ''Vinegar Joe'' (1972), ''Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies'' (1972), and ''Six Star General'' (1973), before disbanding in March 1974. Brooks later said Palmer "was a very good-looking guy", and that female fans were happy to find that Brooks and Palmer were not romantically linked.

1974–1978: Early solo career

signed Palmer to a solo deal in 1974. His first solo album, ''

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley ''Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley'' is the debut solo album by Robert Palmer, released in 1974. It was his first effort after three album releases co-fronting the band Vinegar Joe. Palmer is backed by The Meters and Lowell George of Littl ...

'', recorded in 1974 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana, was heavily influenced by the music of

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

and the funk fusion of the Meters, who acted as the backing band along with producer/guitarist

Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Ear ...

of Little Feat. Unsuccessful in the UK, both the album and single reached the top 100 in the US. Notably, "Sailin' Shoes" (the album's first track, and a Little Feat cover), Palmer's own "Hey Julia", and the

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

-penned title track carry virtually the same rhythm, and were packaged on the album as a "trilogy" without a pause between them. After relocating with his wife to New York City, Palmer released ''

Pressure Drop Pressure drop is defined as the difference in total pressure between two points of a fluid carrying network. A pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as it flows through the tube. The main de ...

'', named for the cover version of the reggae hit by

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, in November 1975 (featuring

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

bassist

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases u ...

). He toured with Little Feat to promote the

- and rock-infused album. With the failure of follow-up album '' Some People Can Do What They Like'', Palmer decided to move to

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, directly across the street from

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

. In 1978, he released '' Double Fun'', a collection of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

-influenced rock, including a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song wer ...

". The album reached the top 50 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart and scored a top 20 single with the

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks ...

-penned " Every Kinda People". The song has been covered by other artists including

Chaka Demus John Taylor (born 16 April 1963), better known as Chaka Demus, is a Jamaican reggae musician and deejay, best known as part of the duo Chaka Demus & Pliers. Biography Early years Born in West Kingston, Taylor was a regular attendee at Kings ...

and Pliers,

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

the Mint Juleps The Mint Juleps, who first gained notice in 1986, is a six-piece all-female a cappella group from the east end of London. The group consists of four sisters: Sandra, Debbie, Lizzie and Marcia Charles, who were joined by two school friends, Juli ...

(produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

), and

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

. It reached number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

1979–1984: Growing mainstream success

Palmer's next album was an artistic departure, concentrating on pure rock. 1979's ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' produced his second top 20 single with

Moon Martin John David "Moon" Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Career Born in Altus, Oklahoma, United States, Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. Originally a rockab ...

's "

Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" is a 1978 song, written and originally recorded by Moon Martin and sung a year later by Robert Palmer. The song became one of Palmer's definitive hits. Background Moon Martin originally recorded the song ...

". The number 14 hit also gave Palmer his second ''Billboard'' Hot 100 year-end chart hit. The following year saw the release of '' Clues'', produced by Palmer and featuring

Chris Frantz Charton Christopher Frantz (born May 8, 1951) is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer for both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, both of which he co-founded with wife and Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth. In 2002, Frant ...

and

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

, which generated hits on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, first with the radio-friendly single "

Johnny and Mary "Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album '' Clues'' (1980). "Johnny ...

" and then " Looking for Clues". Catchy music videos matching the

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

stylings of new wave gave him much-needed exposure to a younger audience. The success was repeated with the 1982 EP release of ''

Some Guys Have All the Luck "Some Guys Have All the Luck" is a song written by Jeff Fortgang, which has been a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 twice, first by The Persuaders in 1973 reaching No. 39, then by Rod Stewart in 1984 where it hit No. 10 in the U.S. and N ...

''. As he settled into the 1980s, Palmer's increasing commercial success as a performer fueled his work as a producer, including on Jamaican ska legend Desmond Dekker's 1981 album ''Compass Point''. A few years later, he helped Island label-mate

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

in the production of his album, ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

''. April 1983 saw the release of ''

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

''. While not as commercially successful as ''Clues'', it featured the title song and Palmer's cover of the System's "

You Are in My System "You Are in My System" is a 1982 song recorded by American band the System. The song, written by Mic Murphy and David Frank, was released in August 1982 by Mirage Records. The song is also included on their debut studio album ''Sweat'' (1983). Th ...

", with the System's David Frank on keyboards. On 31 May 1983, Palmer's concert at the

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to b ...

was recorded and broadcast on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. On 23 July 1983, Palmer performed at Duran Duran's charity concert at Aston Villa football ground, where he struck up friendships with members of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

that would spawn the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

the Power Station.

1985–1989: The Power Station and MTV success

When Duran Duran went on hiatus, guitarist Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor joined former

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

drummer Tony Thompson and Palmer to form the Power Station. Their eponymous album, recorded mainly at the New York recording studio after which the band was named, with overdubs and mixing at

, reached the top 20 in the UK and the top 10 in the US. It spawned two hit singles with " Some Like It Hot" (US number 6) and a

of the T. Rex song " Get It On (Bang a Gong)", which peaked one position higher than the original at US number 9. Palmer performed live with the band only once that year, on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. The band toured, and played

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

, with singer

Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original '' MacGyver'', Nicholas Helman, Murdoc's mentor, on the new reboot of '' MacGyver'' (2016 ...

after Palmer bowed out at the last moment to go back into the recording studio to further his solo career. Some critics described Palmer's abandonment of the tour as unprofessional. In ''

Number One Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

'' magazine, he countered the claims that he joined the band for money: "Firstly, I didn't need the money and, secondly the cash was a long time coming. It wasn't exactly an experience that set me up for retirement."

magazine, circa 1986: "Bob's Your Uncle" by Pat Thomas, pp 28–29. He also was accused of ripping off the Power Station sound for his own records. He responded, "Listen, I gave the Power Station that sound. They took it from me, not the other way around."

''Riptide'' and move to EMI

Palmer recorded the album ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'' at Compass Point Studios in 1985, recruiting Thompson and Andy Taylor to play on some tracks plus Power Station record producer

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

, who worked with Thompson in Chic, to helm the production. ''Riptide'' featured the single " Addicted to Love", which reached number 1 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. The single was accompanied by a memorable and much-imitated music video, directed by Terence Donovan, in which Palmer is surrounded by a bevy of near-identically clad, heavily made-up female models simulating musicians. Donovan also directed videos for the hits "Simply Irresistible" and "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On". In September 1986, Palmer performed "Addicted to Love" at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. In 1987, he won the

Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containin ...

for "Addicted to Love". At the 1987

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, Palmer received his first nomination for Best British Male. Another single from ''Riptide'', his cover of

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", "Eve ...

's "

I Didn't Mean to Turn You On "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is the debut single written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and originally performed by Cherrelle in 1984. In 1986, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" was covered by Robert Palmer. Palmer's cover fared better on the pop c ...

", also performed well (US number 2, UK number 9). Another song, "Trick Bag", was written by one of his major influences, New Orleans jazz artist

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

. Concerned about the rising crime rate in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

, and having landed a deal with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, Palmer moved to

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, Switzerland in 1987 and set up his own recording studio. Producing '' Heavy Nova'' in 1988, Palmer again returned to experimenting, this time with

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

rhythms, heavy rock and white-soul balladeering. He repeated his previous success of "Addicted to Love" with the video of " Simply Irresistible", again with a troupe of female "musicians". The song reached number 2 in the US and was Palmer's final top ten hit there. The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

She Makes My Day "She Makes My Day" is a song by British vocalist Robert Palmer, which was released in 1988 as the third single from his ninth studio album '' Heavy Nova''. The song was written and produced by Palmer. "She Makes My Day" reached No. 6 in both the U ...

" also proved to be a hit in the UK, peaking at number 6. In 1989, he won a second

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for "Simply Irresistible", which would later be featured in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning musical ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

''. At the 1989

, Palmer received his second nomination for Best British Male, and "Simply Irresistible" was nominated for Best British Single. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine voted Palmer the best-dressed rock star for 1990.

1990s: Continued success

Palmer expanded his range even further for his next album, '' Don't Explain'' (1990). It featured two UK top 10 hits with covers of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan first released on ''John Wesley Harding''. It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both o ...

" (a collaboration with

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

) and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's "

Mercy Mercy Me "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 in music, 1971 album, ''What's Going On (Marvin Gaye album), What's Going On''. Following the breakthrough of the What's Going On (Marvin Gaye song), title track's succes ...

". Throughout the 1990s, Palmer ventured further into diverse material. The 1992 album '' Ridin' High'' was a tribute to the

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

era. In 1994, Palmer released ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'' to mixed reviews. While the album failed to produce any hit singles in the US, he did find success in the UK with the release of three modest hit singles "

Girl U Want "Girl U Want" is a 1980 single by American new wave band Devo. It was the first single released from their third studio album ''Freedom of Choice'' (1980). Composition "Girl U Want" was allegedly inspired by the song " My Sharona" by the Knack ...

", "

Know by Now "Know by Now" is a song by English singer-songwriter Robert Palmer, released in August 1994 by EMI as the second single from the singer's twelfth studio album, ''Honey'' (1994). The song was written by Palmer and co-produced by Palmer alongside ...

," and " You Blow Me Away". In 1995 Palmer released a greatest hits album, which reached number 4 in the UK. Also in 1995 he reunited with other members of Power Station to record a second album. Bassist John Taylor eventually backed out of the project, to be replaced by

. Palmer and the rest of the band completed the album ''

Living in Fear ''Living in Fear'' is the second and final studio album from the supergroup The Power Station, released in 1996. Background In the pre-recording stage of the album, the band had the same lineup as for their previous album in 1985 (Robert Palm ...

'' (1996), and had just begun touring when Edwards died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. In 1997, Palmer performed with

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

at Wembley.

Personal life

Palmer met Sue, his future wife, at

Slough railway station Slough railway station, in Slough, Berkshire, England, is on the Great Western Main Line, halfway between London Paddington and Reading. It is down the line from the zero point at Paddington and is situated between to the east and to the w ...

in 1969, attracted by her style (silver-coloured boots and a matching mini-dress) and by the

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

book she was reading. They married two years later, and had two children. The family moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the mid-1970s and then to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

a few years later. In 1987, Palmer and his family relocated to

Lugano, Switzerland Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populati ...

. The couple divorced in 1993. A quiet man in his personal life, Palmer was uninterested in most of the excesses of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, although he was a very heavy tobacco user who smoked as many as 60 cigarettes a day. While he hadn't lived in Yorkshire for many decades, in the last interview he gave, Robert Palmer said that the region, and his father, had given him "a healthy work ethic, and a straight-forwardness".

Death

Palmer died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in a Paris hotel room on 26 September 2003 at age 54. He had been in the French capital after recording a television appearance in London for

Yorkshire TV ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

, a retrospective titled ''My Kinda People''.Singer Robert Palmer dies
BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2012 His long-term partner, Mary Ambrose, was not with him at his death. Among those who paid tribute were

, stating: "He was a very dear friend and a great artist. This is a tragic loss to the British music industry." He was buried in

, Switzerland.

Awards and nominations

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ASCAP Pop Music Awards The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, 1986 , " Addicted to Love" , rowspan=2, Most Performed Songs , , , - , 1990 , " Simply Irresistible" , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=5,

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, " Bad Case of Loving You" ,

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containin ...

, , rowspan=5, , - , rowspan=3,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, rowspan=3, " Addicted to Love" , Song of the Year , , - ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, , - , rowspan=2,

, , - , 1989 , " Simply Irresistible" , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=6,

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

, rowspan=5,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, rowspan=5, " Addicted to Love" , Video of the Year , , rowspan=6, , - ,

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

, , - , Best Stage Performance in a Video , , - , Best Overall Performance , , - , Viewer's Choice , , - ,

, "

" ,

, , - !scope="row", Pollstar Concert Industry Awards , 1987 , ''Tour'' , Small Hall Tour Of The Year , ,

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1975) * '' Some People Can Do What They Like'' (1976) * '' Double Fun'' (1978) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Clues'' (1980) * ''

Maybe It's Live ''Maybe It's Live'' is a live album by Robert Palmer, released in 1982. It combines six live tracks of old songs with four new songs recorded in the studio, including "Some Guys Have All the Luck", which was a hit for Palmer in the UK, peaking ...

'' (1982) (Half studio tracks, half live) * ''

'' (1983) * ''

'' (1985) * '' Heavy Nova'' (1988) * '' Don't Explain'' (1990) * '' Ridin' High'' (1992) * ''

'' (1994) * '' Rhythm & Blues'' (1999) * ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

'' (2003)

References

External links

* * *
Complete discographyBBC obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Robert 1949 births 2003 deaths British expatriates in Switzerland English rock singers English pop singers Blues rock musicians English male singer-songwriters English record producers Island Records artists British expatriates in the Bahamas Grammy Award winners People from Batley People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire The Power Station (band) members British rhythm and blues boom musicians Naturalised citizens of Switzerland People from Lugano 20th-century English singers The Alan Bown Set members People educated at Scarborough High School for Boys 20th-century British male singers Second British Invasion artists