Robert Palmer

Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance, and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, reggae, and blues. His 1986 single "Addicted to Love" and its accompanying video came to "epitomise the glamour and excesses of the 1980s". Three of his hit singles, including "Addicted to Love", featured music videos directed by English fashion photographer Terence Donovan.

Palmer received a number of awards throughout his career, including two Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and an MTV Video Music Award. He was also nominated for the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist in both 1987 and 1989. He died at the age of 54 from a heart attack.

Career 1964–1973: Early bands Palmer was born in 1949 in Batley. When he was only a few months old, he and his family moved to Malta, where his father worked in British naval intelligence. He was influenced as a child by blues, soul, and jazz music played on American Forces Radio

In his teens, and briefly studied 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". 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. 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 Island Records signed Palmer to a solo deal in 1974. On 23 July 1983, he performed at Duran Duran's charity concert at Aston Villa football ground striking up friendships with members of Duran Duran which later spawned the 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 drummer Tony Thompson and Palmer to form the Power Station. 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." 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. In 1987, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Addicted to Love". At the 1987 Brit Awards, Palmer received his first nomination for Best British Male Solo Vocal. which would later be featured in the Tony Award-winning musical Contact. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Palmer received his second nomination for Best British Male Solo Vocal, and "Simply Irresistible" was nominated for Best British Single.

Personal life Palmer met Susan 'Sue' Eileen Thatcher, his future wife, at Slough railway station, in 1969, attracted by her style (silver-coloured boots and matching mini-dress) and by the science-fiction book she was reading. The family moved to New York City in the mid-1970s and then to the Bahamas a few years later. In 1987, Palmer and his family moved to Lugano, Switzerland. The couple divorced in 1993.

Death Palmer died from a heart attack in a Paris hotel room on 26 September 2003 at age 54. Palmer was in Paris after having recorded a television appearance in London for My Kinda People, a Yorkshire TV retrospective. His long-term partner and musical colleague, Mary Ambrose, had joined him in Paris for a planned two-day break from the television studio.

Among those who paid tribute were Duran Duran, saying, "He was a very dear friend and a great artist. This is a tragic loss to the British music industry."

Awards and nominations Award Year Nominee(s) Category Result ASCAP Pop Music Awards 1986 "Addicted to Love"Most Performed Songs 1990 "Simply Irresistible" Grammy Awards 1980 "Bad Case of Loving You" Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male 1987"Addicted to Love" Song of the Year Record of the Year Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male 1989 "Simply Irresistible" MTV Video Music Awards1986"Addicted to Love" Video of the Year Best Male Video Best Stage Performance in a Video Best Overall Performance Viewer's Choice 1987 "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" Best Male Video Pollstar Concert Industry Awards 1987 Tour Small Hall Tour of the Year

Discography

Studio albums Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley (1974) Pressure Drop (1975) Some People Can Do What They Like (1976) Double Fun (1978) Secrets (1979) Clues (1980) Maybe It's Live (1982) (half studio tracks, half live) Pride (1983) Riptide (1985) Heavy Nova (1988) Don't Explain (1990) Ridin' High (1992) Honey (1994) Rhythm & Blues (1998) Drive (2003)