Song:Addicted To Love
Album:The Very Best of the Island Years
British blue eyed soul singer Robert Palmer had his only number one hit with Addicted To Love in 1985. The song's success owes a lot to the silly music video with models pretending to be musicians. The video was very controversial at the time. He was born Jan. 19, 1949 in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. His father was a naval intelligence officer stationed in Malta so he spent his early years there. His family moved back to Yorkshire in 1959. Palmer was a member of The Mandrakes as a teen. But he got his big break in 1969 when he replaced lead singer Jess Roden in The Alan Bown Set. In 1970 he joined the jazz rock group Dada and shared lead vocals with Elkie Brooks. Dada recorded one album and split up. Palmer and Brooks formed Vinegar Joe in 1971. They recorded three highly acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums for Island Records and split up in 1974. Palmer signed with Island and released the highly acclaimed albums Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley and Pressure Drop. But Palmer was looking for commercial success and formed The Power Station with Andy Taylor and John Taylor while Duran Duran were on hiatus in 1984. They recorded one album and were supposed to tour. But Palmer left and went back to his solo career. He recorded Riptide with Andy Taylor and Tony Thompson of The Power Station and it was produced by Bernard Edwards of Chic who also produced The Power Station. The album was Palmer's commercial breakthrough and was certified 2XPlatinum. Addicted To Love topped the Billboard Hot 100. The music video was directed by fashion photographer Terence Donovan. He based the look of the models on the paintings of Patrick Nagel. The video has been parodied a lot and Palmer even did it himself in videos for I Didn't Mean To Turn You On and Simply Irresistible. Those were his other top five hits. You can get all his hits on this budget comp. Palmer left Island for EMI in 1988 and wasn't as successful in the 90s. He was living in Paris when he died of a heart attack on Sept. 26, 2003 at age 54. Here's the video for Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer.
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