"Some Like It Hot" by The Power Station

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  2251
Date:  03/16/1985
Debut:  57
Peak:  6
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The Power Station was a supergroup formed by Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor when the band was on a short hiatus. Along with Chic's Tony Thompson and singer Robert Palmer, the new band set out to record a debut album. Chic's Bernard Edwards would serve as producer. The self-titled disc would feature this song that would serve as its first single. Duran Duran were ultra-hot at the time, so the involvement of two members of that band put a big spotlight on this project and that certainly helped the single climb into the Pop Top 10. In turn, the album would shoot up to #6 and would eventually go platinum.

ReduxReview:  Bernard Edwards produced the hell out of this track. The drums just sounded massive and the rest of the production was dense and meaty. Palmer was a perfect choice for the vocals and the hit certainly gave a big boost to his career. It led directly to his next solo album, Riptide, which was a major hit. It was all due to his involvement with Power Station. While I wasn't a big fan of the full album, this hit was one that I played a lot back in the day. It's still a pretty great track.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  While Duran Duran took a break, John and Andy Taylor wanted to branch out and do a project with a harder edged rock sound. Initially, they came up with the idea of a band that would record all the songs, but each track would feature a different lead vocalist. Apparently, feelers went out to see if stars like Mick Jagger and Billy Idol would be interested in participating. In the meantime, they asked singer Robert Palmer to record a track and he obliged by participating in the recording of the song "Communication." Palmer then found out that the band was going to remake the T-Rex song "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" and wanted to do the vocals for it. It wasn't long before they all realized that with Palmer on board there was a real connection as a band and it was decided that Palmer would stay on and become the lead singer of the band.

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