July 1985, Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Fla.
This was a weird one, for oh so many reasons. And really, only in the 1980s could a band and a situation like this happen.
The Power Station was a supergroup of sorts with Robert Palmer singing, Chic’s Tony Thompson on drums and Duran Duran’s John (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar) filling out the group. They did one album of any consequence, a self-titled release with three singles including “Some Like It Hot” and the T-Rex song “Get It On (Bang A Gong)”, and pretty much faded away. Under normal circumstances I don’t go near this show, I just didn’t care enough.
But my adopted sister wanted to go, and my father insisted I take her (she was a huge Duran Duran fan). I relented, but it turns out I had another friend going so I decided to make the trip to the airplane hangar that was the Sportatorium, a place where I saw many great shows. This would not be one of them.
Let me add this: I like “Get It On” because of Thompson’s drum work. It’s straight-forward but powerful — he bangs the crap out of the set. The song’s opening is a tribute to the treble, and all I want to do when I hear it is play air drums. He was one of the world’s greatest drummers (he died in 2003) whose signature sound you still hear today in tons of songs. There are few as good as Tony Thompson.
And Thompson was not the reason this show was bad — he was stellar. First off the opening act was supposed to be Spandau Ballet, but a week before the show they cancelled. And then Robert Palmer decided against touring to work on a solo project, opening the door for Michael des Barres to take over the singing duties. Des Barres had a decent career up to that point, but we can all agree he’s no Robert Palmer.
So no opener, no lead singer, no real bank of songs to cull from — it was no wonder the 15,000-seat arena was more than half empty. When the band came out the crowd was cautiously receptive and des Barres, who may have sensed the unease in the room, was working hard to win the crowd over. While Thompson (who was apparently sitting behind the smoke machine) and the Taylors were capably playing away, des Barres was running around like a squirrel caught in rush-hour traffic.
“Get It On” came early, I shut my eyes and just listened to Tony’s drums (which were lovely). The band turned to covers to fill out the set, playing Martha and The Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” and Animotion’s “Obsession,” and threw in some Duran Duran songs for good measure (“The Reflex” and “Hungry Like the Wolf”). It all seemed so random, and des Barres was not the right fit.
And then came the ludicrous, kitchen-sink moment. Des Barres tells the audience he has a surprise, and from the wings appears Don Johnson, whose TV show Miami Vice was a massive hit in 1985. Wait, is Don Johnson going to sing? Oh yes. Is he doing a duet with des Barres? Oh no. The two belted out “Some Guys Have All the Luck” like it was signature moment in an animated Disney movie. My ears will never be able to unhear it.
If there’s a word that means awful and surreal (the Germans probably have this word), it would aptly describe this show. Of course musical train wrecks also make for good stories.
