Robert Palmer 'I Didn't Mean To Turn You On'

Chart Peak: 9
YouTube

Charted at No. 30 on 15th July, had sped to No. 9 by 29th July giving Robert his second Top Ten Hit of 1986

It was a funny old career that Robert Palmer had; enough hits to be considered a major star but not quite as many as you might think, and rarely a consistent run. The hits he did have covered a wide range of genres: soul, rock, funk, jazz, reggae, blues, even yodelling and included more cover versions than you might think. So it is that the third Jam and Lewis song on the album was originally recorded by Cherrelle, with Palmer supposedly covering it as some sort of satire on the unsuitability of the song for a teenage singer, although if this story is true he was misinformed as Cherrelle would have been 24 when her version was released. He also undermines the point slightly with the typical Palmer video as well.

It could be argued that the rather smarmy way Palmer sings the song is authentic to the lyric, but it's not especially enjoyable. Still, the song has a decent groove to it and it's well-produced (by Bernard Edwards, in contrast to the Nile Rodgers contributions elsewhere on here) and as the follow-up to 'Addicted To Love' it was never likely to fail. Yes, Palmer is yet another of the British acts who had a US Number One in 1986 and never managed one back home. This was one of two of his singles to peak at 2 there.

Also appearing on: Now 13, 18 [with UB40], 19, 29
Available on: Gold

UB40 and Robert Palmer 'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'

Chart Peak: UK 6
YouTube

It's not something I'd normally draw attention to, of course, but in the context of a South African CD it's hard not to notice that there's something different about UB40 from the acts we've encountered so far. That's right, they're from Birmingham. No seriously, even here there was a time when having black and white people in the same band was a controversial statement. But of course, UB40 have always been hugely popular in Africa so in the democratising early 1990s it's not surprising to see them here and even taking top billing whilstover here this was a Robert Palmer single with UB40 only guest performers. It comes from a Palmer album and he appears alone on the UK artwork, as well as taking the lead vocal (it sounds like at least some of the harmonies are him too, actually).

The song is of course a cover (yes, UB40 in cover version shocker!) of a track from Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding album, the first he'd released since his infamous motorcycle accident. Atypical of Dylan's work at this time, it's a light-hearted romantic song and the original version has a relaxed mood in keeping with the lyric. Neither Palmer nor UB40 ever really did that sort of calm easy-going music though, and the scrupulously tidy production undermines the effect rather.

Available on: The Essential Selection

Power Station 'Get It On (Bang A Gong)'

Chart Peak: 22

YouTube

A couple of albums ago, a commenter suggested that the All Saints version of 'Under The Bridge' was the worst cover of all time. Would that we could be so sure. Power Station were, you may have the misfortune to remember, a supergroup formed by some of the hundreds of people called Taylor who were members of Duran Duran during a lull in group activity (I presume it was a lull in the lull that produced 'View To A Kill'). The brought in ex-Chic drummer Tony Thompson, who probably should have known better and Robert Palmer, who might not have. Their self-penned hit 'Some Like It Hot' seems to have eluded the Now series, which instead finds itself representing them with the rather less successful follow-up.

Perhaps aptly, given the transatlantic origins of the group, their title seems to split the difference between the UK and US releases of the T-Rex hit, which were called 'Get It On' and 'Bang A Gong' respectively. And that's about the only aspect of this rather constipated cover version that I can call appropriate. Even in this heavily edited single version there's room for excesses of guitar and bass solos, and Palmer's rather earnest delivery sheds exactly the wrong sort of spotlight on Marc Bolan's playfully nonsensical lyric, and the overall effect is that they seem to have emphasised precisely the wrong elements of the song. Somehow, this version is more obviously about sex than the original, but it's not even a fraction as sexy.

Available on: The Power Station