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The Power Station (1985)

This page is part of the Michael Des Barres Web Site
©1997+ Cyndi Glass, updated 11-12-03
Much thanks to Misty Legate of andytaylor.com for hosting the clips and inviting Michael's fans to download them.

Photo at right - Michael during the 1985 Power Station tour (courtesy of Beth Zimmerman)

This page is strictly about Michael's time with Power Station. If you want information about the 1985 Power Station album, the 1985 documentary, the three videos or the March 1985 SNL performance (all of which feature Robert Palmer instead of Michael) or the 1995-96 reunion (ditto), please check out Michele Morabito's Power Station Web Site.

Nov. 13, 2003: Tony Thompson, drummer for Chic and the Power Station, among other bands, has died of renal cancer. From Duran Duran's official website:"The band were very sad to hear about the passing of Tony Thompson today. Tony, a member of CHIC who was part of the POWERSTATION with Andy and John, is survived by his wife."

BAND MEMBERS: (John & Andy Taylor of Duran Duran, Tony Thompson of Chic, & Michael).

Black & White photo - Michael Des Barres with Andy and Tracie Taylor

In 1985, the hugely successful Duran Duran split temporarily into two side projects. John Taylor and Andy Taylor (not related) formed Power Station with singer Robert Palmer and drummer Tony Thompson. Their album, "Power Station," was successful, scoring two top ten hits with "Get it On (Bang A Gong) and "Some Like It Hot." The band made three videos and a documentary, and they appeared on Saturday Night Live in March 1985. Originally the band had not planned to exist past this point, but since the other Duran Duran side project, Arcadia, was still working on its album with no sign of completing it any time soon, John and Andy decided to tour over the summer of 1985. Tour programs, tickets & T-shirts were produced...and then Robert Palmer quit the band.

Michael got the job due to a few shows that Chequered Past had played as an opening act for Duran Duran on DD's 1983/84 tour. Michael made the rounds of TV promotion, did a summer tour, and appeared at Live Aid as Power Station's vocalist. In 1995, Power Station reunited with its original four members and recorded another album, "Living In Fear." John Taylor quit the band and his bass parts were re-recorded, so the final album featured Robert, Andy, Tony and Bernard. The album was released in 1996 in the UK and Japan only, selling poorly.

Photo at left - Michael signing autographs during the 1985 Power Station tour (courtesy of Beth Zimmerman) - note: for those of you who know me, believe it or not, the girl in the photo is not me. Odd, huh?

COMMENTARY: This was where it all started for me as a Michael Des Barres fan. Through liking Duran Duran and collecting a lot of their stuff, I got a lot of the Power Station stuff, including Live Aid & Miami Vice, and if you're trying to find this seemingly obscure stuff, look no farther than your average Duranie. Trust me, they have it all, especially if it has to do with John Taylor. I find it hard to be objective because I much prefer Michael to Robert, and I was very disappointed that Michael wasn't chosen to sing on the 1996 album - but I ended up not liking the album anyway, so at least now I don't have to listen to it. For me the best part of Michael's Power Station material is how happy he seems to be a part of it. This is probably the closest he ever came to being a real full-fledged rock star and play in front of the kind of audiences he had dreamed about, and the suddenness of it all must have felt like a dream come true.

MY FAVORITES: Well, technically speaking, the albums don't count, because Robert Palmer sings on them. But, from the one concert I have on audio, I like "Some Like It Hot," "Get it On (Bang A Gong)" and "Harvest For The World" best of the Power Station songs, and also the three songs of Michael's that were performed - "Too Good To Be Bad" "Thinkin' With Your Body" and "Obsession." I also really like "We Fight For Love" and the performance of "Get It On" from Miami Vice.

1985 Power Station Tour Dates
(courtesy of Darran's Duran Duran Site and fans)

July 1 - The Ritz, New York NY
July 2 - Jones Beach Theatre
July 5 - Merriweather Post, Columbia MD
July 13 - JFK Stadium, Philadelphia PA (LIVE AID CONCERT)
July 14 - Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
July 15 - The Omni, Atlanta, GA
July 19 - Southern Star Amphitheatre, Houston TX
July 21 - Reunion Arena, Dallas TX
July 23 - Compton Terrace, Phoeniz AZ
July ?? - Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver BC
July 28 - Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA
July 28 (?) - South Park Meadows, Austin TX
Aug 6 - Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
Aug 10 - Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Aug 11 - Poplar Creek Amph., Hoffman Estates (Chicago), IL
Aug 12 - Castle Farms Music Theatre, Charlevoix MO
Aug 14 - Pine Knob Theatre, Detroit MI
Aug 15 - Cleveland OH
Aug 16 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati OH
Aug 20 - Civic Center, Hartford CT
Aug 21 - Spectrum, Philadelphia PA
Aug ?? - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado

A Typical Power Station Set List

The set list consists of mostly Power Station songs off the 1985 album, but they throw in some covers, a couple of Duran Duran songs, and even three of Michael's songs! Andy sings with Michael on "Harvest For The World" (as he did with Robert on the album version).

1. Murderess (Power Station)
2. Dancing In the Street (cover)
3. Some Like It Hot (Power Station)
4. Lonely Tonight (Power Station)
5. Go To Zero (Power Station)
6. Too Good To Be Bad (Michael Des Barres)
7. Harvest For The World (Power Station)
8. Thinking With Your Body (Michael Des Barres)
9. Still In Your Heart (Power Station)
10. Some Guys Have All The Luck (cover)
11. Communication (Power Station)
12. Reflex (Duran Duran)
13. White Light White Heat (cover)
14. Obsession/Band Intros/Only Rock & Roll/Obsession (Michael Des Barres (Obsession) & Rolling Stones cover)
15. Guitar solo (featuring Andy Taylor)
16. Hungry Like The Wolf (Duran Duran)
17. Get It On (Bang A Gong). (Power Station cover)

"We Fight For Love" (John, Andy, Tony & Michael) 1985
Michael Des Barres on vocals, co-written by Michael Des Barres & Andy Taylor. Originally copyrighted as "Somewhere, Somehow, Someone." Appeared in the ending credits of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Commando. And once you hear it, you'll be able to tell - it's totally Michael & Andy's stuff!

AUDIO CLIP DOWNLOAD -Click here to download "We Fight For Love" from Andytaylor.com!

We Fight For Love - Lyric
(verse 1)
I will protect you, nothing can hurt you, No storm clouds gathering, terrifying
I am a mountain surrounded by your love, You are a mountain that dreams are made of
Chorus
We fight for love, we fight for love, we fight for love
Somewhere, somehow, someone, somewhere, somehow, someone
(verse 2)
I'll fight with fire as I watch them aspire, To blow my world apart
Between the light and the endless night, You will always be in my heart
(repeat chorus)

We Fight For Love EP - we Fight For Love (Edit), We Fight For Love (Movie Version), Thinkin´ With Your Body (Live), Obsession (Live), Thinkin´With Your Body (Studio Version)

John Taylor's Comments About "We Fight For Love," 1995: "Well, the band had toured, but Robert had not toured with the band. So we had Michael Des Barres, and he was a friend of Joel Silvers, and he asked us to do a song for the movie. At that time, I wasn't really sure how much time I wanted to give to the Power Station. It seemed like it had done its course, we toured, we made a record. I wasn't sure how far I really wanted it to go. We met with Joel, and he said 'Yeah, yeah, we can do a video of you guys with helicopters' and this and that. And I was like, no, this isn't for me. This isn't the direction I want it to go in. So some of the other guys wanted to do it. I played on it, but I wasn't really involved with the writing or production. I think I turned up and played, and it was the last thing we did."

Power Station Interviews Featuring Michael:
Dallas Morning News Interview with Michael about Power Station, 1985
Billboard Interview with Michael about Power Station, 1985

Power Station 1985 Live Aid Real Video clip!
AndyTaylor.com has RealVideo files of Michael and Power Station performing "Murderess" and "Get It On" The other two files are for music videos that do not include Michael.http://www.andytaylor.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewsdownload&sid=8

Video Interviews/Etc.
Live Aid Power Station performance, as broadcast in 1985 - "Murderess" & "Get It On"
MTV News "Year In Rock 1985" Interview with John, Andy, Michael & Tony
MTV News Interview with John and Andy, with Michael & Tony seated but not speaking
Miami Vice (see TV page) JT & Michael speak, band does "Get It On" - nice long version (***if you get it, get the original from a Duran Duran or Miami Vice fan. The current reruns are badly edited & part of it is cut out).
Power Station concert commercial with Robert vocals but showing Michael
Rock On Chicago - Nick 1984 w/Michael, Tony and John, summer 1985
Good Morning America - John, Tony, & Michael [5 min.] (August 27, 1985)
Live Aid closing ceremony in Philadelphia w/Duran and Power Station (July 13, 1985).

Power Station Bootlegs/Concert Recordings
1. Live in '85 - CD (bootleg)
2. Detroit 1985 - CD, Pine Knob Theatre, Aug. 14, 1985 (bootleg)
3. Los Angeles 1985 - cassette, Greek Theatre, July 28, 1985 (radio broadcast

Photo: rare photo of Don Johnson with John, Michael & Andy, not used in Miami Vice TV episode

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