Two-Hit Wonders: The Power Station

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'Some Like It Hot' (No. 6, 1985)
'Get It On (Bang a Gong)' (No. 9, 1985)

This not-so-supergroup, consisting of Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran and Chic, warmed up the airwaves in 1985 with 'Hot.' Aside from repeating he words 'hot' and 'heat' roughly 1,000 times each, the song was notable for its video, which featured record-breaking amounts of pouting. Their next, and last, hit was a cover (always the kiss of death) of T.Rex.

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Jamesat 6-05-2008

Why is doing a cover of a T. Rex song "always the kiss of death?" Are you insinuating that T. Rex sucked? T. Rex was one of the best bands of the 70s. They have a lot of good material.

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His Holiness Pope Salty Iat 6-17-2008

Not to sound like a music nerd, but the Power Station scored a third, albeit minor, hit with "Communication", off the same album. I think it peaked in the low 30s somewhere.

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Erinat 7-09-2008

James, I think they meant doing a cover song period is a kiss of death.(Which isn't really true...) I don't think it was anything against T. Rex.

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qapla5at 8-14-2008

Too true. If doing a cover version really were the "kiss of death", then neither Donny Osmond nor Linda Ronstadt would have had any sort of career.
Donny Osmond's career (his solo career and his team-ups with Marie) up through 1978 consisted of nothing BUT cover versions (the first original song was the #38 hit "On the Shelf" by Donny & Marie; his comeback hits in 1989-90 were also originals--if they'd been previously recorded, those versions must have been pretty obscure).
Linda Ronstadt's career was also rife with covers. "Different Drum" (with the Stone Poneys) was written by the Monkees' Mike Nesmith and had been recorded by a bluegrass band in 1966. Her first Top 40 solo hit, "Long Long Time" was an "original" (by that I mean she was the first to popularize the song) but aside from 1980's "How Do I Make You" (#10), EVERY SINGLE ONE of Ronstadt's other Top 40 hits was a cover. Her hit duet with James Ingram, "Somewhere Out There", was used over the end credits of "An American Tail", but is first performed in that movie by Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart and her duet with Aaron Neville, "Don't Know Much", was previously recorded and released by others--"Don't Know Much" was an AC hit for both Bill Medley in 1981 and Bette Midler in 1983 (Bette's recording was titled "All I Need to Know"); her other duet with Neville, "All My Life", had appeared on a Karla Bonoff album the year before Ronstadt & Neville's version came out.

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Janetat 7-24-2008

The Power Station was only meant to be a side project for John and Andy Taylor. They both still went on to more hits with Duran Duran. Didnt Robert Palmer die?

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