Addicted To Love

Hey Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew is cranking "Addicted To Love" by Robert Palmer off the Riptide album, and man, this groove still hits like a long ride down a straight highway with the wind in your face and a stack of vinyl in the saddlebag. That riff comes in thick and steady, the kind of thing that makes you nod your head even if you're just leaning against the bike. Palmer wrote the whole thing after the noisy riff woke him up in the middle of the night. He grabbed a tape recorder, mumbled it down so he wouldn't lose it, then went back to sleep. Next day he played it back and knew he'd caught a good one. He said it could have been about any addiction, drugs or food or drink, but love made it more attractive. The lyrics talk about a one-track mind, heart sweating, body shaking, can't sleep, can't eat, throat tight, and you might as well face it, you're addicted to love. It is not some deep philosophical take, just a straight shot at that helpless feeling when the craving takes over.

Palmer originally cut it as a duet with Chaka Khan. They recorded together after he bumped into her at a club and they hit it off. She handled the high parts and got credit for the vocal arrangements, but her label shut it down because she already had her own records coming out and they did not want the conflict. Palmer had to go back in and sing those parts himself. He was not thrilled about the politics getting in the way, but the track still came out swinging with Bernard Edwards on bass and production, Tony Thompson laying down that locked-in drum groove, and Andy Taylor slashing guitar. They cut it live at Compass Point in the Bahamas, where Palmer lived across from the studio. Tony Thompson said the groove was so thick you could feel the walls coming down, and all he was playing was a simple boom-bop pattern that somehow locked everything else into place. After a couple of singles from Riptide did not do much, this one became the one that put Palmer over the top for the first time at age 37.

Then there is the video, the one that turned the song into an MTV staple and still gets parodied left and right. Director Terence Donovan wanted models who looked like shop-window mannequins, pale skin, heavy makeup, dark hair, all dressed the same in black, just standing there icy and blank. The five models were Julie Pankhurst on keys, Patty Kelly and Julia Bolino on guitars, Mak Gilchrist on bass, and Kathy Davies on drums. None of them actually played, and a musician tried to show them basic fingering but gave up after about an hour. Mak Gilchrist later said they got tipsy on a bottle of wine during makeup touch-ups, and she lost her balance on her heels and knocked the top of her guitar into the back of Palmer's head so his face hit the microphone. Kathy Davies, stuck in the back as the drummer, joked that the naughty ones always get sent to the rear and said she did not mind because Palmer had a good bum. Palmer himself looked like he had just stepped out of a business meeting, white shirt, black tie, high-waisted pants. The video won Best Male Video at the VMAs, and the song took home a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal. Palmer later said one drawback was all the women in the audience showing up dressed like the models, and he would tell them a little less makeup please.

Before any of that, Palmer got his start the old-fashioned way. Born in Batley, Yorkshire in 1949, he grew up on Malta where his dad was a naval intelligence officer. American Forces Radio fed him blues, soul, and jazz, Otis Redding, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, the whole mix. When the family moved back to Scarborough he was already hooked. At 15 he formed his first band, the Mandrakes, while still in school, singing and writing songs. They played local clubs and even opened for bigger names like the Who and Jimi Hendrix. Shy at first, he would perform with his back to the crowd, but confidence grew. Then he joined the Alan Bown Set in 1969 after their singer left, re-recording vocals on their album and cutting the single Gypsy Girl. From there it was the big jazz-rock outfit Dada with Elkie Brooks, which turned into Vinegar Joe. Palmer shared vocals with Brooks and played rhythm guitar. Island Records signed the band, they cut three albums, toured hard, but never quite broke commercially. When Vinegar Joe split in 1974, Island kept Palmer and sent him to New Orleans to cut his first solo record, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, with the Meters and Lowell George. That was the start of the long solo ride that eventually led to Riptide and this track the Zoo Crew is spinning for all you Zoo Freaks on THE ZOO.

Check out more on the man at the official site Robert Palmer, the Facebook page run for the singer Robert Palmer - Singer, and the long-running fan site ROBERT PALMER : Music & Style that digs deep into the catalog including the Riptide years. The groove is still there if you want to ride along with it.