Sanctum Sunday Salon Double Feature: Arcadia vs Power Station (1985)

Good Morning, ONTD. We’re in the midst of summer now, and we’re going to time travel back to 1985, when Duran Duran were innovators of the music video genre and a leading band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. By 1984, with the release of their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger the band had achieved a level of popularity likened to Beatlemania that was absolutely insane to everyone who experienced it. Unfortunately, this was also a period of high stress as all the members of the band were experiencing BEC levels of annoyance with each other coming off a highly successful tour, as different members wanted to experiment more musically outside of the “Duran Duran” sound and arguments became more frequent. Finally, the decision was made to briefly go on hiatus in 1985 to pursue other side projects. Simon Lebon and Nick Rhodes banded together and formed Arcadia, while John and Nick Taylor formed The Power Station. OP Note: Drummer Roger Taylor decided to be neutral throughout all of this and volunteered his skills for both projects.

Arcadia- Goodbye Is Forever

Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes wanted to further explore the atmospheric aspect of their music previously used with Duran Duran, and formed Arcadia, releasing one album (So Red The Rose) and the singles “Election Day” “The Flame” “The Promise” and “Keep Me In the Dark.” Contributors to that album included guitarist Masami Tsuchiya, bassist Mark Egan, percussionist David Van Tieghem, drummer Steve Jordan, Sting, Herbie Hancock and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Goodbye is Forever is my personal favorite single from the album as the video itself is up to Duran Duran’s production values, and it’s just a beautiful song. Best of all is Nick Rhodes’s makeup game; it was extremely common for men to wear makeup back then but nobody worked their magic like Mr. Rhodes, who always had a face beat to the Gods and sent many women in an angry tizzy about how smoothly his eye and lip liner was applied. Overall, it’s an airy, emotional song perfect for those lazy summer afternoons of contemplation.

The Power Station- Communication

Andy and John Taylor went into a completely different direction with their side project. They wanted a rock vibe with more than a bit of funk, so they recruited Chic drummer Tony Thompson and singer Robert Palmer to make their rock/funk supergroup The Power Station. Some Like It Hot, their first single, reached number 6 on the Billboard charts and was a nice summer tune, but my favorite tune from the album is Communication, and it’s partially how funk and horny Palmer’s vocals are; there’s a funk and growly sexiness to his vocals that makes your clothes want to fall off. Palmer doesn’t just seduce you with his vocals, he tells you exactly how he would do you, when, and where, plus the video is fun. With a killer bass line and heavy drums, it’s the perfect sexy summer song.

General Consensus: Once fans understood that it was a creative hiatus and not the end of Duran Duran, they embraced both Arcadia and Power Station. There wasn’t much comparison as the mood and sound of both groups were completely different, so it all boiled down to personal taste and what you were in the mood for that moment. Atmospheric rock or Rock with funk, pick your Summer poison!

Source 1
Source 2