On one side you had these red lipped beauties, moving in unison under the direction of Terence Donovan, looking like something Guy Bourdin would think up and on the other side you had this dandy-like figure who really could have come from any decade. That was Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible”, a song that epitomized an unforgettable time, a timeless sense of style and an irresistible sense of eroticism.
Palmer was born in England on January 19th 1949 and checked out at the age of 54. He sang, he played guitar, started out as a solo artist before moving on to DaDa and Power Station, then switched back to solo status before the world really got wind of him in 1986. His sound took on jazz, blues, soul, reggae and bossa nova, while his style, as he strutted along in his videos with his Armani suits, was playboy-esque, a knockout combination if there ever was one. In 1988, Simply Irresistible is the first single off his Heavy Nova album, and though the song became famous for its standout rhythm and lyrics, it’s Donovan’s guiding hand that gave it its image and ultimately, its timeless feel. Like Palmer himself admitted, he didn’t actually have to do much other than move his lips for fifteen minutes. But did he actually need to do more than that. It’s hard to think of something more than just that, a Casanova seducing you so completely, in that inimitable, almost whispering tone. Palmer was one of those men, who talked the talk and looked good doing it, a man who could get you hooked on romance, a man who could make you feel as if being seduced was the most innocent of flirtations.How irresistible is that?
Would it not be truly fantastic if we could use that word, irresistible a whole lot more? Would it not be amazing if we could all find that single irresistible thing in our lives?
Text: Natasa Papachristou
