Okay, so I guess Robert Palmer used to cover Husker Du's "New Day Rising" in concert! Does anyone have an mp3 of this??

Deacon Blue covered a Husker Du song as well apparently.

Anthrax used to do Celebrated Summer.

Yeah but there's nothing at all surprising about that

Robert Palmer was a huge Comsat Angels fan and guested on one of their later albums.

!!!

I love "Johnny and Mary" fwiw.

Palmer helped the Comsats get their brief Island deal and co-produced Chasing Shadows. His taste in music was rather adventurous.

Yeah, he covered Gary Numan on his first lp

actually his 6th LP, and it was even a collaboration...Numan played keyboards on it.

Wot Dan said. I like his version of "I Dream of Wires" -- interesting choice of song.

I'm also feeling his version of You Are In My System by System, another example where the band produced it with him, as opposed to a straight cover.

^^ yes. so good

And...confirmation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvnEcz6PJKQ&feature=youtu.be&t=3m48s

(Skip ahead to 3:48 if you need/want to.)

Not just amazing that he did a (pretty respectable) cover of it, but that it was within 18 months of that album coming out.

Cool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNGsNV8wEM8

^ Devo cover, love the kickdrums in the intro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxpshWelXM

^ ZZ Top - TV Dinners

Man was like a sponge, everything was grist for the mill. Was there a tune that he couldn't slyly smooch up to, grab by the short & curlies before it could resist, then stick it in a suit and fill it with so much coke until it was twitching and drooling like a sex-addicted cyborg sweating lizard blood?

Seems like he was a dude of surprises. He was a tremendous Jack Vance fan too (my favorite SFF author) to such an extent that Vance (no friend of rock and roll) named a planet after him in one novel.

It makes me sad he's gone, there was clearly much more to this man than his public persona. I'd like to think he would've reached a who-gives-a-shit point and done an amazing covers album or started collaborating more with the underground.

yes! thank ned!

The guy was an omnivore. He had interests in every genre. Few musicians begin from this position of strength.

Indeed -- strongly, strongly advise people read Phill Brown's book Are We Still Rolling? because above/beyond things like the Talk Talk albums and all, he provides a crucial series of memories working on Palmer's seventies albums and detailing his omnivore strengths and approaches. Pretty well singlehandedly made me realize that Palmer deserves deeper consideration and appreciation on the same level as Bowie and Ferry during the same decade -- and beyond, frankly. (Notably Brown talks about the time working with Ferry on Manifesto as well...and he is not complimentary.)

stories, plz!

Hahah I don't remember the exact details offhand, but pretty much Brown thought Ferry was a cold, controlling egomaniac. Which doesn't sound surprising in the least, of course (also, given the album, this was Ferry looking to reclaim Roxy all the more for himself, etc.) Point being, read the book, seriously! There's a LOT of amazing stuff in there. Among other things you'll learn about the Murray Head rock opera that never quite was (though I think it was finally given an archival release).