Oh shucks, when eveyone wants to talk about the models, Dave is adamant to hold economics class ...
Well, at least Gibson are still in a position to secure refinancing deals. I had feared they were already beyond that point. The overall debt is still oppressive.
I'm not worried about the guitar business though - Gibson USA and Epiphone as the low budget outlet will always find a buyer, those are established brandnames and Gibson instruments have an own identity and a grand heritage. It is everything else in the Gibson kingdom of companies that should be worried. What I rule out is that should Gibson ever be put under administration that there will be a white knight to buy it all. People will be looking for the tenderloin and the group will be torn to shreds.
Back to the girls: Robert Palmer knew his limits. Great singer and songwriter that he was, he felt incredibly uncomfortable on stage and it always showed. He didn't like touring (he jumped ship on the Power Station tour, they had to do Band Aid without him), he liked being creative in the studio. I remember a TV live show with him
and it was painful to watch - he had zero stage presence, was unable to move to the music (astonishing for someone with as good a rhythmic feel in his singing and playing, he liked to play bass too), but never sang a bum note. Like a shy accountant dragged on stage to debut a song at some corporate event. I guess he probably tried/was advised to pattern hiimself after an 80ies Bowie - it didn't work at all. Putting him in front of a couple of 80ies model goddesses was his best bet and it sure worked with that iconic video.
Ironically, he left Vinegar Joe (where he sang and played guitar) in the early seventies because he constantly felt overshadowed by Elkie Brooks' Tina Turner impersonations (Elkie sure had no issues connecting with an audience), yet once on his own he could never fill the shoes of a frontman credibly.
I still like his music a lot though. He had other strengths and most of his work has aged well, unlike a lot of other 80ies singers, he never oversang. Pity about the coke addiction doing him in years after he had given up the habit - your heart muscle never forgets.
