can we then perhaps agree, Rob, that Palmer wasn't exactly a rock frontman forcefully projecting his image to even the last row in a stadium?
Sigh... not by your standards of leather clad men entering the stage on a Harley, No.
Palmer had swagger that came across any room he walked in. An understated coolness. He certainly did't need to do all the rock star poses to prove he was the man in charge.
That slot at Tineke 1996 would have made any bonafide musician feel uncomfortable. It was an early afternoon coffee/gossip show watched by bored housewives.
Bernard Edwards had just died a few days before. That is the reason there was no bass player in that tv performance. Plus they were jet lagged out of their minds there.
The fact that touring was exhausting to him, doesn't mean he didn't like to perform.
The interview about the PowerStation is from 1985. 11 Years before the second album.
He really liked the second album. But it was an ill fated project because of the unexpected death of Bernard Edwards.