Artist
Michael Des Barres
London, United Kingdom
Michael Des Barres is a musician from London, United Kingdom. Their discography on Gatefold includes 3 records.
3
Albums tracked
1
In collections
—
Since
Biography
Michael Des Barres is a singer and actor. His former group Chequered Past opened a few live dates for Duran Duran and that is how his connection with John Taylor and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran began. Des Barres stepped into the Power Station and sang with them when Robert Palmer decided not to tour. In addition to that tour Des Barres performed with the Power Station at the history making Live Aid Concert, and recorded the song "Someday, Somehow
The Arc of Michael Des Barres
The pivots — what forced Michael Des Barres to reinvent.
The Swan Song Detective Years
After Silverhead collapsed, Des Barres pulled ex-Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye and drummer Michael Monarch into Detective, landing a deal directly with Led Zeppelin's boutique label Swan Song. Page was hands-on with the vibe, pushing the band toward heavy, funk-tinged blues rock recorded in high-end LA rooms. The self-titled 1977 debut and 1978's 'It Takes One to Know One' traded British glitter for raw American stomp. You hear a throat shredding itself over monstrous grooves, built for arenas the band never quite got to headline.
The Live Aid Power Station Detour
When Robert Palmer bailed on the Power Station tour to cut a solo record, Des Barres got the call to front John Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Tony Thompson on the road. The climax was stepping out in front of 100,000 people at JFK Stadium for Live Aid in '85 with practically zero prep. He didn't try to mimic Palmer's slick croon; he brought full-blown gutter-glam swagger to Thompson's sledgehammer drum fills. It turned him into a household face overnight and funneled directly into his 1986 solo record, 'Somebody Up There Likes Me'.
The Sunset Strip Elder Statesman
After decades in TV studios and radio booths, Des Barres circled back to his teenage obsession with 1960s London for 2012's 'Carnaby Street' and 2015's 'The Key to the Universe'. Cut with guitarist Nigel Harrison and recorded fast with tube amps cranked to the edge of breakup, these sessions stripped away every speck of 80s production gloss. The tracks sound like they were tracked live off the floor in an afternoon. It was pure, unadulterated pub-rock redemption from a guy who survived every trap the music business laid out.
Influences
- The Rolling Stones — Des Barres modeled his entire early stage presence and vocal phrasing directly on Jagger's mid-60s swagger. You hear the strut and drawl all over Silverhead's '16 and Savaged'. It is the foundational DNA of everything he ever sang.
- Little Richard — Des Barres frequently cited Little Richard's wild abandon as the spark that made him want to scream into a microphone. That top-end rasp on Detective's 'Grim Reaper' comes straight from Specialty Records 45s. Total unhinged energy.
- Small Faces — Steve Marriott's soul-drenched howl defined the mod scene Des Barres ran around in as a teenager in London. You can hear that gritty, oversized British R&B roar all over his 1980 solo cut 'I'm Only Human'. Pure street-level soul.
- T. Rex — Marc Bolan pioneered the exact strain of boogie-glam that gave birth to Silverhead on Purple Records in 1972. The greasy guitar grooves and glitter-drenched delivery on tracks like 'Ace Supreme' are direct descendants of 'Electric Warrior'.
- Otis Redding — Before he ever touched hard rock, Des Barres was obsessed with the Stax catalogue and Redding's percussive, pleading vocal delivery. That dynamic shift between a whisper and a full-throated tear is all over his 2012 album 'Carnaby Street'.
Discography
Their records — most-collected first.
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