On This Day in 1986, Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” Hits No. 1 With a Music Video Full of Model Impersonators

Remember Robert Palmer? This English rock and pop star made it big on this very day in 1986 when his song “Addicted To Love” catapulted to no. 1 on the Billboard US Hot 100 chart.

The song is excellent, to say the least. It’s a fun little dance-rock tune that charted similarly well outside of the United States. It topped multiple US charts and also did very well in Palmer’s native UK, New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere.

While the song is a quintessential 1980s dance-rock song, the music video for the track likely contributed to the charting success of “Addicted To Love”.

“Addicted To Love” by Robert Palmer Is a Celebration of Love and Beauty, Both in the Track and Music Video

“Addicted To Love” was a standout single from Palmer’s 1986 album Riptide. Originally, the song was supposed to be a duet between Palmer and the incomparable Chaka Khan. Unfortunately, Khan’s label (Warner Bros.) wouldn’t allow her to record on the track. Palmer, ever the innovative singer/songwriter, re-recorded Khan’s part with his own high-reaching notes.

A few more musicians were added to the song from there, including Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor on the guitar.

Despite the fact that Khan couldn’t sing on the track, the song is still very clearly inspired by women. That much is clear in the tune’s music video. In the video, a group of models (who look, likely intentionally, like famous models of the era) play in a band with Palmer as the lead singer. When director Terence Donovan was casting the music video, he intentionally looked for women who resembled famous models of the 1980s.

“I was 21 and got the part on the strength of my modeling book,” said Mak Gilchrist, who appeared in the music video.

The image was striking, and the music video for “Addicted To Love” quickly became an MTV staple. Not only is there a pop culture influence there, but the music video itself is a gorgeous depiction of fashion during that era. Though, the video wasn’t without criticism. Some critics accused Palmer of treating women like props in the music video. Palmer counterargued that he was also a prop in the video, too.

The music video for “Addicted To Love” would later earn Robert Palmer an MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video, and he would also take home a Grammy for the song as well.

Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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