British rock singer Robert Palmer died on Friday in Paris of a heart attack, members of his entourage said. He was 54.
Palmer, best known for his 1985 hit Addicted to Love, was visiting Paris with his companion Mary Ambrose when he suffered the cardiac arrest.
He was to travel on to Switzerland, where he had been residing for the past 16 years.
Born Alan Palmer, the singer was a member of several British rock bands before achieving solo fame.
His many hits over the years, since his first hit album, Sneakin’ Sally through the Ally, appeared in 1974, include the Eighties singles Addicted to Love and Simply Irresistible, and he became an icon of the Eighties with his music videos featuring groups of attractive women.
The Addicted to Love video, with its miniskirted models strumming guitars as Palmer sang, became one of MTV’s most-played clips, and was recently pastiched by Shania Twain in the video to accompany her 1997 hit, Man! I Feel Like a Woman, reports The Guardian.
A side project of Palmer’s, titled Power Station, started in 1985 with the help of Duran Duran’s John Taylor and Andy Taylor and had three top 10 hits in the United States, including Communication and Get It On.
His last album, Rhythm and Blues, saw the light in 1999.