Rare chance to see Robert Palmer music programme, recorded two days before he died
Fifteen years ago today the world of music was left in shock after the death of singer Robert Palmer, at the age of 54.
The Yorkshire-born performer, who'd had a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s died in Paris from a heart attack - just two days after recording a programme for Yorkshire Television.
He'd found fame and fortune through his talent - two Grammy Awards and an MTV Award for the now-famous 1986 "Addicted to Love" music video which featured red-lipsticked models in black dresses miming on instruments.
He'd travelled to London to present a show about his musical influences, which were many and varied.
His commentary introduced archive clips from the ITV vault of musicians who he admired, from Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Chaka Khan and Reggae star Lee " Scratch " Perry.
Although it was the new millennium , VHS was still the main source of viewing material, so clips picked by Robert had to be posted by producer Mark Witty to his home in Switzerland where he watched them to make notes.
On the day of the recording, Wednesday September 24, Mark met Robert at his hotel for lunch. He was also joined by a number of young wannabe singers who were taking part in the short-lived BBC talent competition "Fame Academy" who hanged on every word. Robert ordered fish and chips but being a rather upmarket venue they did not look like the "one of each and mushies" you would expect from the chippy, that's for sure.
After lunch Mark, Robert and his manager Mick went to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho to record the "links" to the VT music footage with cameraman Jim Hamill, sound recordist Jon Gilbert and assistant producer Carolyn Nicoll. Calendar presenter Christine Talbot arrived later to do a specific chat for the news programme.
As a "thank you" a bottle of Robert's favourite whisky had been sourced from an off licence just round the corner from Ronnie Scott's - which was lucky as it was one of the few shops where the "export-only" tipple was available.
The day went very smoothly, with Robert's enthusiasm for music coming through - accompanied by a great knowledge of his subject. This was a man who'd been performing since the late 1960s, and told Mark Witty he'd done more than a thousand live gigs. And that takes some chalking up.
After the programme links were finished - the programme would be called "My Kinda People " in a nod towards his 1978 hit "Every Kinda People" - Christine interviewed Robert about his Yorkshire roots and his latest project, which was a new album called "Drive". It was to be his last TV interview.
The team packed up , said goodbye and drove back to Leeds. The next day Mark Witty was driving to work when he took a call from Robert's tearful manager Mick, to say Robert had passed away in his hotel in Paris.
After the shock had sunk in, and after a period of thought from Robert's management and family, the programme was allowed to be broadcast in November 2003.
It has only been shown once due to copyright issues on non ITV material , but the following is a version of the programme which has those clips removed, plus Calendar's obituary film, with reaction from the world of music.
My Kinda People
Calendar's obituary film below with reaction from the world of music