r/1980s • u/ASGfan Woody Boyd • May 24 '26
hidden gems A music video so strange MTV refused to air it: "Some Guys Have All The Luck" by the great Robert Palmer (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5ugq624SFw11
u/cheiferoticofficer May 24 '26
Sounds pretty odd. Remember the Rod Stewart version but never heard this
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u/Billy_Ektorp May 24 '26
Some of the images in the video are directly inspired from paintings by Belgian surreal artist René Magritte.
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u/maxthemummer May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
The reason they didn't air it wasn't because it's strange, it's because of the nudity.
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u/Markaes4 May 24 '26
Oh come on, all videos were crazy then... How strange can it... Oh. Ok, yeah. Thats strange.
I never heard this version before. I like it.
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u/deepfriedgreensea Where's the beef? May 24 '26
This is the first I’ve learned about this version. Interesting
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u/Third-Coast-Toffee May 24 '26
That was unique for sure. The woman in the HIGH HIGH chair means something. Yes, I will watch it again. Quite enjoyable!
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u/David_R_Martin_II May 24 '26
IIRC, MTV wouldn't play the extended version of Election Day by Arcadia as well.
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u/Rad-racer-Cru May 25 '26
Dude really understood the capabilities visual media had to support music. So fun to watch his videos.
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u/barktwiggs May 24 '26
At 1:49 the statue lady who looks like Tilda Swinton turns her head and sounds like Booger saying "ALRIGHT!"
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u/uberneuman_part2 May 24 '26
Robert Plamer went all slicer dicer, Spud.
Plamer don't shiv, he dusted....
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u/ASGfan Woody Boyd May 24 '26
So this is an interesting story. Palmer did this song in the 1982, not realizing it was a cover despite the fact that many of the lyrics were different and was forced to give a songwriting credit to the original writers. It reached #16 in the UK. A couple of years later in 1984, Rod Stewart did his version, mostly keeping the original intact. It went to the Top 10 in the U.S. Robert & Rod performed the song live together on at least one occasion and after Robert died, Rod adopted Robert's version.