Album · Robert Palmer
Clues by Robert Palmer
Clues is an album by Robert Palmer, released in 1980. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 6 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Johnny and Mary”, on 4 lists with a best position of #109.
Clues, Robert Palmer's sixth album, came out on Island in 1980, and it finds the sharp-dressed soul man swapping some of his smooth grooves for a wiry new wave edge. The guest list tells the story. Chris Frantz of Talking Heads returned a favor, Palmer having played percussion on Remain in Light, by pounding bass drum on "Looking for Clues" next to Palmer's own drummer Dony Wynn; Andy Fraser, formerly of Free and the writer of Palmer's "Every Kinda People", plays bass on two songs; and Gary Numan co-wrote a track and added keyboards to a remake of his own "I Dream of Wires".
At a lean 31 minutes there's no fat on it, with "Johnny and Mary" ticking along on cool synth pulses. It went all the way to number one in Sweden, and the "Looking for Clues" video aired on MTV's very first day, 1 August 1981.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Clues on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny and Mary | 4 | #109 | – | 1991–2021 | |
| 2 | Looking For Clues | 2 | #690 | – | 1999–2021 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.