During
this time, Rod had unintentionally developed a slightly 'gray'
reputation for his seductive songs, actions and apparel. When interviewed
by the various  forms
of media, Rod admitted that his 'look' might come across as , 'tarty',
but defended his lyrics by pointing out that the song is in a third-person
narrative and a slice-of-life portrayal, not entirely forgein to
earlier work, and that the lyrics were not about him. Whatever
the case may be, a suite followed because the song's refrain was
dangerously close to Brazilian Jorge Ben Jor's earlier "Taj Mahal".
As a result, Rod donated all his royalties from the song to UNICEF,
which could have been viewed as either and act of good will or
a way to save face - not that it makes any difference to the empty
bellies it helped to fill and the homeless who now stand under
a roof.
By 1981, Rod was getting on the band wagon with all
the other 'New Wave' and 'synthetic pop' by changing his sound,
I suppose getting ready for another new album, 'Tonight I'm Yours'.
The title of the album as well as 'Young Turks' both made it to
the top five of the Billboard charts with the ending result - another
platinum album for him. Afterward, for what ever reason, Rod's
career the bottom fell out as he only had 3 top 10 singles between
1982 and 1988. In 1983, the 'Camouflage' album went gold in the
UK. Rod reunited with Jeff Beck and managed to produce a success
with Curtis Mayfield's 'People Get Ready', however, when they tried
a tour together things went sour after only a short while.
1988 marked Rod's return to the top with Duran Duran's
'Out Of Order' produced by Andy Taylor, (which I think would be
safe to assume did not play with Don Knotts on the famous 'Andy
Griffith Show') and Bernard Edwards of Chic. "Forever Young" and "Lost
in You" from that album were both Billboard Hot 100 hits as well
as mainstream rock charts. Since 'Forever Young' was a comatose
revision of Bob Dylan's song of the same name they diplomatically
agreed to share the royalties.
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