Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original MacGyver, Murdoc's mentor Nicholas Helman in MacGyver (2016) and replaced Robert Palmer in the band The Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Early life The only child of Marquis Philip and Marquise Irene Des Barres, Michael Philip Des Barres was born and brought up in Hove, Sussex. He attended Repton School, a boarding school in Derbyshire, and went on to attend the Corona Academy drama school in London and appeared in several plays. He has some French ancestry. His title of Marquis was bestowed upon a 13th-century ancestor Guillaume II Des Barres, a French knight. Guillaume II Des Barres was bestowed the title of Marquis after rescuing the king Philip II of France during the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. Career Music Des Barres started his musical career in the glam rock band Silverhead in England in 1972. The group released two albums on Deep Purple's record label Purple Records before breaking up in 1974. After leaving Silverhead, Des Barres moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band Detective. The band was signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label by Jimmy Page, whom Des Barres had met after a Silverhead performance in Birmingham, England, that the members of Led Zeppelin had attended. Following the break-up of Detective in 1978, Des Barres formed Chequered Past in 1982. In 1983 he co-wrote and recorded the song "Obsession" with Holly Knight. In 1984, the band Animotion had an international top-ten hit with their cover. Des Barres met the members of Duran Duran when Chequered Past opened for a few shows during their 1984 tour. In 1985, when Robert Palmer withdrew from the Duran Duran side project Power Station just before their American summer tour, Des Barres was chosen to take his place as lead vocalist. On 5 November 2013, The Michael Des Barres Band released a live album, Hot n Sticky Live, which was recorded at the Viper Room in Los Angeles in November 2012. The album is available as high quality mp3 downloads. On 7 April 2015 Des Barres released a solo album, The Key to the Universe. Produced by Bob Rose at The Forum Music Village in Rome, the album reunited Des Barres with Nigel Harrison (former