Andrew Maynard Parker (born 21 March 1952) is a

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the devel ...

drummer best known as a founding member and drummer of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

/ heavy metal band,

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

. Parker was born in

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

Hertfordshire, England Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gover ...

. He began drumming when he was 7 years old. He purchased his first drum kit in 1965. By 1969 he and friend Steve Casey had formed Aurora Borealis, a blues band. In mid-1969 he met

Phil Mogg Phillip John Mogg (born 15 April 1948, Wood Green, London) is the lead singer for the English rock band UFO, which he formed with longtime friends Pete Way and Andy Parker.Buckley, Peter (1999) ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. ...

Pete Way Peter Frederick Way (7 August 1950 – 14 August 2020) was an English hard rock and heavy metal bassist. He was bassist for the rock band UFO from 1968 to 1982; Way rejoined the band briefly in 1988–1989, and full-time from 1991 to 2008. H ...

and Mick Bolton, who had a band called Hocus Pocus and were looking for a new drummer. Parker auditioned and got the job. Soon after, the band renamed, becoming UFO. UFO signed with the Beacon Records label. Parker was unable to sign the contract at the time, as he was only 17. His parents refused to sign for him, and he had to wait until his 18th birthday to sign. Later, as UFO was gaining momentum, Parker and Mogg started having "run-ins" with Bolton and fired him shortly after. Parker, Mogg, and Way then needed a guitarist and recruited German future virtuoso

Michael Schenker Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker ...

. The group disbanded in 1983, then re-formed two years later without Parker. He rejoined UFO in 1993. He had medical problems between late 2005 and early 2007, and his spot in UFO was briefly filled by Jason Bonham, until his medical issues were taken care of. He lives, together with his wife, in Granbury, Texas.Then Andy met Jo , Hood County News- A twice-weekly newspaper serving Granbury and Hood County, Texas
Retrieved 2018-04-11.

References

External links

Mr Parker Rocks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Andy 1952 births Living people People from Cheshunt English rock drummers English heavy metal drummers UFO (band) members Musicians from Hertfordshire British emigrants to the United States People from Granbury, Texas Waysted members