Graham Parker and the Rumour
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The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for
Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...
, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also recorded on their own, releasing three
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s: ''Max'' (1977), ''Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts'' (1979), and ''Purity of Essence'' (1980). The group broke up at the end of 1980, but reunited as Parker's backing band in 2011, and have performed and recorded with Parker ever since. The band undertook a short final UK tour in October 2015, finishing with a final concert at the London Forum on 17 October 2015. At this show, the surviving members of the horn section also reunited, for the first time in 33 years.


History

Members of The Rumour came from the veteran UK pub rock bands
Brinsley Schwarz Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lod ...
,
Ducks Deluxe Ducks Deluxe are an English pub rock band of the 1970s, who continue to tour and record new material. Usually called "The Ducks" by their fans, they were known for up-tempo, energetic performances, and the successful careers of their members, ...
and Bontemps Roulez. Throughout most of their existence (1975–1980), The Rumour consisted of founding members Bob Andrews (keyboards),
Brinsley Schwarz Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lod ...
(guitar),
Martin Belmont Martin Belmont (born 21 December 1948) is an English rock and country-blues guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Graham Parker & The Rumour. Life and career Belmont was born in Bromley, Kent, England. After working as a roadie ...
(guitar),
Andrew Bodnar Andrew Bodnar is an English bass player who grew up in Clapham, South London. He and drummer Steve Goulding (The Rumour, The Mekons, etc) met and began playing together as a rhythm section while still at school. They spent their teenage years au ...
(bass), and Stephen Goulding (drums). Lead vocals were shared amongst all group members. The Rumour debuted on disc as Graham Parker's backing band on his 1976 album ''
Howlin' Wind ''Howlin' Wind'' is the debut album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour, released in 1976. The Rumour are mainly former pub rock scene musicians, including guitarist Brinsley Schwarz and keyboardist Bob Andrews o ...
''. While continuing to work with Parker (and to receive billing on his albums), the following year The Rumour began to issue their own recordings, starting with the 1977 album ''Max'' (a reply to
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
for calling their latest album '' Rumours''). 1979 saw the band showcase their mastery of the new wave sound with ''Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts'', a commentary on European society. The Rumour were noted for their hard driving, skilled, tightly arranged ensemble playing. They have been compared to The Band and the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, frequently recalling both simultaneously. Together with Parker they recorded several albums, most notably 1979's '' Squeezing Out Sparks''. Members of The Rumour (often, but not always, acting as a unit) also kept themselves busy during this era appearing as
session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s on various recordings issued by acts associated with
pub rock Pub rock is a rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...
and new wave. At various points, and on various recordings, The Rumour backed
Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...
, Carlene Carter and other acts. As well, in 1977 Bodnar and Goulding played bass and drums, respectively, on
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
's first UK chart hit, " Watching the Detectives". The band also backed Garland Jeffreys on the tour for his ''Escape Artist'' album. Feeling that their work was overlooked due to their image as Graham Parker's backing band, an album was planned for release as The Duplicates. However, the idea was ultimately shelved after the release of a single: I Want To Make You Very Happy / Call Of The Faithful. Andrews subsequently left the group during 1979, with session musician
Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
playing piano subsequently. The remaining quartet continued on, recording their own album ''Purity of Essence'' (1980) and serving as the backing band on Graham Parker's ''
The Up Escalator ''The Up Escalator'' is an album by Graham Parker and the Rumour, released on 23 May 1980 by Stiff Records as LP (SEEZ 23) and as cassette (ZSEEZ 23). In the USA, the album was released by Arista. Released after Parker's successful 1979 album '' ...
'' (1980) before breaking up by 1981. Bodnar said of the band's breakup:


Post-Rumour careers

All of the former members of The Rumour worked fairly frequently as session musicians in the years following the Rumour's demise. Schwarz, Bodnar and Goulding all worked with Parker at various times since The Rumour's break-up, and Belmont has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. Goulding has also been a member of
The Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...
since 1984. A
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
of Rumour material (from their last two albums only) was released by Metro in 2000, entitled ''Not So Much a Rumour, More a Way of Life''.


Reunion

On 21 October 2010, Parker, Andrews, Belmont, Goulding, and bassist Jeremy Chatzky performed together under the name Kippington Lodge Social Club, at a preview screening of ''Don't Ask Me Questions'', a documentary about Parker. The following spring all five original members joined Parker to record a new album, entitled ''Three Chords Good'', and in September 2011 Parker and The Rumour filmed a performance scene for the Judd Apatow film '' This Is 40''. The album was released in November 2012. Music journalist,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
noted that the release was "the rare reunion that simultaneously looks back while living in the present."


Discography

*''Max'', Mercury Records (1977) *''Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts'', Stiff Records (UK) (1979) *''Purity Of Essence'', Stiff Records (UK)/Hannibal Records (US) (1980) - Note that the track listings and performances of the UK and US editions of this album differ significantly. The US track listing: 1.Tula 2.I Don’t Want the Night to End 3.Writing in the Water 4.Have You Seen my Baby? 5.Rubber Band Man 6.More Than She Will Say 7.Houston 8.Falling in Love With a Dream 9.Depression 10.I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine 11.Name and Number ''For albums with Graham Parker, see Graham Parker's discography.''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumour, The English rock music groups Vertigo Records artists English new wave musical groups British pub rock music groups Musical backing groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1976 Graham Parker