Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30PM
The bands’ classic 1979 release Squeezing Out Sparks cemented their position as one of Britain’s top live acts and ensured sold out concerts on their seemingly endless world tours. The Up Escalator followed in 1980, reaching #11 on the UK charts and sold well throughout the world.
Graham Parker and The Rumour disbanded after Escalator and Parker went on to forge a solo career that continues to produce powerful work including 1988’s The Mona Lisa’s Sister, 1991’s Struck By Lightning and the hard rocking Acid Bubblegum, released in 1996.
A talented writer on all fronts, Graham Parker released Carp Fishing On Valium, a collection of short fiction published by St. Martin’s Press (US) and Simon & Schuster (UK). He composed songs to complement the stories and took Carp Fishing On Valium– the Stories, the Songs on the road in 2000.
Parker unexpectedly reunited his original backing band The Rumour in 2011, in part due to the intervention of longtime fan and filmmaker Judd Apatow, who made the group a plot point in his film This Is Forty. After appearing in the movie, the group recorded an album of new material, Three Chords Good, which arrived in November 2012, around the same time Apatow’s movie was released. A concert shot for the film also received a stand-alone release on DVD and Blu-Ray under the title This Is Live. Parker and The Rumour took advantage of their new place in the spotlight by touring America and the UK in support of Three Chords Good, and in May 2015 they returned with another new LP, Mystery Glue,recorded during a six-day sprint at London’s RAK Studios.