Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter from London, born in 1950 and associated with new wave, power pop and pub rock. He is best known as the leader and singer of Graham Parker & The Rumour, and he also records under his own name and with other backing groups including Graham Parker & The Episodes, Graham Parker & The Figgs, Graham Parker & The Twang Three, Graham Parker & The Latest Clowns, Graham Parker & The Small Clubs and Graham Parker & The Goldtops. He is connected with Ellisclan Ltd.

Career

Parker begins performing professionally in the mid-1970s after playing in small amateur English groups such as the Black Rockers and Deep Cut Three while working in a glove factory and a petrol station. He records demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who later founds Stiff Records and connects him with his first notable backing band.

Graham Parker & The Rumour form in 1975 with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitars, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums. The group plays the British pub rock circuit and releases Howlin' Wind in 1976, followed by Heat Treatment. These early records mix rock, ballads and reggae-influenced material, drawing on Motown, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and they establish songs such as “White Honey”, “Soul Shoes”, “Lady Doctor”, “Fool's Gold” and “Don't Ask Me Questions”.

“Don't Ask Me Questions” reaches the UK top 40, and the band appears on Top of the Pops in 1976 performing a top 30 version of The Trammps’ “Hold Back the Night”. Parker’s class-conscious lyrics and forceful vocals place him alongside the rise of punk rock and new wave in Britain, and he is often grouped with Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson as an early new wave singer-songwriter.

Albums and later work

Stick To Me appears in 1977 and marks a shift in Parker’s songwriting as he aims at the American market. It reaches the UK top 20 but divides opinion. Squeezing Out Sparks, released in 1979 on Arista and produced by Jack Nitzsche, is widely regarded as the high point of his career. On that album The Rumour’s brass section is dropped in favour of a spare, intense backing, and the record includes “You Can't Be Too Strong”, a song that addresses abortion.

The Up Escalator arrives in 1980 and becomes his highest-charting album in the UK. It features production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. It is also his last album with The Rumour, although Brinsley Schwarz continues to play on many of his recordings through the rest of the decade.

During the 1980s Parker sees his strongest commercial period, with wider radio and video exposure and extensive touring with backing bands. Steady Nerves in 1985 includes his only US Top 40 hit, “Wake Up (Next to You)”. He spends much of this period living in the United States.

Critical standing

Despite only moderate sales, Parker is widely praised by critics and by other musicians, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Black. His work is noted for sharply observed, often class-conscious lyrics and energetic delivery. Squeezing Out Sparks is ranked by Rolling Stone among the greatest albums of all time, and both it and Howlin' Wind appear in the magazine’s list of major albums from 1967 to 1987.

Reunion

In 2011 Parker reunites with all five original members of The Rumour to record Three Chords Good, which is released in 2012.