Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1979-06-06 - Hempstead NY

Graham Parker and The Rumour
June 6, 1979
Calderone Concert Hall
Hempstead, NY
FM Broadcast (WLIR) recording, good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Pub Rock, continued

So, as indicated previously, from the remains of Brinsley Schwarz and Ducks Deluxe, Brinsley Schwarz, Bob Andrews, and Martin Belmont teamed up with Andrew Bodnar (bass) and Stephen Goulding (drums) to form The Rumour in 1976, best known as Graham Parker's dynamic, precise, hard-driving back-up band through his early (and most consider his best) years (1976-1980), and one of the great rock bands of all-time. But The Rumour also recorded and performed on their own as well, releasing three albums (Max, which was named in response to Fleetwood Mac calling their latest album Rumours-1977, Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts-1978, and Purity of Essence-1980). But The Rumour split-up, with both Graham and each other in 1981, to go their separate ways. Most of the guys continued on as session musicians playing with various other acts, with Schwarz, Bodnar, and Goulding continuing to work quite a bit with Graham Parker on his solo albums and tours, as well as with Elvis Costello and others. Martin Belmont went to work mostly with Carlene Carter and Nick Lowe, being a part of Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit (with Paul Carrack) for several years, and various other groups as well. Of course, in recent years The Rumour reunited and re-joined with Parker, even recording an entirely new album (Three Chords Good, 2012) and appearing in the Judd Apatow film This is 40 (2012). Fortunately, there are many fine live recordings featuring Graham Parker & The Rumour (some already featured here previously) in their prime. Here is a recording that is less widely available than others, an FM Broadcast recording from Hempstead NY in 1979, featuring a full show, a good mix of songs, and a fine performance. Here, once again, the great Graham Parker & The Rumour.
 

Tracklist:
01 Discovering Japan
02 Local Girls
03 Protection
04 Don't Get Excited
05 Back To Schooldays
06 Passion Is No Ordinary Word
07 Howling Wind
08 Heat Treatment
09 Stick To Me
10 Mercury Poisoning
11 You Can't Be Too Strong
12 Love Gets You Twisted
13 I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
14 Don't Ask Me Questions
15 Saturday Nite Is Dead
16 Nobody Hurts You
17 Soul Shoes
18 encore applause
19 I Want You Back (Alive)
20 New York Shuffle

Original cassette recording from FM broadcast and digital transfer made by Mikedks.
I obtained this show from the Music Ruined My Life blog (which also contains many other fine Graham Parker and related shows).
 

Link updated 11/8/21
Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1979-06-06 - hempsteadNY.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 2012-12-02 - Huntington, NY

Graham Parker & The Rumour
December 02, 2012
Live at The Paramount, Huntington, NY
mp3 @ 320 kbps
Audience recording, very good quality

This just in, another wonderful show from the current Graham Parker & The Rumour Reunion Tour. This one, from just about a week after the first show in Tarrytown (featured here), is from Huntington, NY, has a somewhat shorter set, but features a better recording (brighter, clearer) than the last one, and thus makes it easier to hear everything the band is doing (as well as Graham's heartfelt vocals), which makes this one even more of a joy to listen to (although it is missing several great songs from the opening night show). One song that was added for this show, though, was 'Stupefaction', from The Up Escalator. So, here is another great show from these legendary performers on another stop on this legendary tour (for details on band and tour, see previous post). Enjoy!

Tracklist:
01. Fool’s Gold
02. Stop Cryin’ About The Rain
03. Hotel Chambermaid
04. Get Started. Start A Fire
05. Watch The Moon Come Down
06. Live In Shadows
07. I’ll Never Play Jacksonville Again
08. A Lie Gets Halfway ‘Round The World
09. Long Emotional Ride
10. Discovering Japan
11. Nobody Hurts You
12. Protection
13. Stupefaction
14. Local Girls
15. Passion Is No Ordinary Word
16. Soul Shoes

Lineup:
Graham Parker - vocals, guitar
Steve Goulding - drums
Andrew Bodnar - bass
Bob Andrews - keyboards, vocals
Martin Belmont - guitar, vocals
Brinsley Schwarz - guitar, vocals

GPRumour_2012-12-02_-_Huntington.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 2012-11-24 - Tarrytown, NY

Graham Parker & The Rumour
November 24, 2012
Live at the Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY.
Audience recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 192 kbps
Custom artwork

This is turning into a big year for one of our long-time favorites, Graham Parker. Earlier this year, he reunited with his legendary crack back-up band from his glory days, the Rumour (complete with all 5 original members), and now they have released their first new album together in over 30 years (titled Three Chords Good, available now), and even better, have now started out on tour together, again, for the first time in over 30 years. Graham and the Band are also featured prominently in a new Hollywood Movie (Judd Apatow's This Is 40, starring Paul Rudd) that is premiering soon, and is providing much (needed) publicity for Graham and the Rumour (and yes , they actually appear and perform in the movie, not just as part of the soundtrack). And to top that all off, here is an actual recording from the first night of their new tour, launched in Tarrytown, NY, 11-24-2012. So, here is a good quality audience recording from that first night, and it shows Graham and the Band in fine form. They put on a great show, featuring a good mix of new songs (7 from the new album) and old classics (over a dozen from the classic period of GP&The Rumour). Ok, maybe they don't still have the same fire and intensity they once did, but they sound great, and it is wonderful to hear them back together playing live again. And, although I have not heard the entire new album, what I have heard (and the new tracks here), sound really good to me, so I'm sure the new album is worth getting, too (I will be getting it, just haven't gotten to it yet). So, anyway, enjoy this gem in the next stage of Graham's wonderful career, and really, how great is it to hear him with the entire Rumour band (Martin Belmont, Brinsley Schwarz, Bob Andrews, Andrew Bodnar, and Steve Goulding)?  Enjoy.

Taper (larryrulz) notes: Fantastic start to the first Graham Parker and The Rumour tour in over 30 years. The audience was into it but not a distraction at all. The setlist is a good mix of new and old… In this recording, there is a gap of about two minutes’ duration between the end of 'Local Girls' and the beginning of 'You Can’t Be Too Strong'. The gap consists mostly of applause and a very brief portion of Graham’s banter before 'You Can’t Be Too Strong'. No music is missing.

Tracklist:
01. Fool’s Gold
02. Stop Cryin’ About The Rain
03. Nothin’s Gonna Pull Us Apart
04. Snake Oil Capital Of The World
05. intro to Get Started. Start A Fire
06. Get Started. Start A Fire
07. Watch The Moon Come Down
08. intro to Old Soul
09. Old Soul
10. Hotel Chambermaid
11. Live In Shadows
12. A Lie Gets Halfway ‘Round The World
13. intro to Jacksonville
14. I’ll Never Play Jacksonville Again
15. intro to Long Emotional Ride
16. Long Emotional Ride
17. Discovering Japan
18. Nobody Hurts You
19. Protection
20. Thunder And Rain
21. Coathangers
22. Local Girls
Encore 1
23. You Can’t Be Too Strong
24. Passion Is No Ordinary Word
25. applause
Encore 2
26. Don’t Ask Me Questions
27. Soul Shoes

Lineup:
Graham Parker - vocals, guitar
Steve Goulding - drums
Andrew Bodnar - bass
Bob Andrews - keyboards, vocals
Martin Belmont - guitar, vocals
Brinsley Schwarz - guitar, vocals

GPRumour_2012-11-24_Tarrytown.rar

Thanks to the taper (larryrulz) and BigO Worldwide for making this available.

Graham Parker (Solo) - 2011-03-06 - Turning Point, Piermont, NY

Graham Parker
Solo Performance
March 6, 2011
The Turning Point, Piermont, NY
Audience recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

OK, so after featuring a performance relatively early in Graham's career, here is a much more recent performance, almost 35 years later!. After his breakthrough and early years with the Rumour, Graham continued to perform live and release albums both solo and with various bands over the years. He has consistently released quality albums throughout his nearly four decade musical career, despite being generally ignored by the mainstream public, and bounced around from one record label to another. In recent years, Graham has been very busy, releasing several albums, and numerous 'official bootleg' live releases of past shows from various stages of his career, mainly through online outlets. He has also written books, and remains an insightful, witty, and acerbic observer of life as we know (or don't know) it. His most recent album, Imaginary Television, features the theme songs from non-existent television series (ones Graham made up), including descriptions and plot summaries of the imaginary series. Check out Graham's official site (www.grahamparker.net) for more info his recent releases and activities. Also, Graham has a blog that he occasionally drops by and writes for (but only about once a month or less) at  http://chairmanparker.blogspot.com/.

This recent show features Graham in a casual, informal setting, conversing with the audience, and playing an extended set that sprinkles in some of his better known songs from throughout his career, but for the most part consists of newer or lesser known songs. On the one hand, it is great to get the chance to hear Graham talking and performing in such an informal, intimate setting, just him and his guitar (harmonica, kazoo, etc.), but on the other hand, it is a bit sad that this great rock legend and icon is reduced to playing the 'coffeehouse circuit' at this stage of his career, rather than playing to packed houses and adoring crowds (as some of his contemporaries still are). Although, Graham himself probably much prefers it this way. As one once remarked about Graham, "it 's not so much that Fame eluded him, it's more like he eluded Fame". Anyway, here he is, one of the greats, as he is in the present day.   Enjoy.

Tracklist
01 You're Not Where You Think You Are
02 If It Ever Stops Rainin'
03 Watch The Moon Come Down
04 Socks 'N' Sandals
05 Cruel Lips
06 Problem Child
07 Stop Crying About The Rain
08 Waiting For The UFO's
09 I'm The Urban Spaceman
10 Head On Straight
11 Back Door Love
12 First Day Of Spring
13 It's My Party (But I Won't Cry)
14 White Honey
15 Blue Highways
16 Bring Me A Heart Again
17 Snake Oil Capital Of The World
18 Passion Is No Ordinary Word
19 Discovering Japan
20 Life Gets Better
21 Short Memories
22 Temporary Beauty
23 Get Started, Start A Fire

New Links (Updated 12/23/13)
Graham_Parker_-_The_Turning_Point_Piermont_NY_6_March_2011.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1976-11-07 - San Francisco

Graham Parker & The Rumour
1976-11-07
The Savoy, San Francisco, CA
FM Broadcast (KSAN-FM), Excellent quality recording
mp3 @ 320 kbps

From one GP to another GP. From Gram Parsons to Graham Parker. While Gram was an American pioneer of country-rock music in the mid-late sixties, Graham emerged from the pub-rock scene to be a pioneer of British New Wave in the mid-late seventies, and went on to become one of the all-time great, yet sadly underappreciated, rock artists . We'll return back to more Gram Parsons, FBB, and other rarely heard or previously uncirculated country-rock recordings soon, but first I'll put up a few other things of interest that I've recently found. Here's a great show from early in Graham Parker's career, right around the release of Heat Treatment, Graham's 2nd album (both of which were released in 1976) with his legendary (yet always underrated) band, The Rumour. This is an excellent full-set FM broadcast recording with great sound. I only recently acquired this one (otherwise I would have posted it before). So, if you're a fan of Graham Parker, and particularly his early days with the Rumour, this is a must-have. For everyone else, it's certainly worth checking out. Great Stuff.

Tracklist:
01. White Honey
02. That's What They All Say
03. Fool's Gold
04. Turned Up Too Late
05. Something You're Goin' Through
06. Pour It All Out
07. Back To Schooldays
08. Hotel Chambermaid
09. Heat Treatment
10. Don't Ask Me Questions
11. Not If It Pleases Me
12. Help Me Shake It
13. Soul Shoes
14. Kansas City
15. Hold Back The Night

Graham Parker: Lead Vocal, Rhythm Guitar
Brinsley Schwarz: Guitar and Backing Vocals
Martin Belmont: Guitar and Backing Vocals
Bob Andrews: Keyboards and Backing Vocals
Steve Goulding: Drums and Backing Vocals
Andrew Bodnar: Bass

New Link! (Updated 07/16/21)
Graham_Parker_1976-11-07_SF_FM.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1980-10-18 - Rockpalast - Essen, Germany

Graham Parker & The Rumour
1980-10-18
Rockpalast, Grugahalle, Essen, Germany
Soundboard recording, excellent quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Here's another great Graham Parker & the Rumour show, this one from what would be their final tour together, in support of their last album, the Up Elevator, in 1980. This is from the Rockpalast series, so has great sound, and features many songs not in the earlier shows. So, enjoy. By this time, keyboardist Bob Andrews had already left the group and was not replaced, so for this tour, they had Nicky Hopkins sit in on keyboards. I got this from the fine blog 'Music ruined my life', so I have to thank them for making this available, and they also have several other GP boots and out of print albums there, so check 'em out.

tracklist:
01  Stupefaction                            
02  No Holding Back                      
03  Jolie, Jolie                         
04  Love Without Greed                    
05  Discovering Japan                     
06  Passion Is No Ordinary Word        
07  Howlin Wind                          
08  Thunder And Rain                     
09  Manouvers                            
10  Don't Get Exited                     
11  Beating Of Another Heart             
12  Empty Lives                          
13  Devils Sidewalk                         
14  Endless Night                           
15  Can't Get No Protection                  
16  Nobody Hurts You                         
17  Hey Lord Don't Ask Me Questions         
18  Tripe Face Boogie                      
19  Soul Shoes                             
          
Musicians:
Graham Parker - guitar, vocals
Brinsley Schwarz - guitar, vocals
Martin Belmont - guitar, vocals
Stephan Göulding - drums, vocals
Andrew Bodnar - bass, vocals
Nicky Hopkins - piano

New link! (Updated 10/5/21)
GPRumour_1980_Rockpalast.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1977-03-17 - BBC

Graham Parker & The Rumour
1977-03-17
BBC Sights & Sounds, London
TV Broadcast recording, excellent quality
New! Now upgraded to mp3 @ 320 kbps
(previous version was 192 kbps)

I'm delighted to see how popular the previous Graham Parker posts have been. So, here's another show, the audio from a TV broadcast of the BBC show Sights & Sounds from relatively early in Parker's career, following his second album with the Rumour, Heat Treatment. Here again, he's backed by that great band, The Rumour. So, here's some vintage GP from 1977.
 
Tracklist:
01. Heat Treatment
02. Silly Thing
03. Fool's Gold
04. Pourin' It All Out
05. Gypsy Blood
06. Don't Ask Me Questions
07. Hold Back the Night
08. Not If It Pleases Me
09. Soul Shoes
10. Kansas City

New Link! (Updated 10/5/21)
GP&Rumour_1977-03-17_BBC.rar

Graham Parker (solo acoustic) - 1991-02-08 to 12 - London

Graham Parker (solo acoustic)
1991, 02-08 to 02-12
Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
(Opening act for Bob Dylan)
Audience recording, very good quality
mp3 @ 320 kbps

Continuing with some later Graham Parker, here is a rare treat, solo acoustic performances from 1991, as he opened for Dylan in London. This was right around the time of the release of Struck By Lightning, which is one of Graham's very best albums. Although I love the early stuff with the Rumour, I have to say that, overall, Struck By Lightning is my all-time favorite Parker album (Ironically, it was poor sales of this brilliant album that resulted in RCA dropping Parker from the label). And here, we get many songs from that album, as well as others from this and other periods. As the opening act for Dylan, he performed alone with just his guitar and harmonica. Here, I have combined the shows to include all the unique songs he performed over the 4 days of that event. I have included the full show for the first night (2/8/91), then added in only the songs that were different from the subsequent nights. I have included all 4 versions of the medley that started with 'Don't Let It Break You Down' because he played it a little different each night, inserting different snippets of other songs. So, here, you get them all, and can choose which version you like best. This is an excellent-sounding audience recording. I got this from The Rare Stuff awhile back, and so have to thank the popculturist over there for making these great shows available. for those that want the full sets from all 4 shows, you can get them over at The Rare Stuff. So, here then, is a quite different sounding Graham Parker (from that heard on the previous Rumour show), toned down a bit, but as great as ever, in all his musical splendor.
 
tracklist:  
2/8/91
01. Introduction/Watch The Moon Come Down
02. Over The Border (To America)
03. Strong Winds
04. And It Shook Me
05. She Wants So Many Things
06. Guardian Angels
07. Hotel Chambermaid
08. Don't Ask Me Questions
09. Wrapping Paper
10. Blue Highways
11. When I Was King
12. Don't Let It Break You Down/Here Comes The Sun (instr.)
13. The Sun Is Gonna Shine Again
2/9/91
14. That's What They All Say
15. The Kid With The Butterfly Net
16. The Three Martini Lunch
17. Museum Of Stupidity
18. You Can't Be Too Strong
19. Get Started, Start A Fire
20. No Woman No Cry
21. Don't Let It Break You Down/Substitute/This Is How It Feels/Here Comes The Sun (instr.)
2/10/91
22. Between You And Me
23. Success
24. Don't Let It Break You Down/Sweet Jane/Substitute/Here Comes The Sun (instr.)
2/12/91
25. Don't Let It Break You Down/Sweet Jane/I'm Free/Here Comes The Sun (instr.)

The songs in the medleys with 'Don't Let It Break You Down' are just snippets, not full-length.
The core songs of 'Watch The Moon Come Down', 'Over The Border (To America)', 'Strong Winds', 'Guardian Angels', 'Wrapping Paper', 'Don't Let It Break You Down', and 'The Sun Is Gonna Shine Again' were played at most or all shows, with 'Don't Let it Break...' and 'Sun is Gonna Shine...' ending each show.

New Link! (Updated 05/04/14)
Graham_Parker_1991-02-08-12_London.rar

Graham Parker & The Rumour - 1979-06-24 - Seattle

Graham Parker and the Rumour
1979-06-24
Paramount N.W. Theatre, Seattle WA 
FM broadcast (KISW), very good quality
mp3 @ 192 kbps
Artwork Included

I'm going to start our 'New Year's Revolution' with some Graham Parker. It's really about time I posted some Graham Parker. Last year, I started the year by featuring Elvis Costello, so it's only right Graham gets to start out the year this time. Graham Parker emerged from the British Pub-rock scene in the mid-70's and was the real originator of the developing 'angry young rocker' new wave music style. He preceded Costello, Jackson, and the others by a couple years, yet never achieved the success that they did, despite much critical acclaim. His non-stop, high-energy, incendiary live performances with The Rumour are legendary, and his later, more refined, compelling, personal, and evocative songwriting continued to set high standards for all singer-songwriters. If you haven't already, check out his excellent 'New Year's Revolution' on my 2010 Christmas Collection. Hearing that again reminded me how good he has been his entire career, and lead to these posts. Also, a couple weeks ago, I had a strange musical dream where I was listening to this beautiful, wonderful song, and it turned out to be a duet with the current-day Graham Parker and Elvis Costello harmonizing with each other. In the dream, this was an incredible revelation and a truly beautiful musical moment. Now, as far as I know, Graham and Elvis have never performed together, but it would be pretty cool, right? Now, I don't know why I dreamt that, or what the song was, but it definitely made me want to hear some more Graham Parker. So, I 'll post a couple of Parker's shows. This first one, a fine radio broadcast from 1979, the height of The Rumour days (and in support of arguably their best album, Squeezing Out Sparks), features many of their most well-known songs and their trademark unrelenting pace for the whole show. So, here's to Graham Parker, another of the all-time great, but sadly under-appreciated rock artists.

Tracklist
01. KISW Intro
02. Discovering Japan
03. Local Girls
04. Soul On Ice
05. Don't Get Excited
06. Back To School Days
07. Howling Wind
08. Heat Treatment
09. Stick To Me
10. Mercury Poisoning
11. You Can't Be Too Strong
12. Passion Is No Ordinary Word
13. Clear Head
14. (Hey Lord) Don't Ask Me Questions
15. Protection
16. Saturday Night Is Dead
17. Nobody Hurts You
18. Soul Shoes
19. Encore Applause
20. E: I Want You Back
21. E: Pouring It All Out

Band:
Graham Parker: Lead Vocal, Rhythm Guitar
Brinsley Schwarz: Guitar and Backing Vocals
Martin Belmont: Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocals
Bob Andrews: Keyboards and Backing Vocals
Steve Goulding: Drums and Backing Vocals
Andrew Bodnar: Bass

New Link! (Updated 10/5/21)
Graham_Parker_And_The_Rumour_-_Seattle_24_June_1979.rar