With a new album from rock legend GRAHAM PARKER on the way this September, Big Stir Records is proud to present the third advance single from the forthcoming and already widely praised LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST. “It Mattered To Me” is one of the record's many highlights: a short, bittersweet and deeply-felt ballad of the type that's all too rarely heard today. It's out Friday, August 18, up for pre-order/presave now (orcd.co/grahamparker-imtm) and already working its charms across the airwaves worldwide as anticipation builds for the new album, Parker's first in five years and certain to be ranked among his finest.

Parker tells us about the development of the song and its point of departure from his prior work.
“Picking up on the musical attitude of my previous album, Cloud Symbols, 'It Mattered To Me' felt at first to be almost the template for my latest album when I wrote it, and could have fitted in with that previous record seamlessly,” he says. “I had no idea that Last Chance To Learn The Twist would quickly morph into a very different affair due to the variety of the tunes and approaches to each number. 'It Mattered To Me' turned out to be as sweet as I knew it would - apart from the lyrics, that is. That’s another matter altogether…”

True to those words, “It Mattered To Me” sports a lovely melody and a nuanced, almost delicate vocal performance from Parker, but it possesses the razor-sharp edge listeners have come to expect and treasure. In less than three minutes, and wrapped around an unforgettable piano line, Parker's lyrics touch on tenderness, regret, and the pain of loss, shot through with typically devastating humor and, ultimately, a message for today: “It mattered to me when a friend got so cut up / By somebody who needed to shut up,” he sings, bringing it all home with the lines “It’s called empathy / We need more of that now.” Once again, Graham Parker delivers a timely musical insight that should matter to us all.

As on the album, Graham's current backing band THE GOLDTOPS -- SIMON EDWARDS (bass), JIM RUSSELL (drums), MARTIN BELMONT (lead guitar) and GERAINT WATKINS on that trademark piano – provide an impeccably sympathetic musical setting for the sentiment. Following the earlier singles from LAST CHANCE TO LEARN THE TWIST (the playful reggae-tinged “Them Bugs” and the lacerating lament “We Did Nothing), “It Mattered To Me” continues to showcase the variety and depth of the new record as a whole. The album is due September 8 on CD and Streaming worldwide, with a Limited Vinyl Edition to follow later this Autumn and a full-band UK tour scheduled in support of the release. For more on GRAHAM PARKER's new music and live dates, visit:

www.bigstirrecords.com/graham-parker
www.grahamparker.net