RUMOUR HAS IT . .

Two new bands have impressed me more than anybody else recently, one of them being Graham Parker and his Rumour. So when they made their first foray to B’ham, I hot footed off to see them and have a chat with the man himself.

Nuggets: What were you doing before you got together with the Rumour?

Graham Parker: Not a lot. Writing plenty and playing in a few places like cafes on me own or with a slide guitarist and it was through him that I met the Rumour. I was trying to get demos together but I just didn’t have the band so I was doing jobs here and there to keep myself alive.

Nug: What do you think of the ‘Petrol Pump Parker’ tag?

GP: I think it's bloody hilarious. I had so many f..king jobs, it could have been 'Baker Parker' or anything. I couldn't make a living out of playing so I did whatever was going.

Nug: Flow did you come into contact with the 'Rumour’?

GP: Well this slide guitarist, Noel Brown (one on Howlin Wind), he knew ex-Chilli Willi Paul Riley (now in Roogalator) and they took me along to Dave Robinson at the Hope and Anchor Studio. The Rumour were all hanging around there playing backing tracks for people and generally wondering what to do next. So I came along and it didn't really work with Paul Riley, although Brinsley, Martin and the others found we had a lot in common!

Nug: Had you heard any of their stuff before you got together with them?

GP: No. (At which point I nearly fell off my chair). Well I had heard one Brinsley Schwarz song and I remember hearing Ducks Deluxe on John Peel but nothing special. I'm like a lot of people in that I need it stuck in front of my nose before I'll get to hear it.

Nug: Are Graham Parker and Rumour one unit?

GP: Well as of now, yes, but the Rumour hope to record their own LP. At the moment we're all one, out to promote this LP and the next one and I hope it stays that way. (so do I).

Nug: Are the songs on the album new ones or old?

GP: Well some of them are old, partly due to the fact that in order to get a contract I had to produce an LP’s worth of material. The title track is the newest one, I wrote that just as we were going into the studios.

Nug: Where do the brass players come from?

GP: Hershall Holders from FBI, John Earle from the Kilburns, Danny Ellis from Salutations and the guy who arranged it, Stewart Lynas works in a bank or something!

Nug: Can you tell me something about ‘Between You and Me’

GP: Well that was a demo tape played on Charlie Gillettt’s ‘Honky Tonk’ show (nothing like it up here in Brum) which was heard by the guy from Phonogram and it snowballed from there. We did a version with the Rumour but everybody thought the feel on the demo was better even though my voice wasn't as good then.

Nug: Has your voice improved through gigging?

GP: You bet it has. You see I'm not the kind of guy who can get up in the morning and sing a clear note but I really have to work for it, but I'm pleased to say it’s improving. Its f..ked at the moment though cus I've got a cold (says he shoving a Vicks bottle up his nasal passage).

Nug: Can we talk a bit about the album? Don't Ask Me Questions has a reggae feel to it, do you listen to reggae at all?

GP: Well, I used to be a big soul and blues beat fan, more into dancing and pulling chicks than anything else. I'm well into black music a lot actually.

Nug: How did Nick Lowe come to produce the LP?

GP: An American, Tim Moore was over here and heard the stuff before we went into the studios and Phonogram had him lined up to do it but he went on a European Tour and was too shattered when he got back so he blew it. Anyway Dave Robinson wanted Nick Lowe to do it. Hence it was a great friendly feel to the sessions and also we wanted to have a real earthy sound to the LP. Nothing really flash, getting the songs out as best as possible, which Nick did.

Nug: Some of the tracks, White Honey, Soul Shoes are really intense did you go for this sound on purpose?

GP: Well that’s what I'm into you know, intense stuff. I try to do something a bit laid back just for the set so people can relax a little, but I really want to push it, so the tracks are intense. Because I'm an intense person I write that way.

Nug: The album has a sort of mid sixties R'n’B and soul feel to it done with a contemporary approach ...

GP: That’s the stuff I'm really influenced by, early soul and blues, Wilson Picket for instance is a great fave of mine. The same stuff that Van Morrison likes, and I'm influenced by him a hell of a lot. All of us in the band having the same attitudes towards music has helped to give us such a good feel on record and on stage.

Nug: Not having gigged a lot, were you nervous at first?

GP: Well I'm the young upstart who hasn't paid his dues and I’m learning all the time. Being the front man really freaked me out at first and I'd be knocking things over on stage and fumbling but its getting better now.

Nug: Do you do any non-originals on stage?

GP: Yeah, we do Aretha's Chain of Though, the Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love, and we've been doing Little Richard's Kansas City.

Great stuff you'll no doubt agree. The gig which was not as well attended for Barbarella’s Brum as you'd expect, was really great with some fine playing from everyone and Graham was not in as bad a voice as he'd led me to believe. They're back again this month so it should be another great gig.

Thanks to Stephen Towler for his great help with this article!

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