Wednesday, September 5, 2012

More Than Innuendo: The Return of the Rumour

Sue McClean may have just scored one of her biggest coups as far as booking legendary music acts into the Twin Cities with her announcement today that one of the all time greatest rock and roll bands will be coming to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul on December 19, 2012. This band's members, in one incarnation or another, have originated or been at the top of every rock sub genre from alt country before alt country was cool (Brinsley Schwarz) to Pub Rock (Ducks Deluxe) to New Wave (The Rumour). Yes, I am talking about Graham Parker and the Rumour!

Best known for their incendiary live performances in the mid 70's, boiled down to its essence, the Rumour were a horn driven, crack rhythm and blues band whose lineup comprised a list of musicians musicians: Martin Belmont, Brinsley Schwarz, Bob Andrews and Stephen Goulding who, at their peak, were as good as it gets. But in one of life's bitter ironies, shortly after hitting their peak of commercial success with their 1979 release "Squeezing Out Sparks" first the keyboard player, Andrews, left and after the disappointing follow up to "Sparks" the Jimmy Iovine produced "Up Escalator", the remaining members of the Rumour and Mr. Parker parted ways.

Although the Rumour continued as a group for a while, they had just released their third and final album, "Purity of Essence" the year before and played and toured with Garland Jeffries on his great "Escape Artist" album (A tour which I caught at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and the Rumour were great! See the video below of Garland and the Rumour tearing thru "35 mm Dreams" from the 1981 tour). But alas, like all good things in life it came to and end...or did it?

A couple of years ago, documentary filmmaker, Michael Gramaglia, "End of the Century: the story of the Ramones", got involved in a documentary project about Parker and through the help of grass roots fund raising brought the project, "Don't Ask Me Questions" to fruition. Most of the band got together for a couple of impromptu shows in New York in 2010 which eventually led to Graham and the Rumour reuniting officially for the first time in the last 31 years with a new album coming out November 20, 2012.