Graham Parker And The Rumour

The Rumour were an English pub rock band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, formed with musicians from disbanded pub rock groups including Brinsley Schwarz and Ducks Deluxe. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & the Rumour. However, the Rumour also recorded on their own, releasing three albums: Max (1977), Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts (1979), and Purity of Essence (1980).The group broke up at the end of 1980, but reunited as Parker's backing band in 2011. The band undertook a short final UK tour in October 2015, finishing with a final concert at the London Forum on 17 October 2015. At this show, the surviving members of the horn section also reunited, for the first time in 33 years.Members of the Rumour came from the veteran UK pub rock bands Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe and Bontemps Roulez. Throughout most of their existence (1975–1980), the Rumour consisted of founding members Bob Andrews (keyboards), Brinsley Schwarz (guitar), Martin Belmont (guitar), Andrew Bodnar (bass), and Stephen Goulding (drums). Lead vocals were shared amongst all group members.The Rumour debuted on disc as Graham Parker's backing band on his 1976 album Howlin' Wind. While continuing to work with Parker (and to receive billing on his albums), the following year the Rumour began to issue their own recordings, starting with the 1977 album Max (a reply to Fleetwood Mac for calling their latest album Rumours). 1979 saw the band showcase their mastery of the new wave sound with Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts, a commentary on European society.The Rumour were noted for their hard driving, skilled, tightly arranged ensemble playing. They have been compared to the Band and the Rolling Stones, frequently recalling both simultaneously. Together with Parker they recorded several albums, most notably 1979's Squeezing Out Sparks.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.