The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series: The Graham Parker Duo

Oh wow, so chuffed to find this. Opening night of their recent tour in New York back 12 days ago The Graham Parker Duo with GP and Brinsley Schwarz.

There's more Tour dates throughout April and May in the USA and then in September they hit the UK. For Tour details go to the WEBSITE HERE.

 The Turning Point

Piermont, NY

April 5, 2016

 Setlist:

Watch the Moon Come Down
Silly Thing
Stop Cryin' About The Rain
Fool's Gold
Lunatic Fringe
Turned Up Too Late
You're Not Where You Think You Are
When the Lights Go Down
Stick to Me
Flying into London
Snowgun
Under the Mask of Happiness
The New York Shuffle
Don't Ask Me Questions
Encore:
My Life in Movieland
White Honey

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 108 - Sunday Morning Favourites #14 Brinsley Schawrz

I mentioned yesterday whilst doing the piece on Dave Edmunds that on the Repeat When Necessary album he had covered Home In My Hand  and that Nick Lowe was part of the Rockpile band, that gives a good excuse to spotlight Brinsley Schwarz of whom Nick had been a member. Today also happens to be the anniversary of the release of their Debut Album.


Brinsley Schwarz were a pub rock band that featured Mr Schwarz on Guitar, Nick Lowe on Bass and Vocals, Bob Andrews on Keyboards and Billy Rankin on Drums.


The band had originally been called Kippington Lodge and had released a number of singles during the late 1960s (listen to Shy Boy here. There's a number of tracks by the band on You Tube that are worth checking out). They renamed themselves after their guitarist in 1969.


Signing a deal with future Stiff Records founder Dave Robinson they set about trying to make some waves. Probably the most famous incident being what has become known as the Brinsley Schwarz Hype. In April 1970 they were scheduled to play New York's Filmore East alongside Van Morrison and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Robinson sensing an opportunity for some publicity arranged a Melody Maker competition with the prize a trip to New York for the two shows. Also he arranged it for a plane full of British journalists to attend and review the shows. This didn't quite come off as he had hoped as the band ended up playing with equipment that wasn't their own and when the journalists did turn up they were pretty much worse for wear due to indulging in a free bar after their plane had been delayed for more than four hours. Some were still drunk and others hungover and the end result was not a mass of good reviews but endless bad reviews of the show and of the Debut album that would follow a number of days later!


They released six albums between 1970-74 and whilst not really a success sales wise they had built up a sizeable following due to their live shows. Their final album, The New Favourites of...Brinsley Schwarz, was produced by Dave Edmunds and they played as his backing band for a short while as well. By 1975 the group had disbanded.


Brinsley Schwarz and Bob Andrews went on to join Graham Parker and The Rumour and enjoyed some success. Both of them reunited after 30 years with Parker for the very successful tour of Graham Parker and the Rumour in the US and in Europe. GP and the Rumour finished up again in 2015 with a farewell tour.  Schwarz also played a number of shows with just Graham Parker (You can watch one of the shows from Barcelona in 2014 here).

Billy Rankin retired from the music business in 1977 after playing in a couple of other bands but he was coaxed back to the drum stool for 30th Anniversary show in 2007 for Ducks Deluxe (another cracking Pub rock band that also have a lot of history springing from them).


Nick Lowe would go on to have a fairly successful career as a member of Rockpile, as a solo artist and as a Producer for the likes of The Damned and Elvis Costello.

Brinsley Schwarz - Brinsley Schwarz

United Artists

Produced by Brinsley Schwarz and Dave Robinson

Released 17th April 1970

Track 5, What Do You Suggest is missing from the playlist as it is unavailable on You Tube.

Despite It All

December 1970

What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understandiing

From the album The New Favourites of...Brinsley Schwarz

1974

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Gems From My Collection: The New Favourites Of... - Brinsley Schwarz (1974)

The New Favourites Of... is the sixth and final album by Brinsley Schwarz and is one that I've only recently got digitized and on the computer. It's a real cracker that includes the first recording of Nick Lowe's What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding.

It has been released in CD before, back in 2001(I don't have a copy of it at all) and that was by a German label Repertoire Records (they included a number of bonus tracks: I've Cried My Last Tear, (It's Gonna Be A) Bringdown, Everybody and There's A Cloud In My Heart).

After their demise Brinsley went to play on the final tour for Ducks Deluxe and then he, Bob Andrews and Martin Belmont of Ducks Deluxe joined up with Graham Parker to play in his backing band The Rumour.

Nick Lowe teamed up with producer of the last album, Dave Edmunds, and they formed Rockpile. Lowe would also go on to have some minor success as a solo artist and also as a producer for Stiff Records and in particular Elvis Costello. Lowe's 1979 hit Cruel To Be Kind was originally recorded for a final album that went unreleased by Brinsley Schwarz.

 The New Favourites Of... -  Brinsley Schwarz

United Artists

Produced by Dave Edmunds

Released 1974

Personnel
    Brinsley Schwarz - Guitar, alto and tenor sax, vocals
    Ian Gomm - Guitars, vocals
    Billy Rankin - drums
    Bob Andrews - Keyboards, alto sax, vocals
    Nick Lowe - Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
    Carlos Luna - Harmonica

A1     (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding
A2     Ever Since You're Gone
A3     The Ugly Things
A4     I Got The Real Thing
A5     The Look That's In Your Eye Tonight
B1     Nows The Time
B2     Small Town Big Guy
B3     Trying To Live My Life Without You
B4     I Like You, I Don't Love You
B5     Down In The Dive     4:52