Graham Parker (born November 18, 1950 in London) is a British rock singer a… Read Full Bio ↴Graham Parker (born November 18, 1950 in London) is a British rock singer and songwriter. He continues to be best-known as the leader (and singer) of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour, though he has has a number of solo albums to his name. Despite moderate commercial success, he has consistently been hailed by critics as one the most prominent musicians of his generation, with his wittily-heated, often class-conscious lyrics and energy-fueled music preceding the arrival punk rock and new wave music. Many fellow musicians, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Black, have expressed admiration for his music

Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Parker sang in small-time amateur English bands such as the Black Rockers and Deep Cut Three, while working in dead-end jobs at a glove factory and a petrol station. In late 1974 he placed an ad in Britain’s "Melody Maker" music mag seeking like-minded musicians and he began performing professionally. In 1975, he recorded a few demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who would shortly found Stiff Records and who connected Parker with his first backing band of note.

Graham Parker & the Rumour (with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitar, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums) formed in the summer of 1975 and began doing the rounds of the British pub rock scene. Their first album, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in 1976 and rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment. A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae-influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences (Motown, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and contained the songs which formed the core of Parker's live shows -- "White Honey", "Soul Shoes", "Lady Doctor", "Fool's Gold", and his early signature tune "Don't Ask Me Questions", which hit the top 40 in the UK. Like the pub rock scene he was loosely tied to, the singer's class-conscious lyrics and passionate vocals signaled a renewal of rock music as punk rock began to flower in Britain.

Parker preceded the other "new wave" English singer-songwriters, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Early in his career his work was often compared favorably to theirs, and for decades journalists would continue to categorize them together, long after the artists' work had diverged. Characteristically, Parker would not hesitate to criticize this habit with caustic wit.

The first two albums' critical acclaim was generally not matched with LP sales. Graham Parker and the Rumour appeared on BBC television's Top of the Pops in 1976, performing their top 30 hit version of The Trammps' "Hold Back the Night".

At this point, Parker began to change his songwriting style, reflecting his desire to break into the American market. The first fruits of this new direction appeared on Stick To Me (1977). The album broke the top 20 on the UK charts but divided critical opinions.

Energized by his new label, Arista, and the presence of legendary producer Jack Nitzsche, Parker followed with Squeezing Out Sparks (1979), widely held to be the best album of his career. For this album, The Rumour's brass section, prominent on all previous albums, was jettisoned, resulting in a spare, intense rock backing for some of Parker's most brilliant songs. Of particular note was "You Can't Be Too Strong", one of rock music's rare songs to confront the topic of abortion, however ambivalently.

Squeezing out Sparks is still ranked by fans and critics alike as one of the finest rock albums ever made. Rolling Stone named it #335 [1] on their 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In an early 1987 Rolling Stone list of their top 100 albums from 1967-1987, Squeezing Out Sparks was ranked at #45, while Howlin' Wind came in at #54 [2].

Although marginally less intense than its predecessor, 1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in the UK and featured glossy production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless it was Parker's last album with the Rumour, although guitarist Brinsley Schwarz would join most of the singer's albums through the decade's end.

The 1980s were Parker's most commercially successful years, with well-financed recordings and radio and video play. Over the decade, the British press turned unkind to him, but he continued to tour the world with top backing bands, and his 1985 release Steady Nerves included his only US Top 40 hit, "Wake Up (Next to You)". The singer began living mostly in the United States during this time.

In early 2011, Parker reunited with all five original members of The Rumour to record a new album. The record, titled Three Chords Good, was released in November 2012.

The Raid
Graham Parker Lyrics

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Pre>
Slow intro
A d a e
Where were you when the raid came? where were you when the raid came?
A d a e d a
Out of the window or on the floor. yeah, on the night of the raid

A d

I was just rolling up some real good black
A e
Knock on the door and the window cracked
A d
The ds just come to bust the fun
A e
Everybody scatter and run

I was jossing with the baby in the bathroom
Hanging out the party with the coke spoon
Somebody yelled hey my head's on fire
Just can't take it no higher

Hey, dealers from the north and dealers from the south
Joints in the noses and joints in the mouth
But the friction in the kitchen only wanted out
On the night of the raid

Somebody yelled help put that thing on me
That's one man I wouldn't want to be
If you said now I'm going to make it sing
On the night of the raid

Well the boys hit the wall like bowling balls
Questioned them all like they had no balls
Snow hit their noses like an avalanche
On the night on the raid

Chorus (as inro except..)
Where were you when the raid came?
Where were you when the raid came?
Out of the window or on the floor
A
Yeah, on the night of the raid

Chorus repeat and fade /pre>

Overall Meaning

The song "The Raid" by Graham Parker & The Rumour is a vivid depiction of a police raid on a party where drugs were being consumed. The song opens with a slow instrumental intro, followed by the repeated question "Where were you when the raid came?" which sets the tone for the rest of the song. Parker then describes his own experience during the raid, where he was caught rolling marijuana and had to flee when the police arrived. The chaos that ensues is captured in lines like "Everybody scatter and run" and "Snow hit their noses like an avalanche," referring to the cocaine being used by partygoers.

The song's chorus repeats the opening refrain, further emphasizing the sense of confusion and disorientation that the raid caused. The references to drug use and the police targeting those who use and/or sell drugs speak to the larger cultural context of the time in which the song was written (the late 1970s). Parker's lyrics are not condoning drug use or breaking the law, but are rather a commentary on the societal pressures and attitudes that lead people to these behaviors.

Line by Line Meaning

Where were you when the raid came? where were you when the raid came?
Asking the listener where they were when the raid happened

Out of the window or on the floor. yeah, on the night of the raid
Wondering if the listener was either trying to escape through a window or hiding on the floor

The RaidGraham Parker Lyrics

The Raid
Graham Parker Lyrics