The Parkinsonsare apunk rockband originally fromCoimbra,Portugal,formed in the year 2000 and based inLondon,known for their outrageous live performances.
The Parkinsons | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Coimbra,Portugal |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Years active | 2000–2005, 2012- |
| Labels | Fierce Panda,Elevator Music, Rastilho Records, Wrench, Garagem |
| Members | Afonso Pinto Victor Torpedo Pedro Chau João Sylva Ricardo Brito |
| Past members | Carlos Eduardo Luís Peres Chris Low Nick Sanderson Eric Baconstrip Carlos Mendes Shaun Clark Danny Fury Jet Paula Nozzari Jimmy Jones |
| Website | http://www.the-parkinsons.com,https://www.facebook.com/officialtheparkinsons |
History
editThe band was formed by singer Afonso Pinto (a.k.a. Al Zheimer), guitaristVictor Silveira(a.k.a. Victor Torpedo), Carlos Eduardo, Luís Peres and bass guitarist Pedro Chau, and took their name fromParkinson's disease.[1][2]
Torpedo and Xau were already well known in their native country, having played in the bands 77 and The Tédio Boys, releasing three albums between 1994 and 1998.[1]The Tédio Boys built a reputation for riotous live shows and clashes with police, and toured three times in the United States.[1]The band secured support slots on tours with theJon Spencer Blues ExplosionandThe Fall,where they caused further controversy and excitement by often appearing on stage naked.[1]
After the end of the band, they formed The Parkinsons, recorded a demo which would become most of their albums, sent it to Afonso so he could learn the lyrics and relocated toLondonthree months later in 2000. Luís Peres had a car crash which left him incapacitated, and due to that, he left the band. They went ahead with the help of Sandra Chicoria and other people to go through the first times. They attracted attention straight away, with their look and wildness. In September that year, after securing the first gig at St. Moritz, the drummer Carlos had to go back home in order to take care of personal affairs. Due to personal differences at the time, Carlos Eduardo departed from the band, and they recruited formerApostles/Political Asylum drummer Chris Low.
This lineup recorded their debut album,A Long Way to Nowhere(2002), which was produced byBen LurieandJim ReidofThe Jesus and Mary Chain,and was described inThe Timesas "a melody-soaked revelation: 30 minutes of blank generation brilliance".[1][3]The band (and their entourage who came to live in London with them and always followed around) were compared toThe Stoogesby theNME,who also called them "Europe's snotty, messed up answer toThe Strokes",[4]and toSham 69byQ.[5]The band played at theReading Festivalin 2001, where a drunken Pinto greeted fellow performers The Strokes whilst smearing chocolate fudge cake on his genitals before flicking it in his visitors' faces, and Pedro's girlfriend was "forcibly ejected" by security staff after running onto the stage topless.[6][7][8]In 2001 they were described as "a danger-junkie's wildest fantasy, a journalist's wet dream, and a venue-promoter's nightmare",[8]and a year later as "the most dangerous live band around", with gigs variously ending abruptly with the band damaging stage equipment.[8][9]
Pinto left the band in 2003, with the band's songwriter Torpedo taking over on vocals, and new guitarist Jet and drummer Eric Baconstrip added. The same year, Pinto was involved in a re-creation ofThe Cramps' infamous 1978 performance at the Napa Mental Institute in California, taking on the role ofLux Interiorin the show at London'sInstitute of Contemporary Arts.[10]The band split up in 2005, but reformed with Pinto in 2006 for a gig to celebrate 10 years of one of their favourite venues, the Dirty Water Club inNorth London.
The Parkinsons reformed in 2011 for some concerts. In July 2012 they played in theOptimus Alive!festival and in September they released a new album,Back to Life.[11]
A feature-length documentary about The Parkinsons was released in 2015. It covered some of their story and featured previously unseen footage of the band and entourage, from their earliest gigs in Camden through to their sets at Glastonbury and Fuji Rock Festival. Although not completely accurate as to the story of the band, which was far better, interesting and hardcore, the director wanted to make a "feel good" film so everyone could watch it. The film received great critical acclaim. It won Best Documentary at Muvi Lisboa, and featured amongst the top five films of the year inVive Le Rockmagazine's end-of-year review, as well as being nominated for music film of the year in their annual awards event.
Discography
editAlbums
edit- A Long Way to Nowhere(2002), Fierce Panda (produced by Jim Reid & Ben Lurie fromthe Jesus and Mary Chain)
- Reason to Resist(2004), Curfew Records
- Down with the Old World(2005), Rastilho Records (compilation album)
- Back to Life(2012), Garagem (produced by the Parkinsons & Toni Lourenço)
- The Shape of Nothing to Come(2018), Rastilho Records
Singles
edit- "Streets of London" (2002), Fierce Panda
- "New Wave" (2004), Curfew
- Up for SaleEP (2005), Wrench
- "Good Reality" (2012), Garagem
- "City of Nothing" (2013), Garagem
Compilation appearances
edit- T in the Park(2002) - free CD withThe List- "Primitive"
- Mosh EP(2002), Fierce Panda - "Bad Girl"
- Mosh & Go(2002), Fierce Panda - "Bad Girl"
- Live the Dream - The Second Fierce Panda sampler(2002), Fierce Panda - "Nothing to Lose"
- Sonic Mook Experiment 2 - Future Rock & Roll(2002),Blast First- "Primitive"
References
edit- ^abcdeStrong, Martin C. (2003)The Great Indie Discography,Canongate,ISBN1-84195-335-0,p. 910
- ^Larkin, ColinThe Encyclopedia of Popular Music
- ^Cowan, Amber (2002) "The ParkinsonsLong Way to Nowhere",The Times,9 March 2002
- ^Chick, Stevie (2001) "The Parkinsons - London Boston Arms",NME,20 October 2001
- ^Aston, Martin (2002) "The ParkinsonsA Long Way to Nowhere,Q,March 2002
- ^Wells, Steven (2002) "Filthy Cock Rock",Bizarre,May 2002
- ^Simpson, Dave (2002) "Ikara Colt/The Parkinsons - Barfly, Sheffield",The Guardian,5 March 2002
- ^abcPrice, Simon (2001) "See 'em before they get locked up",The Independent,23 December 2001
- ^Price, Simon (2002) "Fischerspooner, The Bridge, London/Love with Arthur Lee, The Stables, Milton Keynes/Future Rock & Roll, ICA, London[dead link]",The Independent,10 June 2002
- ^Aitch, Iain (2003) "'It beats bingo!'",The Guardian,17 March 2003
- ^Amanda Ribeiro (July 6, 2012)."As bandas portuguesas no Optimus Alive".Publico. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-06-25.Retrieved9 July2012.
External links
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