The Charlie Parkers
Tony - vocals
Jam - guitar
Gav - bass
Hitting the ground running
The Charlie Parkers welcomed in 2006 relishing the New Year. Last year the band were runners up in Channel 4's showcase of the best unsigned bands in the UK, supported NME darlings 'We Are Scientists' and the 'Envelopes' and tore up venues both north and south to the delight of the band's growing legions of supporters.
The look
The band look the business on stage. Singer Tony leads from the front, one reviewer describing him as "the lovechild of Ian Brown and Noel Gallagher". Guitarist Jam weighs in with achingly good guitar lines and Pete Townshend acrobatics, and also lends lead vocals, equal parts McCartney and Weller, to his own tunes. You have to go a long way to find a bass player as good as Gav. His bass propels the songs along with all the energy of a forklift truck taking off. If the band are stunning on stage though, each member is equally adept at vocals, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards - which is set to make for some magnificent recordings. The Parkers ethos was summed up beautifully when the lines "The Charlie Parkers are classic British guitar tunesmiths following in the footsteps of the Beatles, Kinks, Bowie, Smiths and Libertines..." appeared in the NME.
Full out assault
The band (originally called the Sound) got together in Portsmouth and moved to London (the story is too long and eventful so we'll save it for another day, and besides we're better at music than biographies)..
Suffice to say the Parkers are poised to make a name for themselves in 2006, much like a President or Prime Minister having moved their troops and battleships into position ready to invade a country for oil - well almost like that...
The Charlie Parkers were so named after Jam overheard a conversation between two oldish men in a pub. Thinking the name had a great ring to it, he'd never heard of the jazz legend and put it forward to the others, who agreed it had to be the name for the band.