The Guardian said "A Parkinsons gig is probably the closest most of us will come to experiencing what an early Sex Pistols appearance was actually like".
Raised in Portugal, The Parkinsons released three LPs there as The Tedio Boys between 1994 and 1998. They quickly earned their reputations as the nation's Kings of Chaos, attracting notoriety for their impromptu gigs on top of buildings in their city centre. It was this word of mouth that got them an invite to play at Joey Ramone's birthday party in New York's Continental in 1997, an incredible honour for a little known act, and they never looked back - touring Portugal with the likes of The Fall and John Spencer in 1997/98.
Then, in 2000, having ripped the States apart again, they relocated to the home of punk, London. Every gig since their first riotous appearance in Camden has been punctuated by fast, furious punk, onstage nudity, interband scrapping but also, most importantly, an ever increasing number of fantastic songs and fanatical followers. Their energy on stage has been described by one journalist as "making At The Drive-In seem like The Corrs", and on seeing the band play at the 100 Club Mark Perry of ATV and Sniffin' Glue fame remarked that Victor was "the finest guitarist he had seen since The Clash's Mick Jones".
Lunatics they may be, but these boys can play. And play they do! In the last two years alone they have set the new world record for the number of Japanese tour dates a Western band has ever played - in five hectic weeks culminating with an arena appearance at Fujirock alongside Foo Fighters - not to mention sold out dates in Europe and at all the major UK festivals including T in the Park, Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury, as well as support slots for the likes of Dead Kennedys, Nickelback and an opening set for Sum 41 at the Brixton Academy which prompted the NME to say:"There's been nothing this good since the early Manics! ...Gig of the year!"
Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album 'A Long Way To Nowhere' on Fierce Panda in the spring of 2002, the band spent most of the next year spreading their own brand of ferocious punk rock across the globe to legions of fans worldwide. Following the festivals of summer 2003 they decided to take time out to work on new material and further hone their sound. The results are a new album and a new line-up, both sounding even more explosive than The Parkinsons ever have before. Alfonso has left the band, allowing Victor to sing his own songs the way they were always meant to sound, and he and Pedro have now been joined by a punk rock demon in the form of new guitarist Jet. Add new drummer Eric into the mix and you have a truly awesome foursome waiting to unleash their sound onto the world! The band will be releasing their new single New Wave this spring, supported by a UK tour and followed by their incredible second album, ensuring even more ballistic times for The Parkinsons in 2004! |
