The Parkinsons (band)
| The Parkinsons | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Coimbra, Portugal |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Years active | 2000–2005, 2012- |
| Labels | Fierce Panda, Elevator Music, Rastilho Records, Wrench, Garagem |
| Associated acts | 77, The Tédio-Boys, Blood Safari, Tiguana Bibles, Johnny Throttle, King Salami and the Cumberland 3, Bunny Ranch etc |
| Website | http://www.the-parkinsons.com, https://www.facebook.com/officialtheparkinsons |
| Members | Afonso Pinto Victor Torpedo Pedro Chau Paula Nozzari |
| Past members | Chris Low Nick Sanderson Eric Baconstrip Carlos Mendes Danny Fury Jet |
The Parkinsons are a punk rock band originally from Coimbra, Portugal, formed in the year 2000 and based in London, known for their outrageous live performances.
The band was formed by singer Afonso Pinto (aka Al Zheimer), guitarist Victor Silveira (aka Victor Torpedo), and bass guitarist Pedro Chau, and took their name from Parkinson's disease. 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. The band soon built a reputation for riotous live shows and clashes with police, and relocated to the United States, where they were asked to perform at Joey Ramone's birthday party. The band secured support slots on tours with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Fall, where they caused further controversy and excitement by often appearing on stage naked. The band relocated to London in 2000 and recruited former Apostles/Political Asylum drummer Chris Low before recording their debut album, A Long Way to Nowhere (2002), which was produced by Ben Lurie and Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain, and was described in The Times as "a melody-soaked revelation: 30 minutes of blank generation brilliance". The band were compared to The Stooges by the NME, who also called them "Europe's snotty, messed up answer to The Strokes", and to Sham 69 by Q. The band played at the Reading Festival in 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 Pinto's girlfriend was "forcibly ejected" by security staff after running onto the stage topless. In 2001 they were described as "a danger-junkie's wildest fantasy, a journalist's wet dream, and a venue-promoter's nightmare", and a year later as "the most dangerous live band around", with gigs variously ending abruptly with the band damaging stage equipment.
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