Chris Parry (producer)

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Chris Parry
Birth nameJohn Christopher Parry
Born (1949-01-07) 7 January 1949 (age 75)
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • manager
  • musician
Instrument(s)Drums
Years active1967–2001, 2010

John Christopher Parry (born 7 January 1949) is a New Zealand record producer and former musician, known for being the former manager and producer for The Cure and for founding Fiction Records.[1][2]

Early life

Parry was born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand; the son of Virginia and Thomas, who was British. He grew up with ten siblings:[1] five sisters (Virginia, Margaret, Josephine, Annette and Helen) and five brothers (David, James Richard, Robin and Peter). In 1966, Parry was a management trainee at Philips Electrical.[3]

Career

In 1967, whilst studying at

Phonogram Records, under fellow New Zealander John McCready.[7]

In 1974, Parry was offered a job at Polydor in A&R. His first signing was the Chanter Sisters. Punk was in its early days but it was clear that it was going to be big, so Parry went to check out some of these bands. His requests to Polydor in 1976 to sign the Sex Pistols and the Clash were rejected.[8] However, in January 1977, he got a tip from future-Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan to check out the Jam. Parry was convinced and signed them to Polydor in February. He also co-produced the Jam's first three albums as well as the eponymous sole album by the Jolt who he also signed. Later in 1977, he helped convince Polydor to sign Siouxsie and the Banshees after listening to "Hong Kong Garden" from the BBC's John Peel sessions.[6]

In 1978, Parry began starting his own record label, which was later to be named

Universal Records.[7] Parry says he "kind of retired from music if you like when I was 52 or 53 in 2001 when I sold everything out".[6]

In 1992, along with Sammy Jacob, Parry launched

Capital Radio Group in 1998.[7]

In 2010, the Fourmyula reformed in order to promote a box set release. With Parry reprising his role as drummer, they played two concerts, one in February in Auckland and the other in March in Upper Hutt.[7] In September, as part of the Fourmyula, Parry was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.[11]

Personal life

In 1971, Parry first married a woman from Scotland. About this he has said "we were way too young".[4] In 1974, he became a father for the first time.[12] Sometime before the 1990s, Parry had two more children with then-partner Elaine. In 1996, he bought a property on the Coromandel Peninsula, where he has been living since. He remarried in around 2010. In 2016, he met Susan Verkerk, who has since been his partner.[4]

Production credits

Albums

Non-album singles and EPs

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

New Zealand music
and have been presented annually since 1965.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2010 Chris Parry (as part of The Fourmyula) New Zealand Music Hall of Fame inductee [13]

References

  1. ^ a b Apter 2006, p. 58.
  2. ISBN 978-1-84449-827-7
    .
  3. ^ "HEADLINER: Rock 'n' roll survivor starts to rejuvenate London's airwaves. Failed drummer, A&R man and Xfm chief Chris Parry talks radio to Claire Beale". campaignlive.com. 24 January 1997. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Nature enter me: Chris Parry's Coromandel home". thisNZlife. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  5. ^ Apter 2006, pp. 59–60.
  6. ^ a b c "New Zealander Chris Parry on managing The Cure". RNZ. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Chris Parry - AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  8. ^ Apter 2006, pp. 60–61.
  9. ^ "Searching For The Cure - Record Collector Magazine". recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ^ Apter 2006, p. 68.
  11. ISSN 1170-0777
    . Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  12. ^ Apter 2006, p. 60.
  13. ^ "HOME INDUCTEES". www.musichall.co.nz. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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