The Up Escalator

About The Up Escalator

The Up Escalator is an album by Graham Parker and The Rumour and was released on May 23, 1980 by Stiff Records as LP (SEEZ 23) and as cassette (ZSEEZ 23). In the USA, the album was released by Arista. The Up Escalator was released as the follow-up to Parker's successful 1979 release, Squeezing Out Sparks. The Rumour's keyboardist, Bob Andrews had left the band after the Squeezing Out Sparks tour, being replaced on The Up Escalator by studio musician Nicky Hopkins, the E-Street Band's Danny Federici, and Peter Wood of Quiver. The album was produced by Jimmy Iovine, who had been a popular producer at the time for his work on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes and Patti Smith's Easter. Compared to the band's previous album, The Up Escalator was commercially less successful, staying on the charts for less time. Following a few additional concerts and television appearances, Parker and the Rumour split due to musical differences (Parker claimed the band had been "butchering" his songs)."Stupefaction" was released as a single, backed with the non-album track "Woman in Charge"; the single failed to chart. The track "Endless Night" features backing vocals from American rock musician Bruce Springsteen, who named Parker as the only musician he would pay to see perform more »