Production

Chris Parry

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. In 1967, whilst studying at Silverstream College, Parry auditioned as drummer for a band called the Sine Waves, who later renamed themselves the Fourmyula. He has stated "I got the job because I had a truck driver's licence". Within a year, the band had hit the charts, reaching number 2 in New Zealand with "Come with Me" and reached number 1 in 1969 with "Nature". The band made two trips to the UK, but were not so successful there. After the band split in 1971, Parry returned to England and spent two years obtaining a diploma in marketing and advertising from the College for Distributive Trades in London. He then found a job in the International department at Phonogram Records, under fellow New Zealander John McCready. 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. 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.