Alan G. Parker is a British documentary film director best known for his films ''

Who Killed Nancy? ''Who Killed Nancy?'' is a British documentary film directed by Alan Parker (author), Alan G. Parker. The film was produced by Ben Timlett and Christine Alderson. It had its US theatrical opening at the Cinema Village in New York City on 30 July ...

,'' ''Monty Python: Almost the Truth - The Lawyers Cut'' and ''It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper & Beyond.'' He has also written several books about rock musicians and their lives.

Early life and career

Parker was born in

Lancashire, England Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. As a child, he was diagnosed with

macrocephaly Macrocephaly is a condition in which circumference of the human head is abnormally large. It may be pathological or harmless, and can be a Heredity, familial genetic characteristic. People diagnosed with macrocephaly will receive further medical ...

. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Parker worked as a press officer via Judy Totton Publicity and later in the catalogue department of

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At EMI, Parker worked with various punk and rock bands such as

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

and

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

. During that time, he also wrote for magazines and published books about

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and Stiff Little Fingers. In 2009 Parker directed ''Who Killed Nancy?'' and ''Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyers Cut,'' which was nominated for six Emmy awards. Parker also directed the documentary ''It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper & Beyond,'' released in 2017''.''

Films

*''Who Killed Nancy?'' (2009) *''Love Kills – The Story of Sid and the Pistols'' (2007) (documentary included in a 2007 DVD reissue of ''

Sid and Nancy ''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of ...

'') *''Monty Python – Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)'' (2009) *''The David Essex Story'' *''Hello Quo'' (about

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

) (2012) *''Rebel Truce – The History of

'' (2007) *''Never Mind the Sex Pistols'' (2005) *''The Making of

All Mod Cons ''All Mod Cons'' is the third studio album by the British band the Jam, released in 1978 by Polydor Records. The title, a British idiom one might find in housing advertisements, is short for "all modern conveniences" and is a pun on the band' ...

'' (contributor) (2006) *''It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper & Beyond'' (2017) *''Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade'' (2025)

Books

* ''The Who by Numbers: The Story of the Who Through Their Music (''2009): * ''Sid Vicious: No One Is Innocent (''2007): * ''Cum On, Feel the Noize: The Story of Slade (''2006): * ''Vicious: Too Fast to Live (''2004): * ''Stiff Little Fingers: Song by Song (''2003): * ''The Clash: Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg (''2003): * ''John Lennon & the FBI Files (''2003): * '' Satellite: Sex Pistols (''1999): * ''Sid’s Way: Sid Vicious (''1991):

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Alan G. 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Blackburn English music journalists English biographers