Andrew Bodnar

Andrew Bodnar
Bodnar in 2009
Background information
Born(1954-09-23)23 September 1954
OriginLondon, England
DiedJanuary 2026(2026-01-00) (aged 71)
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentBass guitar
Years active1975–2026
Formerly ofThe Rumour

Andrew Bodnar (23 September 1954 – January 2026) was an English bass player.

Life and career

Bodnar grew up in Clapham, South London. After meeting drummer Steve Goulding, the two began playing together as a rhythm section while still at school. They spent their teenage years auditioning and busking whenever they could, and were gigging around London with a Cajun-influenced band called Bontemps Roulez just prior to forming The Rumour in 1975.[1] Bodnar is probably best known for his membership with Graham Parker and The Rumour from 1975 to 1980, for playing the distinctive reggae-flavoured bassline on "Watching the Detectives" by Elvis Costello, and for bass playing and co-writing Nick Lowe's "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass", which he co-wrote with Lowe and Goulding.

Bodnar went on to become the Thompson Twins' touring bassist, promoting their hit album Quick Step & Side Kick during 1982–83,[2] and since played live, or on recording sessions for many artists, including Angie Bowie, The Pretenders, and Tina Turner. He also played bass for Graham Parker on his various solo albums from 1988 through the mid-1990s. Graham Parker and The Rumour reunited in 2011 to record two new albums, and they toured the UK, US and Europe through to late 2015.[3]

He played himself in the Judd Apatow film, This Is 40, released in December 2012.[4][5]

Bodnar died in January 2026, at the age of 71.[6]

Partial discography

Graham Parker and the Rumour

The Rumour

  • Max (1977)
  • Frogs Sprouts Clogs and Krauts (1978)
  • Purity Of Essence (1980)

Graham Parker

Other artists

References

  1. ^ "Bontemps Roulez – Nostalgia". Nostalgiacentral.com. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  2. ^ Bacon, Tony; Moorhouse, Barry (1 June 1995). The Bass Book. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879303686. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  3. ^ Klein, Joshua (19 December 2012). "Graham Parker's Rumour reunion a victory lap". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  4. ^ Markowitz, Andy (6 September 2011). "Graham Parker and the Rumour are back, Judd Apatow's got 'em | The Ask". Musicfilmweb.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  5. ^ Cristiano, Nick (27 November 2012). "Things just "happen" to rocker Graham Parker: A movie, a reunion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 20 December 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ Henk, Kremer (5 January 2026). "Bassist Andrew Bodnar (o.a. Graham Parker & The Rumour) overleden". Hitzound.com. Retrieved 5 January 2026.