Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by @goldendaze_illustration

From lonely teen to psychedelic pop superstar, the story of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker’s has taken more than a few dramatic turns. What follows is a timeline of Tame Impala’s greatest moments. For a more detailed account of Parker’s childhood and early years as a musician check out Cosmic feature Tame Impala the Story So Far. 

20 January 1986: Kevin Parker is born in Sydney, Australia.

31 December 2007: Tame Impala uploads ‘The Sun (Fred Cherry Eclipse)’ to Myspace.

7 July 2008: Tame Impala signs to record label Modular.

15 August 2008: Tame Impala embark on first national Australian tour.

11 October 2008: Tame Impala release the Tame Impala EP.

10 March 2009: Tame Impala commence first international tour at The Deaf Institute in Manchester, England.

30 June 2009: Tame Impala release ‘Sundown Syndrome’ as a single.

7 August 2009: Tame Impala play first Japanese date at Osaka festival Summer Sonic. 

16 September 2009: Tame Impala commence 20-date Sundown Syndrome Australian tour.

1 April 2010: ‘Solitude Is Bliss’ released as a single.

13 May 2010: Tame Impala tour the US as an opening act for MGMT.

21 May 2010: InnerSpeaker released.

6 June 2010: InnerSpeaker peaks at #4 in the Australian Albums Chart.

5 April 2011: Kevin Parker remixes musical heroes Daft Punk on Tron: Legacy R3C0NF1GUR3D.

13 April 2011: Tame Impala makes first appearance at Coachella.

28 June 2011: Tame Impala makes first appearance at Glastonbury.

12 August 2011: Tame Impala perform ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?’ on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

17 August 2010: Tame Impala begin first European tour.

26 August 2010: Tame Impala play the Noveau Casino in Paris, France.

13 April 2011: Tame Impala visit Mexico for the first time, performing at Campo Marte Mexico City.  

18 May 2012: Nick Allbrook leaves Tame Impala to focus on work with POND. Cam Avery joins.

26 July 2012: ‘Elephant’ released as single.

14 August 2012: A Tame Impala cover of ‘That’s All For Everyone’ appears on Fleetwood Mac tribute album Just Tell Me That You Want Me.

14 August 2012: Tame Impala visit South America for the first time, appearing at the Cine Jóia in São Paulo, Brazil. 

1 September 2012: Tame Impala feature on the cover of The Fader.

25 September 2012: French pop artist Melody Prochet releases Melody’s Echo Chamber, an album recorded in collaboration with Kevin Parker. The pair are dating at the time but part ways shortly after.

1 October 2012: ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ released as a single.

5 October 2012: Lonerism released.

20 October 2012: Lonerism peaks at #14 in the UK Albums Chart.

21 October 2012: Lonerism peaks at #4 in the Australian Albums Chart.

6 December 2012: Tame Impala commence Lonerism Tour.

8 February 2013: Tame Impala perform ‘Elephant’ on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

13 March 2013: Kevin Parker uploads a cover of 1996 Michael Jackson single ‘Stranger In Moscow’ to Soundcloud.    

13 April 2013: Tame Impala perform Coachella for second time.  

28 June 2013: Tame Impala perform Glastonbury for second time.  

7 July 2013: Tame Impala commence joint headline US tour with The Flaming Lips.

29 October: Tame Impala release Peace and Paranoia Tour 2013 split EP with The Flaming Lips.

1 December 2013: Lonerism wins Album of the Year at the 27th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards.

11 March 2014: Kendrick Lamar reimagines Tame Impala’s ‘It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ as ‘Backwards’ for Divergent: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

25 April 2014: Tame Impala appear at the Arctic Monkeys’ Live At Finsbury Park Festival in London.

8 May 2014: The Arctic Monkeys cover ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ On national Australian radio.

6 January 2015: Currents announced. Tame Impala revealed to have switched from Modular to new label Interscope. 

13 January 2015: Kevin Parker features in three tracks on Mark Ronson’s Uptown Special.

11 March 2015: ‘Let It Happen’ released as a single.   

10 April 2015: Tame Impala make third appearance at Coachella.

15 April 2015: Tame Impala perform ‘Let It Happen’ on Conan.

29 April 2015: Kevin Parker reveals in Reddit Ask Me Anything session he has never received international music royalties from label Modular.

3 June 2015: Lawsuit filed over missing Tame Impala royalties.

19 June 2015: Modular label head Steve Pavlovic successfully sued for mishandling over $450,000 of Tame Impala royalties. 

17 July 2015: Currents released.

25 July 2015: Currents debuts at #1 on the Australian Albums Chart.

30 July 2015: Currents peaks at #3 in the UK albums chart.

1 August 2015: Kevin Parker appears on the cover of Rolling Stone.

8 August 2015: Currents peaks at #4 in the US Albums Chart.

11 November 2015: Tame Impala perform the first of two headline shows at the Sydney Opera House

13 November 2015: Tame Impala cover 1994 Kylie Minogue single ‘Confide In Me’ on national Australian radio. 

26 November 2015: Currents wins Album of the Year at the 27th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards.

29 November 2015: ‘The Less I Know The Better’ released as single.

28 January 2016: Pop star Rihanna reimagines Currents‘ ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’ as ‘Same Ol’ Mistakes’ on eighth album Anti.

24 February 2016: Tame Impala dubbed Best International Group at 2016 Brit Awards.

31 May 2016: Tame Impala performs ‘The Less I Know The Better’ on Later With Jools Holland.

25 June 2016: Tame Impala makes third Glastonbury appearance.

1 July 2016: Kevin Parker features on ‘Going Home‘ from The Avalanches’ Wildflower.

13 September 2016: Tame Impala performs ‘The Less I Know the Better’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

5 May 2017: POND release Kevin Parker produced album The Weather.

31 July 2017: Tame Impala performs ‘Love/Paranoia’ on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

9 September 2016: Lady Gaga releases Tame Impala collaboration ‘Perfect Illusion’.

17 November 2017: Collector’s edition of Currents released.

1 June 2018: Kevin Parker makes guest appearance on ‘Violent Crimes’ from Kanye West’s Ye.

8 June 2018: Currents receives Gold Album certification in the USA.

26 July 2018: Kevin Parker remixes Rolling Stone Mick Jagger’s ‘Got To Get A Grip’.

3 August 2018: Tame Impala features on ‘Skeletons’ from Travis Scott’s Astroworld.

6 October 2018: Kevin Parker appears on Saturday Night Live playing bass for Travis Scott.

12 October 2018: Tame Impala discontinues Desert Daze Festival appearance after 3 songs due to lightning storm.

8–21 November 2018: Kevin Parker narrowly escapes California wildfires. His rental property is destroyed along with $40,000 worth of recording equipment.

9 February 2019: Kevin Parker marries Sophie Lawrence.

22 March 2019: ‘Patience’ released as a single.

30 March 2019: Tame Impala performs ‘Patience’ and ‘Borderline’ on Saturday Night Live.

12 April 2019: ‘Borderline’ released as a single.

12 April 2019: Tame Impala headline Coachella. An elaborate stage show ensures Kevin Parker makes no money despite an estimated $500,000 booking fee.  

30 May 2018: Kevin Parker Features on Mark Ronson’s ‘Find U Again’ with pop star Camila Carballo.

28 June 2019: Tame Impala headlines Glastonbury.

19 July 2019: Tame Impala headlines Australia’s largest music festival Splendour In The Grass.

21 August 2019: Tame Impala plays first night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

22 August 2019: Tame Impala plays second night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

23 October 2019: A mysterious video appears on the Tame Impala website.

25 October 2019: Kevin Parker announces fourth album The Slow Rush.

28 October 2019: ‘It Might Be Time’ released as a single.

6 December 2019: ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ and ‘Let It Happen’ certified as Gold singles in the US. 

8 January 2020: ‘Lost In Yesterday’ released as a single.

10 January 2020: ‘Lost In Yesterday’ hits 3 million streams on Spotify.

19 January 2020: Kevin Parker reveals he almost gave ‘The Less I Know The Better’ to Mark Ronson in an interview with Australian GQ.

27 January 2010: Pop star Billie Eilish grooves to Tame Impala’s ‘The Less I Know the Better’ after winning 5 Grammys.

14 February 2020: The Slow Rush released.

24 February 2020: The Slow Rush debuts at #1 on the Australian Album Charts.

27 February 2020: The Slow Rush debuts at #3 on the UK Albums Chart. 

29 February 2020: The Slow Rush debuts at #3 in the US Albums Chart.

2 March 2020: Tame Impala performs ‘Lost In Yesterday’ and ‘Breathe Deeper’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

9 March 2020: Tame Impala commences The Slow Rush Tour at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena. 

12 March 2020: Tame Impala postpones The Slow Rush Tour due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

20 March 2020: Kevin Parker appears on The Weeknd’s After Hours.

9 March 9 2020: ‘The Less I Know The Better’ certified as Tame Impala’s first Platinum Single in the US.

14 March 2020: A poll of 1.8 million Australian radio listeners reveals ‘The Less I Know The Better’ to be the #1 Australian song of the decade.

25 April 2020: Kevin Parker performs an acoustic version of The Slow Rush’s ‘On Track’ on national Australian television.  

12 May 2020: Kevin Parker performs The Slow Rush’s ‘Is It True‘ on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.