Blaine Harrison (born Stephen Blaine Harrison on 23 May 1985) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...
.
Early life
Harrison started playing instruments as a child. He experimented with
drumming
Drumming may refer to:
* the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments
* Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums
* ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble
...
at the age of eight, as well as guitar and piano later on. In his early teens, he listened to
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
instead of the commercial
garage
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
music preferred by his peers. His father, Henry William Cope Harrison, is a former architect and designer.
[Henry Harrison and his son, Blaine]
''The Sunday Times''. 26 February 2006. Blaine Harrison's mother, Helen Harrison, is a former math teacher and lives in the southwest of France. He also has a sister Dymphna Harrison, a designer.
Harrison cites his inability to speak French during the years he spent in France as an important influence on his creativity: "At the time I found it quite difficult being so out of the loop, but looking back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It taught me to use my imagination. I made music because I couldn't speak the language.
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets were first based on
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames at Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the maintained minimum head of water above the only lock on the Tideway and is accessible by boat or from the left (generall ...
in
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, London in 2004. The band started with Harrison, his father Henry, and his best friend William when the boys were at school. The current line-up includes Harrison (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), William Rees (guitar, vocals), Jack Flanagan (bass), Kapil Trivedi (drums), and Henry Harrison (lyrics) Henry was a full-time member until moving to a background role during the recording of the band's second album, "Twenty One". Mystery Jets has released five studio albums,