Dirty Harry (musician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Victoria Harrison (born 10 May 1982) is a British
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
singer and DJ who performs under the stage name Amazonica (and formerly Harry and Dirty Harry).


Biography


Early life

Harry spent her early life living in Singapore and New York City as well as in the United Kingdom, and was raised under strict conservative family values – a vicar grandfather and mother in charge of a local Sunday school. Harry connected with singers such as
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
and Janis Joplin – influences in both her youth and musical stylings. As she grew up, Harry became involved in the London music and social scene. She first experienced the London nightlife in her teens – earning her ‘Dirty’ tag along the way, and building a reputation for herself on the
underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground ...
scene before launching a music career of her own.


''The Trouble with... Harry''

Originally recording as "Dirty Harry", Harry recorded two singles (the limited release industrial pop track "Eye", and "Nothing Really Matters") on her own record label, Dirty World Records, as well as an early version of her debut album, '' The Trouble with... Harry''. However, the album's release was not an easy process and complications ensued, resulting in a legal battle leading to Harry dropping her 'Dirty' tag and rebranding herself simply as Harry. The album was re-recorded and edited under this new name. Years after its inception, it was released in April 2003, through
Telstar Records Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004. Background Telstar was founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,00Telstar RecordsIt was launched as a specialist compilation mar ...
along with the album's supporting singles – "So Real", "Imagination" and "Follow Me". In 2003,
Rimmel Rimmel (commonly known as Rimmel London) is a British multinational cosmetics brand, now owned by parent company Coty, Inc. The House of Rimmel was founded by French-born British cosmetics entrepreneur Eugène Rimmel as a perfumery 20 February 1 ...
used "Imagination" – Harry's cover of
Belouis Some Belouis Some (born Neville Keighley; 12 December 1959) is a British singer, songwriter and musician. He had UK and Worldwide hits in the 1980s with " Some People", "Imagination" and " Round, Round" from the John Hughes film ''Pretty in Pink''. ...
's hit – to front a TV advertising campaign. The song was also the lead track on Harry's ''Under the Covers'' EP which also featured the video for the song.


Collaborations

*In 2004, Harry performed a duet on "Take" from
Raymond Watts Raymond Watts (also known by his former stage names Nainz, Nainz Watts and Ray Scaballero) is an English musician, the founding and sole member of the industrial music project PIG, sometimes written as <PIG>. Watts was an early member and p ...
' album, ''
Pigmartyr ''Pigmartyr'' (2004) is an album by Raymond Watts, a.k.a. PIG. This was the first album he signed as "Watts" instead of "PIG". The First copies (approx. 500) were signed and numbered by Raymond Watts. The album was remastered and rereleased thro ...
''. *In 2005, Harry appeared as a guest vocalist on "Making Me Crazy" for
Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...
's solo album, ''
Tommyland ''Tommyland: The Ride'' is the second solo album by the Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. It was released in 2005 on TL Education Services Inc. Background ''Tommyland: The Ride'' was released in conjunction with Lee's book of the same name, as ...
''. *Two tracks were recorded ("Set Fire to Me" and "Never Stop") with
Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...
for
DJ Hyper DJ Hyper (born 23 February 1977) is a British DJ, producer and remixer, known for his use of live bass, guitars and uncompromising vocals. He has done remixes for artists such as BT and Paul Van Dyk and his music has been featured on TV and i ...
's album, ''We Control''. *In the same year, she sang alongside
Dani Filth Daniel Lloyd Davey (born 25 July 1973), known professionally as Dani Filth, is a British singer who is the vocalist, lyricist and founding member of the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. He has a five-octave vocal range. Personal life Danie ...
in Cradle of Filth's recording of "
Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
" (a
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...
) for the album ''
Thornography ''Thornography'' is the seventh studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 17 October 2006, by record label Roadrunner. It was produced by former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, engineered by Dan Turner and mi ...
''. She was also in the video for the song alongside the band.


Press coverage

In November 2006,
Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...
photographed Harry for her own article in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
''. In July 2008, Harry was interviewed alongside
Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...
for ''
Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...
'' magazine.


Television appearances

In 2003 she appeared in an episode of the UK
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television programme, '' Faking it'', where she was to help transform a choir girl into a "rock chick". Controversy arose when the participant, Laura-Jane Foley, claimed she had been misrepresented by the show. However, the episode in question had already run into trouble before it aired, with regular sponsors
Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
refusing to be associated with its scenes of "irresponsible drinking", in which Harry appeared hungover after a night out. Her filmwork also includes a role as Sophie Johnstone in the 1992 TV series ''Homeward Bound'', and a small role as a lady of the night, Maria, alongside
Jonny Lee Miller Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film '' Trainspotting'' (1996) and as Dade Murphy i ...
in the 1999 British film, ''
Plunkett & Macleane ''Plunkett & Macleane'' is a 1999 British historical action comedy film directed by Jake Scott, and starring Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. Gary Oldman was executive producer. The story was co-written by Neal Purvis and Rob ...
''. In May 2003 Harry appeared on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's '' Re:covered'' programme, where she performed both "Imagination", and a cover of Blondie's hit "
One Way or Another "One Way or Another" is a song by American new wave band Blondie from their 1978 album ''Parallel Lines''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 1970s, an incident which ...
". In late 2006, Harry was chosen as the face and voice of
buy.com Rakuten.com/shop was an e-commerce marketplace based in San Mateo, California. Previously known as Buy.com, it was founded in 1997 by Scott Blum. In 2010, it was purchased by Japanese company Rakuten, and rebranded as Rakuten.com.Claire Cain M ...
's $30 million national US marketing campaign, recording a song for, and appearing in the television advertisement for the company.


Discography


Albums

* '' The Trouble with... Harry'' (2003) (released under the name Harry) * '' Songs from the Edge'' (2007) * ''(un)Released'' (2009) – A compilation album of various rare tracks from Harry's career.


EPs

* ''Under the Covers'' (2003) (released under the name Harry) – UK No. 43 * ''God Shaped Hole'' (2009)


Singles

* "Eye" (2000) * "Nothing Really Matters" (2001) * "So Real" (2002) (released under the name Harry) – UK No. 53 * "Follow Me" (2003) (released under the name Harry) * "High on You" (2015) (released under the name Amazonica) * "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitab ...
" (2018) (released under the name Amazonica)


References


External links

*
Girlband.org Entry for Dirty Harry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amazonica 1982 births Living people British Buddhists English rock singers Singers from London 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers Telstar Records artists