Mystery Jets are an English
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, formerly 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. The band consists of
Blaine Harrison
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 band Mystery Jets.
Early life
Harrison started playing instruments as a child. He experimente ...
(vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harrison (lyrics).
History
Formation and early demos (2003)
The band's first line-up consisted of Blaine Harrison on drums, William Rees on guitar and Henry Harrison (Blaine's father) on bass. Henry became a second guitarist in the band and they were joined by Kai Fish on bass and Tamara Pearce-Higgins on the organ.
Kai joined the band after suggestions that they needed a bassist (he played the cello originally). Their original name was The Misery Jets, which was taken from an
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
headline (Eel Pie Island is under the
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
flight path, where planes can be frequently spotted). It got changed to Mystery Jets when Blaine accidentally misspelled the name while painting it on a drum skin.
The band at this time recorded an eponymous EP with
Aswad
Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one "Don't Tur ...
producer Nick Sykes. They would practise in the boat shed built by Henry on land he bought after a hippie commune on Eel Pie Island burnt down. Blaine (whose voice had yet to break) took lead vocals. Tamara left the band, and Blaine switched from drums to keyboards.
[ The band had a brief stint with a friend of Williams' (known only as Max) on drums, but he was unreliable and for a time a drum machine was used. The band advertised on internet message boards for a drummer and found Kapil Trivedi. Kapil is not from Eel Pie Island like the rest of the members, but rather ]Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
. He found out about the band through his drum teacher. Mystery Jets draws influences from Hall and Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
, Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
, and Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
. William Rees has named Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
, Adrian Belew
Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...
, Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
, and David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
as his guitar inspirations. Much attention has been drawn to their hosting of a series of parties, dubbed "The White Cross Revival", on Eel Pie Island.
''Making Dens'' and ''Zootime'' (2005–2006)
The ''Eel Pie Island EP'' was recorded soon after by a young producer called Bishop Dante at Rooster studios. The band issued its first proper single, a limited edition 7" of "Zoo Time", on Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, formed in 2004. Its founders, Tim Dellow and Toby L, first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's Rockfeedback website.
The label's debut release was "1am" by the Subwa ...
. Mystery Jets ran a series of illegal parties on Eel Pie Island, attracting large crowds, before being shut down by the police. They went on to sign to 679 Recordings
679 Artists (formally known as Sixsevenine and 679 Recordings) was a Warner Music Group-owned record label based in London, England.
It was started by Nick Worthington who after leaving XL Recordings in 2001, started the company with Warner M ...
. After 2005 saw a number of singles and their TV debut on MTV Two
MTV Rocks (formerly MTV Two, MTV2 Europe and M2) was a British pay television music channel that was operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music.
Format and history
The s ...
's ''Spanking New Music Week.'' The start of 2006 saw the band gain their highest charting single with "The Boy Who Ran Away
"The Boy Who Ran Away" is the fifth single by Mystery Jets, released in February 2006. The track is featured on their debut album, '' Making Dens''. The single gained them their only appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. It peaked at #23 on the UK ...
", play the ShockWaves NME Awards Tour
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
and make their first appearance on ''Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
''.