Harvey James born Harvey William James Harrop (20 September 195215 January 2011) was an English-Australian

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 ...

guitarist. He was a member of the bands

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

(1973–74),

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

(1974–75), Sherbet (1976–80, 1980–81) and

the Party Boys The Party Boys was an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership commencing in 1982. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie with founding member Kevin Borich (ex– La De Da's, Kevin Borich Express) as a part-time ...

(1982–83). James was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in July 2010 and died on 15 January 2011, aged 58, leaving behind his three children, Gabriel, Alexandra and Joshua.

Biography

Harvey James was born in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire an ...

as Harvey William James Harrop in September 1952. His parents are Jim and Vera Harrop, and his sister is Veronica. The family migrated to Australia in the early 1960s. He attended Lyndale High School and joined a local group, Sayla, on guitar with John Lee on drums. In March 1973 James (ex-Clydehouse, Sayla) joined harmony pop group,

to replace Kerryn Tolhurst on lead guitar, alongside

Beeb Birtles Beeb Birtles (born Gerard Bertelkamp, 28 November 1948) is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975 ...

on guitar and vocals,

Graham Goble Graeham George Goble, (born 15 May 1947)Goble, Graeham (2006Graeham Goble: Biography. Retrieved on 14 July 2008. is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little Riv ...

on guitar and vocals,

Derek Pellicci Derek Allan Pellicci (born 18 February 1953) is an English-born Australian drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Little River Band. Pellicci lives in Melbourne with his wife, Anne and a son. Early life In 1960, Pellicci's family, his ...

on drums and

Charlie Tumahai Charles Turu Tumahai (14 January 1949 – 21 December 1995) was a New Zealand singer, bass player and songwriter who was a member of several noted rock groups in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. He is best known internationally as the bass ...

on bass guitar. He played on the band's hit single, "Will I" (early 1974), and was part of their appearance at

Sunbury Pop Festival Sunbury Pop Festival or Sunbury Rock Festival was an annual Australian rock music festival held on a private farm between Sunbury and Diggers Rest, Victoria, which was staged on the Australia Day (26 January) long weekend from 1972 to 1975. It ...

in January 1974. Mississippi sailed to the United Kingdom in April 1974, working on the Sitmar Line ship, ''Fairsky'', but stagnated there soon after arriving. Back in Australia James left the group in June, while Birtles and Goble reconstituted the band, with Pellicci, in early 1975 recruiting new members and changing their name to

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...

. James, on guitar, joined progressive rock group,

, in July 1974, in Melbourne, with former bandmate, Lee on drums, Bill Putt on bass guitar and

Mike Rudd Michael David Rudd (born 15 June 1945) is a New Zealand-born musician and composer who has been based in Australia since the late 1960s, and who was the leader of Australian progressive rock bands Spectrum and Ariel in the 1970s. Biography Mi ...

on guitar and vocals. He returned to the UK with that group in October, where they recorded their second album, ''Rock & Roll Scars'' (1975), at Abbey Road Studios. They returned to Australia in early 1975, by which time the band had added a fifth member, singer-guitarist, Glyn Mason. That line-up recorded another album, ''Goodnight Fiona'' (1976) and issued a single, "I'll Take You High", in January of that year. James joined a pop band, Sherbet (also performed as Highway and as the Sherbs), in Sydney in early 1976 to replace Gunther Gorman (ex-Home), on lead guitar, backing vocals and slide guitar. His first recording with the group was their biggest hit single, "Howzat", which peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Australian singles chart and reached the Top 5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. James co-wrote subsequent singles, "Rock Me Gently" (1976), "Beg Steal and Borrow" (1978) and "Angela" (1979), with various band members. He remained with the group until late 1982. James returned to Sherbet for various reunions (including some alongside original guitarist, Clive Shakespeare). In 1979, during Sherbet's hiatus, he was a member of Marc Hunter and the Romantics, which backed Hunter on his solo album, ''Fiji Bitter'' (November 1979), and for the associated tour to promote it. In 1982, after leaving Sherbet, James became an original member of

, a Sydney-based cover versions group, with

Graham Bidstrup Graham Leslie "Buzz" Bidstrup (born 30 August 1952) is an Australian musician, songwriter, music producer and talent manager. He was a member of the Angels (1976–1981), the Party Boys (1983–1984) and Gang Gajang (1984–1987, 1993–1996 ...

on drums,

Kevin Borich Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding mem ...

on lead guitar, Paul Christie on bass guitar, drums and backing vocals and

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Rod ...

on lead vocals (on loan from Australian Crawl). James played on the Party Boys' first two live albums, ''Live at Several 21sts'' (March 1983) and '' Greatest Hits (of Other People)'' (November 1983). He participated in a reunion of Ariel in August 1997.

Illness and death

James was diagnosed with

in July 2010. A benefit gig, Gimme That Guitar, was organised by friends and supporters, in Melbourne on 18 November. James performed with a reformed line-up of Ariel. A second concert had been planned for Sydney on 17 February 2011. Harvey James died on 15 January 2011, aged 58. He was survived by his three children from his first marriage, Gabriel, Alexandra and Joshua His family wrote on their Facebook page, "Dad passed away peacefully at 8.15pm tonight. We would like to thank everybody for all the wonderful support over the past 6 months. The love has been overwhelming. Rest in peace my gorgeous, funny, amazing father. We will miss you everyday forever." Sherbet lead singer,

Daryl Braithwaite Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including t ...

, posted a message, "Rest in peace Harvey James, you will be sadly missed by everyone that saw you play and knew you. My condolences to your family and friends."

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific

External links

Gimme that Guitar
– A benefit for Harvey James
Harvey James picture tribute
– '' Herald Sun'' {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Harvey 1952 births 2011 deaths Australian guitarists Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Deaths from lung cancer Place of birth missing English emigrants to Australia Musicians from Sheffield 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century guitarists Mississippi (band) members Ariel (Australian band) members Sherbet (band) members