Mystery Jets are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...

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 (generally ...

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 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 ''nor ...

. 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 w ...

, Syd Barrett, and Pink Floyd. 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, 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 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. For most o ...

''. The band's debut UK album, '' Making Dens'', was released on 6 March 2006. On 18 September 2006, the band put on a tribute show to Syd Barrett, one of their biggest influences. The show was put on at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. Performers were

Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Career Already a fixture at local venues in his hometown of Chatham, Kid Harpoon first emerg ...

, Lupen Crook,

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...

, Dan Treacy and the

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

, Drew from

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, Ben from SixToes, Lucas from the Cazals and Mystery Jets. The groups created a special fanzine made for the show with entries from all the performers and artwork by the bands. December 2006 saw the band release "Umbrellahead / Half In Love With Elizabeth" through its MySpace site to competition winners. The two tracks were produced by

Erol Alkan Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His fir ...

and were meant to be part of a ten-inch vinyl acoustic EP, but that idea was scrapped. Throughout 2007 the band wrote new songs (including "Hand Me Down", "Pink Elephant" and "Undercover Lover", the latter two being renamed "Veiled In Grey" and "Hideaway" and all three being included on their album '' Twenty One'') and played more gigs around the world, especially in America where they released their debut album '' Zootime'' (a collection of tracks from '' Making Dens'', as well as EPs and singles) on 8 May, through

Dim Mak Records Dim Mak Records is an independent, Los Angeles-based record label, events company, and lifestyle brand founded by Steve Aoki in 1996. The label has released music under the genres of punk, indie rock, hardcore, hip hop, and electronic dance ...

. Henry Harrison decided to stop playing live with the band shortly afterwards, but is still very much involved and went into the studio with the rest of the band. He still helps with songwriting and occasionally makes onstage appearances. Henry has said, "I'm just another member, I'm one of five. I love it. That whole authority thing served a purpose and when it was done I was glad to relinquish it, because it got in the way of us working properly together."

''Twenty One'' (2007–2008)

At the end of 2007, the band went on a short club show across the UK, and released a free Christmas single, "Flakes". Their second album, '' Twenty One'', was released on 24 March 2008. Produced by Erol Alkan and mixed by renowned producer

Nick Launay Nicolas Launay is an English record producer, composer and recording engineer. He is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Anna Calvi, IDLES, Black Re ...

, it was preceded by the single " Young Love" featuring

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit Aw ...

, released on 10 March 2008. The second single released from the album was " Two Doors Down". It reached 24 in the U.K charts, their highest position so far. The album represented a change in the band's sound, shifting from psychedelic and progressive rock towards more of a pop direction. On 8 June 2008, the band played at the Scottish RockNess music festival which attracted over 35,000 music lovers - the band's set was broadcast on national UK broadcaster Hitz Radio. The band also spoke backstage about their rise to fame, reviving the eighties and how they plan to take over the world. In 2008, Mystery Jets, along with

Jeremy Warmsley Jeremy Warmsley is a London-based musician and composer. Biography From 2005 to 2009, he worked as a solo artist, recording two albums for Transgressive Records and touring with Regina Spektor and The Shins. Since 2009 he has worked with his wi ...

and Adem, contributed the song "Grains of Sand" to the

Survival International Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples. The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peo ...

charity album ''

Songs for Survival Bruce Parry Presents ''Amazon - Tribe - Songs for Survival'' is a double album released by Kensaltown Records in support of a tribal peoples charity. Background The album was released in support of Survival International, the human rights organi ...

''.

''Serotonin'' (2009–2010)

In January 2009, Mystery Jets left their previous contract with 679 Recordings and signed a new deal with Rough Trade Records. They also began recording a new album and continued to tour. They performed at the

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...

at the end of August 2010. In April 2010, Mystery Jets announced their third studio album, ''Serotonin''. The album was released on 5 July 2010 and was produced by Chris Thomas. The working title was ''Luminescence'' but the name was changed later on. Blaine has said that he wanted this album to be "quintessential Mystery Jets record." A promotional single, entitled "Flash A Hungry Smile", was made available on the band's website for free. The first single to be released from the album, "Dreaming Of Another World" was added to

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's B Playlist in May 2010 and was also released on 5 July 2010. On 5 July, Mystery Jets performed an instore session at Rough Trade East for their album release. A limited edition 12" was released as well as CD format and digital download. In 2010, the band featured on

The Count & Sinden "Beeper" is the debut single by British music duo the Count & Sinden, featuring vocals from American hip hop artist Kid Sister. The song was released via Domino Records in April 2008. Background and release "Beeper" was released on Switch and S ...

track, "After Dark".

''Radlands'' (2011–2013)

In March 2011, following a secret SXSW show, the band set up a home recording studio in a country house by the Colorado River of Texas in the Westlake area in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Writing and recording sessions lasted two months, at the end of which the band returned to the UK to play the summer festivals. Blaine went to California in early July to get inspiration and imagery for the songs. On 22 November 2011, the Mystery Jets announced that their new album will be released in April 2012, with a tour to follow in May 2012. On 3 April 2012, shortly before the release of '' Radlands'', it was announced that Kai Fish would be leaving the band, with bassist Pete Cochrane taking his place for the band's UK tour. On 15 February 2013, it was announced that the Mystery Jets would be performing at Y Not Festival in Derbyshire on Friday 2 August 2013.

''Curve of the Earth'' (2016-2017)

On 30 September 2014, the Mystery Jets played a one-off show at the Barbican in London, along with Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit,

Marika Hackman Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She is considered to fall within the alternative and English- folk genres, and is noted for her dark, melancholic lyrics. Hackman has r ...

Dry The River Dry the River were an English alternative rock band, formed in the Stratford district of East London in 2009. History They played their first headline show at the Luminaire in Kilburn, London, in April 2010. Since this time, the band have t ...

, and with

as a special guest, to celebrate Transgressive Records' tenth anniversary. In a blog post on the band's official website following the show, Blaine Harrison announced that the band was "deep into the thick of album five sessions", and had completed building their own studio in a former button factory. Harrison also announced a new band member, bassist Jack Flanagan, had been officially incorporated into the band in January 2014. On 20 October 2015, the band released a trailer announcing their fifth album Curve of the Earth, which was released on 15 January 2016. The album's release was marked with a special one-off live show at London's ICA for competition winners and music journalists. Following fellow British Indie band The Maccabees' announcement that they would be splitting up, Mystery Jets were announced as special guests for their farewell shows on 17 January 2017, alongside IDLES. The run included two nights at Manchester's 02 Apollo and three nights at Alexandra Palace in London. On 10 July 2017, the band announced they would perform a five-night residency, entitled 'Jetrospective' at London's iconic and newly refurbished venue The Garage, at which they would play their first five studio albums back to back: '' Making Dens'', '' Twenty One'', '' Serotonin'', '' Radlands'' and '' Curve of the Earth''. On 30 September 2017, the band announced the support acts for the sold-out run of shows, including Sundara Karma,

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and

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''A Billion Heartbeats'' (2019–2020)

In August 2019, the band announced their album '' A Billion Heartbeats''. According to '' Clash'' magazine, the album was inspired by recent large protest marches in London, and "the continuing politicisation of British youth". The band planned to release the album on 27 September 2019, but the release was then postponed after Blaine Harrison underwent emergency surgery to tackle a severe infection. The album was finally released digitally on 3 April 2020, but the physical release was delayed until 26 June 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. On 4 February 2020, founding member, guitarist and vocalist of the band William Rees announced his departure from the band. On 26 May 2020, the band announced they would be launching their own podcast series with Acast, Things Worth Fighting For''', to coincide with the songs and themes of the album. The series features Blaine teaming up with artists, activists and authors to discuss topics such as The Grenfell Tower blaze, racial and class discrimination in Britain, homelessness, the

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and mental health in the digital age. Guests announced for the series include

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( Idles), Billy Bragg, Ed O'Brien ( Radiohead), Renni Eddo-Lodge,

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and co-founder of the

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Help Refugees (now called Choose Love) Josie Naughton.

Members

– vocals, keyboards, guitar *Kapil Trivedi – drums *Henry Harrison – lyrics (formerly keyboards, guitar, vox) *Jack Flanagan – bass, vocals Former members *Tamara Pearce-Higgins – keyboards, vocals (1996-2002) *William Rees – guitar, vocals (1996-2020) *Kai Fish – vocals, bass (2001-2012) *Peter Cochrane – bass (2012-2014) *Matt Park – pedal steel (2012-2014) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

EPs

*''Eel Pie Island'' (2003, Liquid Sky Music) *''Flotsam and Jetsam EP'' (9 May 2006,

) *''Diamonds in the Dark'' (4 September 2006,

) *''The Whole Earth'' (16 September 2016,

Caroline International Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

) *The Button Factory Sessions (25 July 2016,

) *''Electronic Earth'' (9 June 2017,

) *Live to Vinyl (26 October 2018,

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

)

Singles

* - Although the single does not actually feature on the album ''Making Dens'', the track entitled ''Summertime Dens'' is a continuation.

7" special limited

*''Powercut Serenades'' (Signed with "Umbrellahead" and "Half In Love With the Radio" on. Limited edition of 300 copies all given away to competition winners)

Early demos

*''Mystery Jets EP'' ( 2001, self released CD) *''Christmas Sessions EP'' (2003, self released CD)

References

External links

*
Kai Fish leaves Mystery Jets
{{Authority control English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from London 679 Artists artists