Harry Williamson
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician, producer and inventor.
He is the son of noted author Henry Williamson
Henry Williamson
Henry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
and his second wife Christine Duffield. Divorced, one daughter Bee Williamson. Educated at Exeter Cathedral School under Lionel Dakers
Lionel Frederick Dakers
Lionel Frederick Dakers was an English cathedral organist, who served in Ripon Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral.-Background:Lionel Frederick Dakers was born on 24 February 1924 in Rochester, Kent...
(later head of RSCM), and at Millfield School
Millfield
Millfield is an independent school in Street in Somerset, in south-west England.The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders...
, Street, Somerset
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...
.
He started a Physics degree at Imperial College
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, but abandoned Physics for Rock Theatre, working at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
and the Rainbow Theatre and crewing for The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
in the 1970s. He helped establish the Green Party of England and Wales
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
and is still actively involved in designing innovative energy efficient systems.
In 1970 he met Anthony Phillips
Anthony Phillips
Anthony Edwin "Ant" Phillips is an English multi instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of the band Genesis. He played guitar and sang backing vocals until leaving in 1970, following the recording of their second album, Trespass...
of Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
with whom he composed music for the film of his father's bestseller Tarka the Otter
Tarka the Otter
Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers is a novel by Henry Williamson. The book narrates the experience of an otter. It was first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue, K.C.V.O..-Plot summary:The plot...
. The music, recorded by the National Philharmonic Orchestra
National Philharmonic Orchestra
The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA producer Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader / contractor Sidney Sax due in part to the requirements of the Reader's Digest-History:...
was not used in the film due to budgetary considerations but some years later was finished with funds from Amy International and released by PRT, where it became #1 in the New Music Charts for three months. It is still regarded as a classic by Genesis fans and excerpts are used for documentaries and other nature oriented films worldwide. Another series of recordings with Anthony started in 1976 became 'Gypsy Suite', released 1998.
In 1977 Harry was playing with Nik Turner
Nik Turner
Nik Turner is a British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner plays saxophones, flute, sings and is a composer...
of Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
and he wrote 'Nuclear Waste' which was recorded by The Radio Actors, with Sting on vocals, Mike Howlett
Mike Howlett
Mike Howlett is a Fijian-born musician, Grammy Award winning producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia....
on Bass and Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
on lead guitar. It was released by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
and later by Charly
Charly
Charly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
and is still considered an anti-nuclear anthem in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
In 1978 Harry met Gilli Smyth, formerly of (Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
). They formed Mother Gong, made their first album and toured the United States for the first time as part of the ZU Manifestival promoted by Georgio Gomelski. Returning to Devon, they lived at Ox's Cross and Harry set up his first studio in the building his father had used for writing. They played the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
twice and after much disillusionment with Thatcherist politics, left England in 1982 and emigrated to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia. They divorced in 1992. Harry now is an Australian citizen and dedicates his time to composing film, world, and many other styles of music, making concert DVDs, producing recordings from artists around the world and implementing his environmentally-sustainable house designs. In 2004 with his partner Maribel Steel he completed a musical 'Lace' which deals with life, death romance and despair in a Spanish family, and a soundtrack for the film - Rokkashomura Rhapsody a Japanese documentary on nuclear reprocessing in Rokkasho, Aomori
Rokkasho, Aomori
is a village located in the Kamikita District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 10,890 and a density of 43 persons per km². Its total area was 253.01 km².-Geography:...
He sings in Men In Suits, a political mens choir from another galaxy, who have been seen attempting to subvert the dominant paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
by exposing the contradictions with in the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
.
In 2009 'Tarka' has been commissioned to launch the book 'Our Watermark' published by the Victorian Women's Trust and will receive its first live performance in 2010.
Harry is currently exploring the migration of the Celts from northern India from a musical point of view, and preparing music for a feature film.
He is also developing a musical collective to explore the musical synthesis of Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
and the Australian Bush.
Discography
- 1975 - Gypsy Suite (with Anthony Phillips) 1998 Voiceprint
- 1976 - Tarka (with Anthony Phillips) 1988 PRT 1996 Voiceprint
- 1978 - Nuclear Waste (with Sting and the Radio-Actors) (Virgin, Charly, DB, Voiceprint)
- 1978 - Fairy Tales (with Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe et al.) (Charly)
- 1981 - Robot Woman 1(with Mother Gong) (Butt)
- 1983 - Robot Woman 2(with Mother Gong) (Shanghai)
- 1984 - Living on the brink (with Gilli and tom the poet) (Ottersongs)
- 1986 - Robot Woman 3(with Mother Gong) (Shanghai)
- 1986 - Stroking the Tail of the Bird (with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth) (Voiceprint)
- 1987 - Owl in Tree (With Mother Gong and Daevid Allen)1989 (Demi-Monde)2004(Voiceprint)
- 1989 - Buddha's Birthday (With Mother Gong) (Ottersongs)
- 1989 - Wild Child (With Mother Gong) (Demi-Monde)
- 1990 - Fish in Sky (With Mother Gong) (Ottersongs)
- 1991 - Mothergong Live in the USA 1991 (Ottersongs )2008 (Voiceprint)
- 1993 - She made the world (Voiceprint)
- 1998 - Far from the madding crowd (Faraway) (with Liz Van Dort) (Voiceprint) 2001 (Prikosnovenie)
- 1999 - Life in the Unseen World (with many friends) (Voiceprint)
- 1999 - 22 meanings (with Daevid Allen) (Gliss, via Pinnacle)
- 2000 - Seadrone (meditation with wind spirits) ( Sleeping Tiger)
- 2003 - Battle of the Birds (Celtic tale) (Voiceprint)
- 2005 - Fish in Tree(compilation re-issue of Fish and Owl above) Voiceprint
- 2005 - Dreaming in English (with Jeltje) (Private Release)
- 2005 - Soleluna (with Soleluna quintet) (Elysian) available from CB Baby
- 2008 - The Glissando Orchestra DVD with Daevid AllenDaevid AllenDaevid Allen , sometimes credited as Divided Alien, an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist is co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong .-Biography:In 1960, inspired by the Beat Generation writers he had discovered...
, Steve HillageSteve HillageSteve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
and others (Daikini)