British musician Roy Harper has become a true legend of rock. The famous band "Led Zeppelin" released the single "Caps Away in Front of Roy Harper". The composer, guitarist and singer actively collaborated with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, as well as with Pink Floyd.
Roy Harper raised her stepmother. The discrepancy with her views significantly affected the work of the singer, the nature of his songs.
Vocation Search
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1970. The baby was born in Rochehouse, a suburb of Manchester, on June 12. In the family, apart from him, his older brother David grew up. Roy became interested in music early. At 9, he was most interested in the blues. Together with his brother, they organized a group and began performing.
Education Roy decided not to continue. He enlisted in the Royal Armed Forces. However, he quickly realized his mistake: strict discipline was too depressing. It all ended in a nervous breakdown. The result was demobilization. Until 1964, Harper traveled to North Africa and Europe, performed on city streets. Upon returning to his homeland, he became one of the participants in the famous metropolitan Soho-folk club "Les Cousins".
In 1966, the singer's debut album, "The Sophisticated Beggar", was released. Love lyrics combined with night mantras and black humor. Harper became interested in the company "CBS Records". The company organized work on the new compilation of the musician "Come out Fighting Genghis Smith", presented in 1968. The most interesting in the album was the composition "Circle". She demonstrated the possibilities of Roy's style with the release of the limits of familiar folk rock.
In support of the third disc, "Folkjokeopus", Harper gave several concerts in London. The new collection surprised fans with the duration of the tracks. The longest was 18 minutes. After him, producer Peter Jenner drew attention to the performer. After concluding a contract with Harvest Records, the popularity of the vocalist and composer began among fans of hard rock. The single of the musician "Led Zeppelin" was dedicated to him.
In 1971, the new album "Stormcock" was released. He was named the best in Harper's discography. However, the musician remained known exclusively among professionals. The reason was Roy’s reluctance to move into the commercial sphere. After the interest in the work of the Pink Floyd group arose, the vocalist had the opportunity to work at the same time with them on recording a new disc. At the same time, Roy starred in The Song Remains the Same.
Failures and successes
In 1975, on the record "Have a cigar", colleagues started having problems. Gilmore refused to perform the song, and the party was beyond the power of Waters. The way out of the difficult situation was turning to Roy. For help, David Gilmore participated in the creation of Harper's new HQ compilation, and Roy helped a colleague with a solo album. Roy's album received the Record of the Year Award. In 1985, Work of Heart became the album of the year according to The Sunday Times.
In the seventies, the new collection introduced the composition "Stormcock" in the genre of epic poem. Jimmy Page, who played the guitar, participated in its creation. Orchestral processing was done by David Bedford. He worked with Harper on the next discs.
In 1972, the musician first starred in a movie. In the film "Made" he played Mike Preston. The following year, the Lifemask soundtrack was introduced. On Valentine's Day, a release in 1974 of Valentine's Day was scheduled. In honor of the release of new items in the "Rainbow Theater" a concert was held with the participation of Page, Bedford, Lane and Moon. Shortly after the live performance, the album "Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion" was also presented.
In 1980, Harper collaborated with Kate Bush, helping her record a new album. In 1984, he performed at Jimmy Page at acoustic concerts. In the late eighties, the musician took a break. He began work again only in 1990, in collaboration with Bush and Gilmore. After a difficult divorce in 1992 with his wife, Jackie, a new collection of musician "Death or Glory" was released. All the compositions presented in it were distinguished by a melancholic coloring.
The premiere of "The Dream Society", "Once" and "Commercial Breaks". CDs from concerts and solo albums recorded on the BBC in 1997 were presented. Roy released "Once" as a live introduction video, recorded the mini-album "Burn the World", presented the single "The Methane Zone" and the disc "An Introduction to… ". Fans also received albums with a collection of poems by the musician and his speech tracks "Poems, Speeches, Thoughts and Doodles". Interest in Harper's work has intensified significantly since the introduction of "Once."
Confession
Young musicians performed cover versions of his singles, accepted invitations to participate in recording albums. Roy's recitatives were featured in The Edges of Twilight, recorded in 1995 by The Tea Party's. And in 1996, Harper's remarks complemented the disc of the Anathema Eternity team.
The acoustic album "The Green Man" was introduced in 2000. Jeff Martin, a member of "The Tea Party", soloed the guitar and used the old hurdy-gurdy string instrument.
All the lyrics created for the albums were collected in the book "The Passions of Great Fortune", published in 2003. The edition was supplemented by a huge number of pictures and comments.
Roy received an award for his contribution to musical culture in June 2005. The Mojo Magazine addressed him the Hero Award. Jimmy Page presented the prize to a colleague and friend.
The musician celebrated his 65th birthday in June 2007 with a London concert. After it, a double CD released a recording of the anniversary performance of "Royal Festival Hall Live - June 10th 2001".
Harper introduced his final album in May 2005. Counter Culture has featured songs for 35 years. The magazine "UNCUT" rated the collection with the highest score.
