Moose Harris

Last updated

Moose Harris
Birth nameJason James Harris
Born Devizes, Wiltshire, England
Genres Alternative rock, punk rock
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Bass guitar, Guitar, Keyboards, Backing vocals
Years active1985–2017
Labels EMI, Abstract, Sanctuary
Associated acts New Model Army, Monty Dubious, Atom Heart Mother, The Damned, Pants, Ska Trouble, Nick Harper, The Pieshop Boys

Moose Harris is a British bass guitarist, who was known as Jason James Harris until June 2001, when he legally changed his name to reflect his former nickname and adopted professional alias of "Moose".

Contents

Biography

Although born in Devizes (Wiltshire, England), Harris never lived there, being raised and schooled in the Wiltshire village of Pewsey. He left Pewsey Vale School at 15, and tried several dead end jobs before beginning an apprenticeship as an electronics engineer in 1984. At the age of seventeen, Harris was recruited by New Model Army to replace original bass player Stuart Morrow (1980–85) who had left the band midway through the 1985 'No Rest for the Wicked' tour. [1]

He toured extensively with the band over the next five years, playing at venues across Europe, the United States and Japan. He also contributed to New Model Army's milestone albums, The Ghost of Cain (1986) and Thunder and Consolation (1989), before leaving in 1990, when he was replaced by Peter "Nelson" Nice. [2] In late 1992 he joined punk/goth rock band, The Damned. Having recorded the Not of This Earth album with them during 1994, he left in mid-1995 following the dissolution of that line-up. When the band reformed in 1996, he was replaced by former The Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods bassist, Paul Gray. [3]

After The Damned split in 1995, Moose moved away from music as a professional career, but still maintained a relationship with the business through music tuition, session work and music production. Although Dave Vanian offered Moose a chance to return to The Damned in 1996, the promised tour never materialised, and Vanian's future wife Patricia Morrison took over as bass guitarist soon after. [4] Between 1996 and 2007, Harris was the bass guitarist for Pants with former Lurkers drummer, Dan Tozer, guitarist Fal and a succession of singers including Sean Wratten, Ivor Richards and Ian Oliver. [5] When Pants split, Harris and Oliver collaborated on the self-described "retro-futurist synth rock" duo The Pieshop Boys, appearing sporadically between 2008 and 2013. [6] Pants reformed in 2014 and still perform occasionally. [7]

Since 2000 he has contributed to a number of diverse projects, including live and studio work with folk-rock group Pig Country, nine-piece ska band Ska Trouble, and punk band Bastard Squad. [8] [9] He also assisted with the restoration of the hitherto unreleased album by Raspberry Parade, a psychedelic work masterminded by Steve Marshall, using the long lost recordings of Brian Heddon. [10]

In 2005, he became one-third of the band Sleeper Cell, an unusual full-band project for singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist Nick Harper. Sleeper Cell also featured Dan Tozer on drums. The band toured briefly in the Autumn of 2005, including an appearance at the Beautiful Days Festival. [11]

In 2011, director Matt Reid interviewed Moose at his home for a documentary about New Model Army. The finished film, Between Dog and Wolf: the New Model Army Story premièred in London on 5 October 2014, at Piccadilly Vue, as part of the Raindance Film Festival 2014. [12] The documentary was released on DVD in the UK on 5 December 2015. [13]

Albums

New Model Army

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Atom Heart Mother

Studio albums

The Damned

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Session work

Related Research Articles

The Damned (band) English punk band

The Damned are an English rock band formed in London, England, in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk rock band from the United Kingdom to release a single, "New Rose" (1976), release an album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States. They have nine singles that charted on the UK Singles Chart Top 40.

<i>Damned Damned Damned</i> 1977 studio album by The Damned

Damned Damned Damned is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 February 1977 by Stiff Records. Produced by Nick Lowe, Damned Damned Damned was the first full-length album released by a UK punk group.

<i>Strawberries</i> (album) 1982 studio album by The Damned

Strawberries is the fifth studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released in October 1982 by record label Bronze.

Vale of Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire, England

The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the town of Pewsey.

Pewsey Village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England

Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about 6 miles (10 km) south of Marlborough and 71 miles (114 km) west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Reading to Taunton line.

<i>Machine Gun Etiquette</i> 1979 studio album by the Damned

Machine Gun Etiquette is the third studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 2 November 1979 by Chiswick Records.

<i>Not of This Earth</i> (The Damned album) 1995 studio album by The Damned

Not of This Earth is the eighth studio album by The Damned. It is often called I'm Alright Jack & The Beanstalk.

Roman Jugg is a keyboard player and guitarist. He began his career in the Welsh punk band Victimize in the late 1970s.

New Rose Song by The Damned

"New Rose" is the first single by British punk rock group the Damned, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France. It is considered to be the first single by a British punk group.

<i>Grave Disorder</i> 2001 studio album by The Damned

Grave Disorder is an album from the punk rock band The Damned, released in August 2001. It was their first release since signing to Nitro Records.

<i>The Black Album</i> (The Damned album) 1980 studio album by the Damned

The Black Album was the fourth album by the Damned, and the first to feature Paul Gray on bass guitar. It was released in 3 November 1980 on Chiswick as a double album, with "Curtain Call" filling the whole of side 3, and a selection of live tracks recorded at Shepperton Studios for Damned fan club members on side 4. The song "13th Floor Vendetta" paid tribute to the film The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), opening with the lyrics "...the organ plays to midnight on Maldine Square tonight".

In Dulce Decorum 1987 single by The Damned

"In Dulce Decorum" was a single by the Damned, released 16 November 1987 on the MCA label.

"Shut It" is a song by the Damned, released as a single in September 1996 on Cleopatra Records.

<i>Music for Pleasure</i> (The Damned album) 1977 studio album by The Damned

Music for Pleasure is the second studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 November 1977 by Stiff Records.

<i>Live at Newcastle</i> 1983 live album by The Damned

"Live at Newcastle" is a live album by The Damned, released in 1983.

Psychostick American comedy rock band

Psychostick is an American comedy rock band from Tempe, Arizona, now residing in Chicago, Illinois, known for their silly image and usage of humor in their songs and lyrics. Their style is referred to by themselves and some online album review sites as "humorcore".

<i>So, Whos Paranoid?</i> 2008 studio album by The Damned

So, Who's Paranoid is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Damned. Released in November 2008, it was their first album in seven years. It was funded by the band themselves and released on their English Channel label. Musically, the album draws from the band's 1980s Gothic rock sound.

Joseph Gilbert (winemaker) Pastoralist and winemaker in South Australia

Joseph Gilbert was a pastoralist and winemaker in South Australia from 1839 until his death.

<i>Evil Spirits</i> (album) album by The Damned

Evil Spirits is the eleventh studio album from the Damned. Released on 13 April 2018, it is their first album in ten years and was produced by famed producer Tony Visconti who is best known for his work with David Bowie. The album was largely crowdfunded by a successful PledgeMusic campaign.

References

  1. "New Model Army - Biography". Newmodelarmy.org. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. "Double Vee Concerts". Double Vee Concerts. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Patricia Morrison - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "TOWNSITE Marlborough - Visiting or living in Marlborough, Wiltshire". Marlborough-townsite.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. [ dead link ]
  11. "NICK HARPER : HARPERSPACE : Official Website for Nick Harper". Harperspace.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "New Model Army - Between Dog And Wolf - The New Model Army Story". Amazon.co.uk. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2020.