01. The Boy With The Gold Adidas
02. Lion Tamer, Chelsea Diner
03. A Letter From The Holy Land
04. Oh Marie
05. Velcro Madonna
06. Broken Shoes
07. There's Only One Woman
08. Back To The Sea
09. Angel And The Astronaut
10. Home To me
Stephen Harris - Guitar, Vocals, Dulcimer, harmonica
Francis Dunnery - Guitar, Piano, Mellotron
Matt Pegg - Bass Guitar
Shaula Lumley - Flute
Loiusa Mitchell - Violin
Paul Sturman - Choirmaster
April 6, 2008: Hello everyone. It’s been a while. Where to begin? First and foremost, I am very excited to be playing with Francis at the end of May at the Tin Angel. As some of you may remember, I debuted the material from “Songs From The Mission of Hope” there, oh it seems like a lifetime ago (mid-2002 actually.) I remember the dust from the World Trade Center was still settling around us.
I have been very busy since, but more about that in a minute. As far as the Tin Angel shows are concerned, I will be performing for about half an hour, and I am bringing my friend and percussionist extraordinaire Henry Ellis along with me to liven my depressing arse up a bit. I’ll be playing some of my favorite songs from the “Mission” album, probably a new number, and most likely a rendition of a song from Dorie Jackson’s incredible c.d. “The Courting Ground,” called “Railway Station Boy.” In my case, though, it will be “Railway Station Girl” (just to keep things on the up and up.)
Actually, as I write this, some new people are moving in upstairs. They’re playing that dreadful oompa-oompa techno-disco stuff really loudly as they trundle their brand new IKEA torture-rack into place. I should at least pop over with a copy of the first Bronski Beat album for them. Not to worry, I’m off to my new home in about six weeks. Yes, five years of undergraduate/pre-med studies have paid-off and I begin Medical school in August.
Alright, that’s enough out of me. I had better go rehearse as I haven’t played live since Francis’ 2003 UK tour. (That’s the one where I told a crowd of unemployed oil-rig workers in Aberdeen that Nile Rogers tried to take me back to his place.) Talking of which, where’s that Bronski Beat album?
After working for many years behind the scenes, Stephen finally realized he had his own story to tell. He plucked up enough courage to take on the lead vocals & brought his own brand of melancholy to the forefront. The resulting songs are on his debut CD 'Songs From The Mission Of Hope'.
Since the 2002 album release Stephen has been busy studying at Columbia University in New York City towards his goal of becoming a Doctor of Medicine.
Keeping a low profile musically he did wander out of his cave once or twice to perform some acoustic shows with Francis Dunnery, both in the U.S. and in Europe. He recently contributed a song or two, and some harmonica, towards Dorie Jackson's amazing new C.D. Some of Dorie's C.D. was actually recorded in the same building at Columbia University that housed the initial work on the atomic bomb during WWII.
Stephen is following up his album with a companion DVD due out in the summer of 2008. It is actually a documentary on adoption, and is being filmed in both the U.S. and the U.K. Both film maker Graeme White, and anthropologist Brenda Maiale are collaborating on the project, which features music from the original album and work by other Aquarian Nation artists.
Currently undecided upon the title of the DVD project, Stephen has taken to referring to it as "Unwanted-Dead or Alive." Stephen claims to have written two new songs since the release of the last record. "They're great though. One is called 'Complicated,' about my own childhood, the other is called 'Blue,' about somebody else's childhood. At this rate I'll be ready to record a new record by 2037."
Aquarian Nation has recently released Oh Marie, a music video from Stephen Harris' debut album, Songs From The Mission Of Hope. View HERE
