Amazonica

Amazonica

Dirty Harry, born Victoria Harrison (May 10, 1982), is a British rock singer who is now based in Los Angeles.

Early life

Born in London, Harry spent her early life living in Singapore and New York as well as in the UK, and was raised under strict conservative family values – a vicar grandfather and mother in charge of a local Sunday school.

At a young age she turned her back on this strict background and alongside Madonna, Harry connected with singers like Patti Smith and Janis Joplin – great influences in both her youth and musical stylings.

As she grew up, Harry became more and more involved in the London music scene, throwing herself into the social scene at early age. She first experienced the London nightlife at 14 – frequenting the club circuit and London fetish clubs Torture Garden and Slimelight in particular – earning her ‘Dirty’ tag along the way and building a reputation for herself on the underground music scene before launching a music career of her own.

The Trouble With... Harry

Originally recording as "Dirty Harry", Harry recorded two singles (the limited release industrial pop track "Eye" and the similarly styled "Nothing Really Matters") on her own label, Dirty World Records, as well as an early version of her debut album "The Trouble with... Harry". However, the album's release was not to be an easy process and complications ensued, resulting in a legal battle leading to Harry dropping her 'Dirty' tag and rebranding simply as Harry.

The album was re-recorded and edited under this new name and finally, years after its inception, released in April 2003, through Telstar Records along with the album's supporting singles - "So Real", "Imagination" and "Follow Me". "The Trouble with... Harry" charted at #37 in the UK album chart.

In 2003 Cosmetics giants Rimmel used "Imagination" - Harry's industrial pop cover of Belouis Some's hit - to front a TV advertising campaign. The song was also the lead track on Harry's 'Under the Covers' EP which also featured the video for the song.

Songs From The Edge

In 2004 Telstar Records went bankrupt and Harry relocated to Australia for a while before returning to England and then to Hollywood to provide vocals on Tommy Lee's solo album. Whilst in Los Angeles, Harry worked on several collaborations and began work on the follow-up to "The Trouble with... Harry" and took up her 'Dirty' label once again.

In late 2006 Dirty Harry was chosen as the face and voice of internet retail giant buy.com’s $30 million national US marketing campaign, recording a song for, and appearing in the TV advert for the company - providing a platform from which to launch her music career in the US.

In November 2006 Dirty Harry finished recording her eagerly awaited second album ("Songs From the Edge"). Recorded in Los Angeles, the album was produced by multi-platinum Grammy nominated producer Luke Ebbin (Bon Jovi, Rival Schools) and features Curt Schneider engineering and playing bass, David Levita on guitar and Victor Indrizzo on drums.

Later that month Dirty Harry teamed up with celebrated music photographer and long time fan of hers, Mick Rock to create a number of promotional shots for the forthcoming album. The photoshoot took place in New York and several of the photos have been uploaded to the official site and myspace.

Over the Winter of 2006, four new tracks from the album were previewed on Dirty Harry's Myspace and Reverbnation profiles, giving fans a taste of the new sound of Dirty Harry. A further four tracks were briefly added to the Reverbnation page in January, but were soon taken down.

In February 2007 Dirty Harry was confirmed as part of the line-up for 2007's SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas but it was soon announced via the official website that due to a "...recent opportunity Harry will not be performing at SXSW this year and instead will be preparing to hit the road on tour." This was followed up by the announcement that Dirty Harry would play a gig at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, supporting British band Razorlight as well as numerous other gigs across Los Angeles.

In April a music video was recorded for the probable lead single, Frayed At The Edges. The music video was filmed in a single day in Los Angeles - set in Hollywood, a rehearsal studio used by Harry and the Roosevelt Hotel. At the same time, an EPK was recorded of Harry talking about the new album, her influences and development as an artist.

Through the official website it was announced that "Songs From the Edge" would have an online worldwide release date of 25 September 2007 with the physical album available to purchase from the official store on the official Dirty Harry website. The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor of independent music, will handle all digital marketing and promotion for the new CD.

Collaborations

• In 2004 Harry performed a duet on Raymond Watts' album Pigmartyr. The track was called "Take".
• In 2006 Dirty Harry appeared as guest vocalist on "Making Me Crazy" for Tommy Lee's solo album Tommyland.
• Two tracks were also recorded ("Set Fire to Me" and "Never Stop") with Crystal Method for DJ Hyper's album We Control.
• In the same year, she sang alongside Dani Filth in Cradle of Filth's recording of "Temptation" (a cover of Heaven 17) for the album Thornography. She was also in the music video for the song alongside the band.

Television appearances

In 2003 she appeared in a controversial episode of Channel 4 television program Faking it, where she was to help transform a choir girl into a "rock chick"[1]. Controversy arose when participant Laura-Jane Foley claimed she had been misrepresented by the show, however the episode in question had already run into trouble before it even aired, with regular sponsors Smirnoff refusing to be associated with its scenes of "irresponsible drinking" in which Harry appeared hungover after a night out.

Her filmwork also includes a role as Sophie Johnstone in the 1992 TV series Homeward Bound and a small role as lady of the night, Maria, alongside Jonny Lee Miller in the 1999 British film Plunkett & Macleane.

In May 2003 Harry appeared on "Re:covered" (a TV show on the BBC) where she performed "Imagination" and a cover of Blondie's hit "One Way Or Another".

Discography

Albums

• The Trouble with... Harry (2003) (released under the name Harry) - reached #37
• Songs From the Edge (2007)

EPs

• Under the Covers (2003) (released under the name Harry) - reached #43
• God Shaped Hole (2009)

Singles

• "Eye" (2000)
• "Nothing Really Matters" (2001)
• "So Real" (2002) (released under the name Harry) - reached #52
• "Follow Me" (2003) (released under the name Harry) - reached #82

Digital Releases

• All 11 tracks from the album Songs From the Edge were made available to purchase from Dirty Harry's official website, Reverbnation and Myspace profiles in February 2007.

External links

• Dirty Harry's Official Website
• Dirty Harry's Online Community
• IMDb Entry for Victoria Harrison
• GirlBand.Org Entry for Dirty Harry