Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris (born March 30, 1930 in Perth ) is an Australian musician, painter and television entertainer.
biography
Harris was born the son of Welsh immigrants in Bassendean, a suburb of the Western Australian city of Perth. In his younger years he was a successful swimmer, was an Australian youth champion and was a several times Western Australian champion. Nevertheless, his interest in art and entertainment predominated, which is why he gave up a teaching degree in Australia and studied art at the City and Guilds Arts School in London at the age of 22 . From 1953 he appeared in London on children's television.
First success
Harris was also into music. At the age of nine he had learned to play the piano and had already made money as a piano teacher. In 1958 he accidentally invented the "wobble board", an elastic hardboard made of masonite , which was originally intended to serve as a canvas and which warped when it dried. The "wobble board" is held slightly curved with both hands and, by shaking movements, is made to jump back and forth, creating a rhythmic noise. He used the sound to represent the jumping kangaroos for the song Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport . The Novelty song was a great success in Great Britain and made it into the Top 10 in 1960. In 1963 it was released in the USA and even reached number 3. In late 1963, he sang the song for BBC Radio with the Beatles as backing singers and on the Beatles minted extra stanzas.
Unusual instrumentation and noises remained a hallmark of Harris' music. In the song Sun Arise , which was originally a song by the Australian natives, the Aborigines , he imitated the Australian didgeridoo with four double basses and later with a stylophone . This song also became a hit in Great Britain in 1962.
Music and painting on television
After working on children's television in Australia from 1960 to 1962, Rolf Harris finally relocated to England and not only worked there in television entertainment, but also presented a TV series in Canada. From 1967 he presented The Rolf Harris Show , in which he combined music and painting. In 1971 some episodes of it ran in Germany. The Swedish singer Bibi Johns was co-host . A special highlight of the show was when he, while singing, apparently accidentally splashed paint on an oversized screen and the audience puzzled over the meaning. Only at the end was the motif recognizable with a few drawn lines.
In 1969, the Australian had his greatest musical hit with the maudlin story of two men who shared their toy horse in childhood, and when the two fight as soldiers in the war and one of them is wounded, the other rides up and upsets him his horse safe. The Two Little Boys song was a perfect fit for the Christmas season and became a number one hit in the UK .
At the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982 he was one of the main artists and in addition to a version of Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport , he also sang the "secret national anthem" of Australia, Waltzing Matilda .
He also gave instructions on painting and drawing at Rolf Harris's Cartoon Time and Rolf's Cartoon Club in the 1980s and early 1990s .
Harris had another unusual hit parade in 1993 with a version of the Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven . In the implementation with "wobble board" and didgeridoos in the style of his Kangaroo song, he once again reached the UK Top 10. Since then he has also performed several times at the Glastonbury Festival , one of the largest and most famous rock festivals in Europe.
The hit programs of the nineties
He was also very successful on television. From 1994 he presented Animal Hospital for ten years with stories and contributions from veterinary clinics and veterinary practices. The show was awarded the national television award five times. In Rolf on Art he presented famous painters and in a special of the series 150 pictures, on which 150 people had each painted an enlarged section of the picture "The Hay Cart" by the English landscape painter John Constable , were put together to form a huge replica of the painting.
In 2002 Harris was allowed to exhibit his paintings from Rolf on Art in the English National Gallery .
Queen Elizabeth II had Harris made a portrait of herself in 2005 on the occasion of her 80th birthday. The creation of the picture was also shown as a series special.
In 2005 he played the didgeridoo as a guest musician on Kate Bush's album Aerial .
Sexual abuse conviction
In March 2013, Harris was one of 12 suspects arrested as part of "Operation Yewtree". They were already accused from long ago sexual abuse, which, however, nothing to do with the investigation in the case of the former BBC -Moderators Jimmy Savile should have to do.
He was initially not charged, but denied the allegations, although he made no public comment. When he came back on stage for the first time after his arrest in May 2013, he thanked the audience for the support he had received.
He was arrested again in August 2013 and charged with nine sexual abuse cases against two 14 and 16 year old girls from the 1980s. Another indictment was four cases of making indecent children's pictures in 2012, but those charges were dropped. On June 30, 2014, Harris was found guilty of sexual abuse on four then underage girls on 12 counts by a jury panel. The cases had occurred in the 1960s to 1980s. On July 4, 2014, 84 year old Harris was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison. In May 2017, Rolf Harris was released early from prison.
Awards
Rolf Harris was awarded a medal in 1968 (MBE) and 1977 (OBE). In 2006 he was awarded the title of Commander of the British Empire ; this title was stripped from him because of his conviction in March 2015. His admission to the ARIA Hall of Fame from 2008 was also revoked.
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK | US | |||
1963 | Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport & Sun Arise | - |
US29 (9 weeks) US |
|
1997 | Can You Tell What It Is Yet? |
UK70 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
- more albums
|
|
Compilations
|
|
EPs
|
|
Singles
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK | US | |||
1960 | Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport At the Arctic Club |
UK9 (13 weeks) UK |
US3 (11 weeks) US |
Chart entry in the USA in June 1963
Author: Rolf Harris |
1962 | Sun Arise Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport & Sun Arise |
UK3 (19 weeks) UK |
US61 (7 weeks) US |
Chart entry in the USA in March 1963
Authors: Harry Butler, Rolf Harris |
1963 | Johnny Day Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport & Sun Arise |
UK44 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
Authors: Harry Butler, Rolf Harris
|
Nick Teen and Al K. Hall Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport & Sun Arise |
- |
US95 (1 week) US |
Author: Rolf Harris
|
|
1969 | Bluer Than Blue The Best of Rolf Harris |
UK30 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
Authors: Ken Howard & Alan Blaikley , Barry Mason
|
Two Little Boys Jake the Peg in Vancouver Town |
UK1 (25 weeks) UK |
- | ||
1993 |
Stairway to Heaven Rolf Rules OK! |
UK7 (6 weeks) UK |
- | |
1995 | Ego Sum Pauper |
UK83 (3 weeks) UK |
- | |
1996 | Bohemian Rhapsody |
UK50 (2 weeks) UK |
- | |
2000 | Fine day |
UK24 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
Authors: Steve Lima, Rolf Harris
|
- more singles
|
|
swell
- ^ Josh Halliday: Rolf Harris charged operation yewtree. In: The Guardian UK News. August 30, 2010, accessed August 30, 2011 .
- ^ Rolf Harris guilty of indecent assaults. BBC News, June 30, 2014, accessed July 1, 2014 .
- ^ Rolf Harris jailed for five years and nine months. BBC News, July 4, 2014, accessed July 4, 2014 .
- ↑ Naziah Parveen: Rolf Harris released from prison after almost three years. In: theguardian.com. May 19, 2017, accessed June 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris stripped of CBE on the BBC News website from March 3, 2015 (English).
- ^ Rolf Harris stripped of his ARIA Hall of Fame induction. The Sydney Morning Herald , July 1, 2014, accessed August 5, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles UK US Albums US
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7
literature
- Can You Tell What It Is Yet ?, Rolf Harris, Bantam Press, 2002, autobiography
Web links
- Homepage of Rolf Harris
- Rolf Harris in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Rolf Harris at Allmusic (English)
- Rolf Harris at Discogs (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Harris, Rolf |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian musician, painter and television entertainer |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 30, 1930 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Perth , Australia |