Introduction
Roy Harper is a unique individual and innovative songwriter who took his first uncharacteristically tentative steps into the London folk scene during the mid-sixties.
Roy was born on the 12th of June 1941 into the middle of World War 2 and sadly his mother died a few days later from mastitis – a common breast infection that is nowadays easily treatable. The loss of his mother has naturally had a lifelong impact on Roy’s personality.
Roy’s father married again. His stepmother was a strict and religious woman and Roy’s life of rebellion began.
Roy’s first memory is of being held in someone’s arms looking towards a red glow on the horizon and being told ‘Manchester’s really copping it tonight’.
Roy was a wayward child and his younger years were marked by him constantly being in trouble at home and school. As a young boy he was found pedalling on his trike towards Liverpool, many miles from home. Roy’s dislike of the religion his stepmother imposed led to him performing pagan ceremonies and burying effigies in his back garden.
The genteel town of Lytham St Annes where Roy lived, was once described by him as a cemetery with a bus stop. The tedium of life in the drowsy town portrayed a conservative ethos he fought against.
As Roy moved into his teenage years, minor incidents progressed into more serious crimes. He and a small group of friends alternated between running free in the countryside and taking part in sprees of shoplifting and vandalism. These ranged from stealing chocolates in Woolworth to breaking into Lytham’s cricket pavilion. They drank the booze they found inside the pavilion and then burnt the building to the ground.
On one occasion Roy and a friend rampaged through the town pulling up freshly planted saplings from along the roadside and then hoisting a weighing machine through the window of the public toilets. Exhausted by their exploits they looked for somewhere to get their heads down and broke into a garage. They fell asleep in a car and were discovered in the morning by the owner who unfortunately happened to be a policeman.
Continued rebelliousness, including a string of minor offences, culminated with Roy being arrested. He was found guilty of daubing swastikas and a hammer and sickle on the Town Hall – ostensibly a protest aimed at the councillors (who he considered to be a bunch of Nazis) and against the Russian invasion of Hungary. It was sufficient to produce a double spread article with photos in the Daily Mirror.
This was just the beginning.
At the age of fifteen, in order to escape from his stepmother and the mayhem he had created, Roy signed up to the Royal Air Force for five years with dreams of becoming a pilot. Life in the RAF was not how he imagined. Roy tried his hand at boxing, which provided some respite, but the unremitting discipline and tedium of life as a serviceman became unbearable. After two years he knew he had to get out. Without the cash to buy his discharge Roy decided to feign madness – not too difficult a task in his case. He was very successful at convincing the military doctors. The RAF discharged him – but only as far as RAF Princess Mary’s mental institution where he was assessed and treated. After being sectioned he was forcibly medicated with strong drugs (lithium and largactyl) and even subjected to ECT (electric shock therapy). Eventually Roy was transferred to Lancaster Moore mental institution where, in order to keep his ‘insanity’, Roy decided he had to escape. Being of slight build he was able to squeeze through a fanlight window and flee. I have a mental image of Roy, wearing one of those gowns that ties at the back, racing across the grass and scaling the wall – although I’m sure it probably wasn’t quite like that.
Introduction
Roy Harper is a unique individual and innovative songwriter who took his first uncharacteristically tentative steps into the London folk scene during the mid-sixties.
Roy was born on the 12th of June 1941 into the middle of World War 2 and sadly his mother died a few days later from mastitis – a common breast infection that is nowadays easily treatable. The loss of his mother has naturally had a lifelong impact on Roy’s personality.
Roy’s father married again. His stepmother was a strict and religious woman and Roy’s life of rebellion began.
Roy’s first memory is of being held in someone’s arms looking towards a red glow on the horizon and being told ‘Manchester’s really copping it tonight’.
Roy was a wayward child and his younger years were marked by him constantly being in trouble at home and school. As a young boy he was found pedalling on his trike towards Liverpool, many miles from home. Roy’s dislike of the religion his stepmother imposed led to him performing pagan ceremonies and burying effigies in his back garden.
The genteel town of Lytham St Annes where Roy lived, was once described by him as a cemetery with a bus stop. The tedium of life in the drowsy town portrayed a conservative ethos he fought against.
As Roy moved into his teenage years, minor incidents progressed into more serious crimes. He and a small group of friends alternated between running free in the countryside and taking part in sprees of shoplifting and vandalism. These ranged from stealing chocolates in Woolworth to breaking into Lytham’s cricket pavilion. They drank the booze they found inside the pavilion and then burnt the building to the ground.
On one occasion Roy and a friend rampaged through the town pulling up freshly planted saplings from along the roadside and then hoisting a weighing machine through the window of the public toilets. Exhausted by their exploits they looked for somewhere to get their heads down and broke into a garage. They fell asleep in a car and were discovered in the morning by the owner who unfortunately happened to be a policeman.
Continued rebelliousness, including a string of minor offences, culminated with Roy being arrested. He was found guilty of daubing swastikas and a hammer and sickle on the Town Hall – ostensibly a protest aimed at the councillors (who he considered to be a bunch of Nazis) and against the Russian invasion of Hungary. It was sufficient to produce a double spread article with photos in the Daily Mirror.
This was just the beginning.
At the age of fifteen, in order to escape from his stepmother and the mayhem he had created, Roy signed up to the Royal Air Force for five years with dreams of becoming a pilot. Life in the RAF was not how he imagined. Roy tried his hand at boxing, which provided some respite, but the unremitting discipline and tedium of life as a serviceman became unbearable. After two years he knew he had to get out. Without the cash to buy his discharge Roy decided to feign madness – not too difficult a task in his case. He was very successful at convincing the military doctors. The RAF discharged him – but only as far as RAF Princess Mary’s mental institution where he was assessed and treated. After being sectioned he was forcibly medicated with strong drugs (lithium and largactyl) and even subjected to ECT (electric shock therapy). Eventually Roy was transferred to Lancaster Moore mental institution where, in order to keep his ‘insanity’, Roy decided he had to escape. Being of slight build he was able to squeeze through a fanlight window and flee. I have a mental image of Roy, wearing one of those gowns that ties at the back, racing across the grass and scaling the wall – although I’m sure it probably wasn’t quite like that.
Thanks so much for all the brilliant Reviews!! Keep ’em coming!!
Roy Harper: Every Album, Every Song (On Track): Amazon.co.uk: Opher Goodwin: 9781789521306: Books
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