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Blaine Harrison
Blaine Harrison (born 23 May 1986) is an English musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Mystery Jets.

Early life
Blaine enjoyed art and music as a young child, he started playing instruments from the age of five and constantly listened to his father's old records, such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon. He experimented with drumming at the age of eight, as well as guitar and piano later on. Blaine's father, Henry Harrison, is a former architect and designer, the middle of three brothers. Henry had an authoritarian father who sent him to a strict boarding school when he was young and was both physically and sexually abused, which caused qualms about parenting as he grew to be a father. He was named "18th coolest person in rock" by NME in 2005. Blaine's mother, Helen Harrison, is divorced from Henry and lives in the southwest of France. When Henry went bankrupt as a result of the 1990s recession, Blaine moved with his older sister Dymphna and his mother to Dordogne. Three years later, they moved back to London but by that time, his parents have broken up. Blaine went to Kingsley College to study art before dropping out to focus on his work with Mystery Jets. His first job was as a graphic designer for his friend's advertising agency, which he got right after leaving school.

Mystery Jets

 * Main article: Mystery Jets

Mystery Jets was first based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London in 2004. The current line-up includes Blaine Harrison (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, effects), William Rees (guitar, backing and lead vocals, keyboards, percussion), Kai Fish (bass, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards), Kapil Trivedi (drums), and Henry Harrison (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion). Tamara Pearce-Higgins was formerly on the organ but has left the band. Henry's presence in the band made it all the more original as a father and son band is not a very common element seen in modern-day music. He was a full-time member until moving to a background role during the recording of Twenty One. Henry no longer goes on tour with Mystery Jets but still remains active in the creative process. Blaine explains the reason for his father's decreased role: “One reason Henry left was that we felt we wanted to change. It felt right that the songs should come more from our perspective. We’ve always had an amazing relationship for a father and son, and on the road we did a lot of cool stuff together. But there came a point where he realised I needed my own space so I could do all the things a 23-year-old does.” Mystery Jets has released four studio albums, Making Dens (2006), Zootime (2007), Twenty One (2008), and Serotonin (2010). They have also released an EP called Flotsam and Jetsam. Blaine has announced that the band is currently working on a new studio album, with the working title of Luminescence. Henry's presence in the band made it all the more original as a father and son band is not a very common element seen in modern-day music. He was a full-time member until moving to a background role during the recording of Twenty One. Henry no longer goes on tour with Mystery Jets but still remains active in the creative process. Blaine explains the reason for his father's decreased role: “One reason Henry left was that we felt we wanted to change. It felt right that the songs should come more from our perspective. We’ve always had an amazing relationship for a father and son, and on the road we did a lot of cool stuff together. But there came a point where he realised I needed my own space so I could do all the things a 23-year-old does.”

Personal life
Blaine enjoys watching Prison Break and Dexter. His favourite drink is Amaretto and Coke. He has said in an interview that if he didn't live in the U.K., he would live in France with his mum. Due to Blaine's inability to speak French, he says, "At the time I found it quite difficult being so out of the loop, but looking back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It taught me to use my imagination more. I made music because I couldn't speak the language ." Blaine greatly admires Robert Wyatt and has meet one of his idols, Johnny Rotten, but says the experience was a disillusionment, seeing as how he saw a "vulgar" side to Johnny that didn't come across in his art. Blaine has cited his breakup with his girlfriend as a big inspiration behind the album Twenty One, saying, "It was the worst time of my life. I felt very depressed, but what came out of it were some of the best songs I have ever written. It kind of proved to me that it’s good to channel anger into something ."

Life with disability
Blaine was born with a condition called spina bifida. His father recalls that Blaine's leg muscles didn't develop properly and that there was not much sensation in his lower body, although Blaine's upper body and brain functioned normally. Between the ages of 3 and 10, Blaine went under five major operations. He was often in a wheelchair or with plaster up to his armpits. Henry says Blaine was very positive despite these obstacles and emitted an optimistic outlook, channeling his feelings through his passion for music and art. Blaine uses crutches with psychedelic stripes painted on them and keeps his disability a discreet matter. Blaine was quoted in an interview with the BBC saying, "When we first got together as a band we decided that we wouldn't make my disability an issue, the same way we didn't make a big deal of my dad being in the band. We didn't want to be gimmicks. We wanted people to read our lyrics and listen to our music." Blaine has said playing live as a disable person is sometimes hard work, seeing as many modern facilities still do not have the means to cater for disabled people. He has made it clear that Mystery Jets will only play in venues who have made an effort to cater for people with disabilities and refrain from playing in small, crowded pubs. Blaine admits that sometimes he doesn't realise his body's limitations and has fallen ill, notably in the summer of 2008 when Mystery Jets have pulled out of several UK and European festivals because of Blaine's condition and hospitalisation. Blaine apologised to his fans in a letter on Mystery Jet's Myspace blog, saying he had pressure sores on his feet and the doctor advised him he must rest for three weeks.