BIO:
HOW IT STARTED
in Greg's own words...
"Having been indoctrinated with music at an early age by listening to my late father playing his records and harmonicas throughout my childhood, I grew up with a broad love of music. To me music evokes such powerful emotions, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but all part of life's 'long highway'. I remember as a child being one of the 'Cherokees' chasing my dad around our house as 'Three Wheels On My Wagon' was playing on his record player. I remember the clock on the wall ticking in the film High Noon to 'Do Not Forsake Me'. Moments in time, captured forever in my mind by the magic of music.
"In my early teens I purchased my first 'LP' Elvis Rock and Roll No:2 and was awestruck by the raw emotions evoked by Elvis's vocals. His singing captured my heart and led me onto other similar artists like Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. These artists were not in anyway 'in vogue' with my school contemporaries. However one classmate did lend me 'The Eagles Greatest Hits' and I fell in love with their music. I'd secretly listen to it, in stereo, on my dad's record player before he came home from work. The Eagles are still a favourite of mine to this day.
"In my later teens I discovered the work of Bruce Springsteen when I purchased the album 'The River'. I found that Bruce could invoke a whole movie of images in my mind with just a few words in the line of a song, a beautiful talent, one that makes him my strongest songwriting influence. To me a song needs to convey a story, a mood and feelings, so that the listener can picture and have empathy with the song, the story, or the characters in it. This is something that I strife to achieve when I write my own songs.
"For the last twenty odd years or so, I have listened to many other singer-songwriters too. Some of my favourites are John Hiatt, Chris Isaak, Nick Lowe, Steve Knightley, Sarah McLachlan and Mary Chapin Carpenter, to name just a few".
Over the last few years Greg's own songs have been reaching out to new
ears and gaining their own momentum.
He was a finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition in 2008 and a semifinalist in the same competition in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
His songs have been used to promote many diverse issues, from drawing attention to the loss of ancient woodland, by The Woodland Trust, in 'All Gone', to... raising awareness of the injustice of the legal system when dealing with the issues of road death in 'Mary Lou.'
His moving song 'Capel-le-Ferne' remembers the sacrifice made by 'The Few' in the summer of 1940 and in 'November Sky,' the awful events surrounding the Luftwaffe's bombing of Coventry on the 14th November that same year.
His latest album 'Well Spun Lies' has just been released to excellent reviews.
http://www.folkwords.com/reviewarchive_72343.html
Greg's songs are characterized by thought-provoking lyrics and gentle melodies and have received the following warm reviews.
'Beautiful lyrics!!!
I am a songwriter in Canada - I was trying hard to put lyrics together on a song I've still not finished - so I went looking for award-winning lyrics to get some inspiration. The first thing I found was some lyrics for a big hit song that talked about "I wanna take pills and get drunk all night, etc. etc" and it totally disillusioned me....but then I found your "So Little Gain" and it made me choke!! Awesome, amazing - too bad that songs like this don't get on the radio waves here in Canada. Thanks for sharing those lyrics! Would love to hear the song sometime and perhaps play it in a show of mine!'
Jacquie Drew
'Really beautiful soulful songs you are composing here.'
Andy Smythe
'One of the south coast's leading acoustic troubadours, Greg Harper expands on his impressive canon of songs with the release of "Songs of Remembrance", a beautifully-presented 4-track "CD EP" of material dedicated to the brave men and women who have devoted and given their lives in the service of their country.
The songs all boast Greg's characteristically thought-provoking lyrics, and the CD is also particularly impressive in production terms, with a rich, warm sound prevailing throughout, and the addition of sparse backing and subtle vocal harmonies to a couple of the tracks adds to the overall quality.
If you're a fan of Greg's, or just enjoy thought-provoking singer-songwriter-driven acoustic music, this release is a must buy!'
Chris Davis, Willows Folk Club, Arundel
'Songs to contemplate and remember.'
Around Kent Folk
'Your support spot was a definite highlight of the evening for us all and we hope to hear you
play live again sometime soon.'
Suntrap