Harry to play on his doorstep

HARRY Hamilton will be retracing his steps to where it all began for a very special gig to mark his band’s 20 year anniversary.

Harry and his Queen tribute band ‘Flash Harry’ will be playing an outdoor gig at Lurgan Rugby Club on Saturday, June 30.

The venue is just a stone’s throw from where it all began for Harry and close enough to his current home to allow him to use the house as his dressing room.

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Harry, who grew up on the aptly-named Queen Street, said: “The first gig I ever played was Mourneview Community Centre.

“The club is only 200 yards from the community centre so it’s as close as I’m going to get to going back to where it all began.

“I can’t remember what we called ourselves back then. We were a new wave/punk band. We didn’t have enough of our own stuff so we finished with a few covers, the likes of The Undertones and the Sex Pistols.”

47-year-old Harry continued: “We played the rugby club as a covers band before we became a Queen tribute.

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“We’d cover songs by Rod Stewart, Deep Purple, Free, Bad Company, Rolling Stones - rock music from the late 70s. At that stage we did a couple of Queen songs.

“We rehearsed in the rugby club for a while and played a few gigs there when they regularly had bands on. I played there with a few different line ups.

“A lot of my friends played rugby up at Lurgan but not myself.”

He added: “It will be great to see an event like this in the middle of Mourneview. I don’t think there’s ever been an open air event there.

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Harry, who lives in The Hollows on the Gilford Road, said: “It’s literally on my doorstep.

“I can use my house as a changing room. There’s a hole in the fence I could use as a shortcut.

“It’s as close as I can get to playing a gig in my garden. It’s a homecoming gig in every sense of the word.”

It will be a change of surroundings for Harry and his band who in recent years have played sell-out shows in the Odyssey as well as the Royal Albert Hall.

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Flash Harry also won accolades for their show which saw them team up with an orchestra to deliver Queen’s hits as you’ve never heard them before.

Never a band to rest on their laurels Flash Harry will embark on a tour in the autumn with their take on classic Irish rock songs including a gig in Lurgan Town Hall on Saturday, September 22.

The gig in the rugby club takes place on Saturday, June 30. Support comes from Con Jovi (Bon Jovi tribute act) as well as singer/songwriter Courtney Griffin and local rockers Last Minute Earl.

Tickets costs £10 and are available from rugby club members, Craigavon Office Supplies and www.ticketmaster.ie

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