Oscar Harrison

Oscar Harrison
Harrison singing lead vocals in Ocean Colour Scene's cover of 'My Time' in Leeds
Background information
Birth name	Oscar Harrison
Born	(1965-04-15) 15 April 1965 (age 51) Birmingham, England
Genres	Rock, Britpop, mod revival
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist
Instruments	Vocals, drums, piano,keyboards, bass
Labels	Moseley Shoals
Associated acts	Ocean Colour Scene, Echo Base, The Fanatics, The Beat (British band)
Notable instruments
Ludwig Drum Kit Yamaha Grand Piano Washburn XB600 Korg Synthesizers

Oscar Lloyd Harrison (born 15 April 1965 in Birmingham) is a British musician who currently plays drums with Birmingham-based Ocean Colour Scene and the British ska band The Beat. He also plays piano and bass guitar, and occasionally sings lead vocals.

Harrison's first musical career began with an eleven-piece reggae band called Echo Base. Harrison had stated that he knew he wanted to be a musician from the moment he watched Top of the Pops, an English performance show, and that he always admired reggae giant Burning Spear. Echo Base were signed to the same label as fellow Birmingham band UB40 and, despite releasing an album, disbanded after disagreements.

After talking to Echo Base's manager, Harrison met and joined a band called The Fanatics, where he played alongside future friend Simon Fowler. He had replaced Caroline Bullock, who angrily responded by "outing" homosexual Fowler to British tabloid paper The Sun a few years later. After playing together for a while, The Fanatics too disbanded, along with another Birmingham rock band called The Boys.

After the disbanding of The Boys and the Fanatics, Fowler and Harrison were part of another, new, band called Ocean Colour Scene. This band featured Simon Fowler on lead vocals and acoustic guitar and Oscar Harrison on the drums, with the addition of lead electric guitar player Steve Cradock and bassist Damon Minchella.

Ocean Colour Scene were hugely successful in the Britpop era. They were signed with record label Phfftt, who were later bought out by larger label Phonogram, before signing with other labels such as Island Records and eventually creating their own label, Moseley Shoals Records.