Interview - Blaine Harrison: Keeping it in the family and on the road

To most 20-something singers bent on success in the music business, having your dad as a bandmate would be an embarrassment. To Blaine Harrison, it's just the way things turned out.

It was his father who first introduced him to music, playing him his collection of prog-rock albums as a child, and when Blaine formed Mystery Jets together with school friend Will Rees in 2004, it was natural that Henry Harrison came along for the ride.

Since then two other members, Kai Fish and Kapil Trivedi, have come on

board and while 60-year-old Henry has given up the live performances, he remains a key member of the band.

"Some people find it strange, and that's understandable, but it's never really bothered me, we've always been a great team," says Blaine.

"He was there from the start and he was there when we supported Arctic Monkeys, but the fact he no longer tours with us has made things a little bit wilder.

"He was never overbearing, but he kept a watchful eye over us. Now I guess I can be like any other singer in a band, but because he's

still involved in the songwriting the dynamic between us all hasn't really changed."

Next month Mystery Jets will release their third studio album, Serotonin, and as they prepare to do the usual round of summer festivals, including an appearance at Glastonbury today and Leeds and Reading in August, they are also getting ready to perform an exclusive MySpace gig in Leeds.

Until this week the venue had been kept secret, but on Tuesday, Blaine and co will arrive at Brudenell Social Club for an intimate performance of their new songs and old favourites.

"It's a nice way to start the summer," says Blaine. "Playing for a small group of fans is a really special event for us and a completely different atmosphere from the festivals.

"When you're on stage at somewhere like Glastonbury you know that most of

the people standing there haven't necessarily come to see you.

"They may be waiting for whoever is coming up next or they might have wandered into the field entirely by accident.

"It does make you work a lot harder, but when you

play somewhere like the Brudenell you get a more instant reaction from the people who buy your music.

"Besides, I think I'm getting a bit old for festivals."

He might only be 25, but his sense of having an old head on young shoulders is understandable.

Born with spina bifida, Blaine spent much of his early years in hospital. Between the ages of three and 10 he had five major operations and, just when life seemed to be sorting itself out, his father went bankrupt, losing his architectural practice in the 1990s recession. As Henry tried to pick up the pieces, Blaine moved with his sister and mother to the family holiday home in the Dordogne, but his parents' marriage didn't survive, and when they returned to Britain, he admits to feeling something of an outsider.

"At the time everyone was into Britpop, but I was 11 and into prog-rock," says Blaine. "It was a difficult time for everyone, but it happens and eventually you move on."

Blaine uses crutches, but his disability isn't something he likes to dwell on. He's just another music-obsessed singer who wants to make records.

"I think our new album is the most concise and complete we have made so far," he says.

"When we're writing, it's a little bit like being back at school. We go off into our separate corners, me with Henry, and then we email each other what we've done.

"Once we get into the studio we pull it all together. It's a collaborative process that just seems to work for us.

"Because of my dad, every time I hear something from the '80s, I come over all nostalgic. Certainly some of those sounds are still present on the album, but I hope the fans will see that we have moved on."

Whatever the critics make of Serotonin, Blaine is more than happy with the finished album – and so is his dad.

"Mystery Jets is one extended family, although I try not to talk too much about music or the band when I'm with my other relatives," says Blaine.

"The real difficulty is keeping my dad quiet. He's a man who likes to natter."

Mystery Jets play Brudenell Social Club, Leeds on Jun 22. To be in with a chance of winning tickets, go to myspace.com/secretshowsuk