The Wisdom of Harry was an experimental electronic music ensemble from London, England. The group was formed by Peter Astor, formerly the singer/songwriter of Weather Prophets and The Loft, in 1997 and began doing remixes for musicians such as Cornelius and Andrew Weatherall. The Wisdom of Harry's early singles were collected and released as Stars of Super 8 in 1999 on Matador Records. The band made two further albums for Matador. In 2000, House of Binary in which Astor pursued a combination of instrumental, electronic compositions and more lyric driven, song-based work. In 2003, "Torch Division" marked a return to songs, including a cover of Anne Briggs' "Tangled Man".
Links to Peel[]
Peel played tracks from the ensemble between 1999 and 2003 on his shows, as well as a session for his programme in 2000.
Sessions[]
THE WISDOM OF HARRY John Peel 27th September 2000
1. Recorded: 2000-09-27. First Broadcast: 14 November 2000. Repeated: 25 January 2001
- Shiny Shiny Pimpmobile / I'm Going To Make My Life Right / Rebellious Jukebox / Hail Tinseltown
2. Recorded live: 2000-12-21. First Broadcast: 21 December 2000
- I Will Cry At Christmas
Other Shows Played[]
- 1998
- April 1998 (FSK): Pure Gold Henry (7") Wurlitzer Jukebox
- 05 May 1998: Pure Gold Henry (7") Wurlitzer Jukebox
- 03 September 1998: Charlie Crumbs Dark Days (EP - Staying In With The Wisdom Of Harry) Lissy's
- 06 September 1998 (BFBS): 'Charles Crumb's Dark Days (10"-Staying In With The Wisdom Of Harry)' (Lissy's)
- 08 September 1998: Samovaar (LP - Staying In With...) Lissy's
- 03 December 1998: '23 Sky (Compilation LP-Mind Horizon Records: An Introduction)' (Mind Horizon)
- 1999
- 24 June 1999 (Radio Eins): Fragments Of Harris (7") Motorway
- 22 July 1999: 'Fragments Of Harris (7")' (Motorway)
- 22 July 1999 (Radio Eins): Pure Gold Henry (CD - Stars Of Super 8) Matador
- 2000
- 24 August 2000: 'Unit 1' (LP 'House Of Binary') Matador
- 29 August 2000: 'Caesar Boots' (LP 'House Of Binary') Matador
- 31 August 2000: 'March Of The Otaku' (LP 'House Of Binary') Matador
- 06 September 2000: 'Theme from Eggboy (CD-House Of Binary)' (Matador)
- 26 September 2000: Sleepwalking (LP - House Of Binary) Matador
- 03 October 2000: I'm Going To Make My Life Right (Matador)
- 10 October 2000: The Wisdom (LP: House Of Binary) Matador
- 12 October 2000 (Radio Eins): I'm Going To Make My Life Right (Matador)
- 2001
- 11 April 2001: Caesar Boots (7” single) Matador
- 2003
- 23 September 2003: 'Neon Suit (LP - Torch Division)' (Matador)