Lauren Harris

Lauren Harris (born 6 July 1984) is a British rock singer and classically trained actress. She is the daughter of Steve Harris, the bassist of Iron Maiden, and Lorraine Harris. After completing her primary and secondary education at Saint Nicholas School, Old Harlow, Essex, Harris attended Leventhorpe School, Sawbridgeworth,^[1] Hertfordshire, where she obtained her A-Levels, including Theatre Studies.

Lauren Harris
Lauren Harris in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Lauren Harris
Born	(1984-07-06) 6 July 1984 (age 40) Essex, England
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal pop rock
Occupations	Musician vocalist actress
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Demolition DR2 Records Transcend Music

Harris began her music career singing in pubs in 2005, and went on to record demo material for Russ Ballard,^[2] before touring with Iron Maiden and releasing her debut album, Calm Before The Storm, in 2008.^[3] From 2010, Harris toured with her new hard rock band, Six Hour Sundown, performing at venues in the UK as well as the European Graspop,^[4] Download,^[5] and Sonisphere^[6] festivals. She frequently performs barefoot.^[7] Harris commenced a new musical project, Kingdom of I, working with songwriter Dave Stewart^[8][9] and drummer Shauney Recke.^[10]

Harris is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art^[11] and the Oxford School of Drama^[12] and has appeared in numerous stage productions,^[11][13] highlighting with a London production as the role of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Harris has appeared in the feature film Adrift in Soho.^[11][14]

Career

Music

Harris began singing in pubs and bars with a friend; after one of the performances, she was invited to Russ Ballard's house and studio to record a demo.^[15][16]

From 2005 to 2008, Harris worked with Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Tom McWilliams,^[15][17] who assisted with song arrangement and composition. McWilliams also toured with Harris, performing as the band's drummer.

Harris toured Europe, playing outdoor festivals such as the German Rock Am Ring,^[18] Rock Am Park and UK Download festivals.

Harris supported Iron Maiden on their A Matter of Life and Death world tour, playing at Dubai^[19] and the Brixton Academy, London,^[20] amongst other venues.^[21] When the tour concluded, Harris released her debut album entitled Calm Before the Storm, mixed by Kevin Shirley. She continued to tour the UK and Europe in support of the release. Harris joined Iron Maiden again, this time on the Somewhere Back In Time World tour.^[22]

In addition to supporting Iron Maiden, between 2006 and 2009 the Lauren Harris Band toured as a support act with bands such as Alice Cooper, Within Temptation, and Mötley Crüe.^[1]

In 2008 Harris named musical influences including Belinda Carlisle, Shakespears Sister, Alanis Morissette, Heart, Def Leppard and the Foo Fighters.^[16]

From 2010, following lineup changes, the Lauren Harris Band began touring under the new name "Six Hour Sundown". The band recorded new tracks at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas^[23] but only Jekyll & Hyde saw commercial release, becoming available as a single for Download in 2011.^[24] The band played numerous festivals before deciding to part ways in late 2012.^[25]

In 2013, Harris moved to Los Angeles to commence work on a new musical project, Kingdom of I, with songwriter and producer Dave Stewart^[8][9] and drummer Shauney Recke.^[10] The debut track Crying at the Disco was released as a free download on Soundcloud in late 2013.^[26][27][28]

A Spotify playlist posted to the official Kingdom of I Facebook, intended to give a flavour for the type of music to expect on the album, cited musical influences such as Flyleaf, Muse, Paramore, Stone Sour, Annie Lennox and Stevie Nicks.^[29][30]

Acting

While in Los Angeles to work on Kingdom of I, Harris undertook classes in acting at Howard Fine Studios.^[1][31] She continued her training by completing a semester in classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2014.^[11][1] In September 2016, Harris graduated from a one-year postgraduate course in acting at the Oxford School of Drama.^[12]

Between 2013 and 2015, Harris completed work in principal photography for the feature film, Adrift In Soho,^[14][32] which was released in 2018.

In September 2013, Harris was named as one of Variety Magazine's "10 Brits To Watch".^[33]

Harris has appeared in numerous stage productions,^[11][13] including A Streetcar Named Desire at London's Pack and Carriage and Measure For Measure at Oxford's North Wall, which received favourable reviews.^[34][35][36] In November 2016, she appeared in the role of Beth Armstrong for the BBC Radio 4 play Michael and Boris: The Two Brexiteers.^[37]

Harris' musical experience has influenced her acting career, with her recording an original song for a commercial for the technology company Eizo,^[38] and her role as the Witch in a production of the musical Into The Woods at the Oxford School of Drama.^[13]

In November 2016, Harris appeared in the role of sound technician in the music video for Bring Me the Horizon’s single "Oh No".^[39] Harris’ other work includes Global commercial roles for the companies Eizo Global,^[38][1] Active Digital,^[1] and Coms Plc.^[1]

Line-up

Solo

• Lauren Harris – vocals (2005–2010)
• Randy Gregg – bass guitar, backing vocals (2005–2010)
• Richie Faulkner – guitars, backing vocals (2005–2010)
• Tommy McWilliams – drums (2005–2008)
• Olly Smith – drums (2008–2010)

Six Hour Sundown

• Lauren Harris – vocals (2010–2012)
• Olly Smith – drums (2010–2012)
• Tommy Gentry – guitars (2010–2012)
• James Bennet – guitars (2010–2012)
• Mitch Witham – bass (2010–2012)

Kingdom of I

• Lauren Harris – vocals (2013)
• Shauney Recke – drums (2013)

Discography

Lauren Harris Band

• Calm Before the Storm (2008)
• Your Turn (2009)

Six Hour Sundown

• Jekyll and Hyde (2011)

Kingdom of I

• Crying at the Disco (2013)

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Director	Company	Notes
2009	Iron Maiden: Flight 666	Self	Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen	Banger Films	Documentary
2016	Graft	Grace	Johnny Burke	Thunderbolt Productions	Short
2016	The Lonely Road	Maggie	Robert Dowling	Dowling Productions	Short
2016	Light	Lara	George Peck	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Longing	Varia	Jane Arnell	The Oxford School of Drama
2017	Adrift In Soho	Myra	Pablo Behrens	Burning Films
2017	Royal Recipes	Voiceover	Viggo Oprita	BBC Creative	TV promo
2017	The Interrogation	Agent Emily Clarke	Tung-Ying Hsieh	London Film School	Short
2017	Calling Home	Hotel Staff	Megan K. Fox		Short

Stage

Year	Title	Character	Director	Company
2014	Women Beware Women	Bianca	Nick Hutchinson	LAMDA
2014	Twelfth Night	Feste/Fabian	Tina Marian	LAMDA
2014	The Winter's Tale	Hermione	Matthew Smith	LAMDA
2016	A Streetcar Named Desire	Blanche Dubois	Vince Ade	Fox and Chips
2016	Philistines	Elena	Steve Woodward	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Into The Woods	Witch	Louisa Farrant	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Time and the Conways	Joan	Steve Woodward	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Closer	Alice	Kirsty McFarland	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Measure For Measure	Mistress Overdone	Oscar Toeman	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Flashes	Street Cleaner	Polina Kalinina	Soho Theatre
2017	Oxblood Red	Katie	Chris Terrell	Union Theatre

Radio

Year	Title	Character	Director	Company
2016	Michael and Boris: The Two Brexiteers	Beth Armstrong	Dirk Maggs	BBC Radio 4
2016	For Services Rendered	Mrs Ardseley	Jane Morgan	The Oxford School of Drama
2016	Colder Than Here	Harriet	Jonathan Tafler	The Oxford School of Drama

Music videos

Year	Artist	Title	Role	Company	Director
2016	Bring Me the Horizon	Oh No	Music Engineer	Forever Pictures	Isaac Eastgate
2012	Six Hour Sundown	Shadow Of My Past	Self	Endless Media, We Are Sweet
2012	Six Hour Sundown	Jekyll & Hyde	Self	Transcend Music	John McMurtrie
2009	Lauren Harris Band	Your Turn - Live In Dubai	Self	The Orchard, Lauren Harris Ltd.
2008	Lauren Harris Band	Steal Your Fire	Self	Lauren Harris Ltd.
2006	Lauren Harris Band	Your Turn	Self	Monstro Visionary Entertainment
2006	Lauren Harris Band	Get Over It	Self	Ars Nova Revolution	Pablo Erminy