Harry Bradley
Biography
From the CD Booklet " As i Carelessly Did Stray "
Harry was born in South Belfast in 1974, to a family that had no music in its background. At the age of 12 he started playing tin whistle, inspired to do so by the records of such groups as Planxty and the Bothy Band. Later he received further inspiration from local flute players such as Noel Lenihan, Michael Clarkson, Sam Murray and Brendan O'Hare. Delving deeper into traditional music's past, he discovered the great players of the 1920s - particularly John McKenna, Tom Morrison and fiddler James Morrison.
Recordings by contemporary flute-players such as Seamus Tansey and Desi Wilkinson played a further part in his musical formation.
In 1992 Harry received a bursary from the Northern Ireland Arts Council and moved to Galway City, where he took full advantage of the booming music scene and got the chance to play with practacally everybody who passed through. He still lives in Galway and while there has done a lot of work for TG4, the country's Irish language television station. He has also toured with the groups Cran and Dervish and has played on Altan's album THE BLUE IDOL. Harry's debut album BAD TURNS and HORSE-SHOE BENDS was chosen as the best Traditional album of 2000 by Earle Hitchner in The Irish Echo.