Jet Harris Memorial Fund - Jet Harris MBE

Terence Harris was born in Kingsbury, North London on 6th July 1939. He was nicknamed 'Jet' by his school friends because of his sprinting prowess. Jet initially played upright bass before becoming the first player in the UK to acquire an electric bass guitar.

It was Jet who suggested the name 'Shadows' for Cliff Richard's backing group. Jet, with his blond quiff, moody James Dean aura and fabulous performances defined the art of electric bass guitar playing in the UK between 1959 and 1963.

He was truly iconic, inspiring thousands to take up the instrument. Jet appeared on no fewer than 24 number one hit recordings with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, including Living Doll, Travelling Light, Please Don't Tease, The Young Ones, Apache, Wonderful Land and, after leaving the Shadows, his number one hit in partnership with Tony Meehan, Diamonds.

In recognition of his massive influence, Jet was presented with two lifetime achievement awards (1998 and 2010) by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In 2010 Jet Harris received an MBE (presented by HRH Queen Elizabeth II) in acknowledgement of his outstanding services to music.

He continued to perform in the UK and Europe with great success until five weeks before his death. Jet was much loved by his fans and his final performance was on 5th February 2011 at Fareham in Hampshire, England.

For an in-depth history of Jet's career and discography, see www.jetharris.biz.