Corona Quarantine Chronicles: On “Lockdown” in London with Harry the Piano

Harry the Piano

An improvising musician known for being able to play any tune in any different style instantly on request, his name is Harry. But he goes by the stage name of “Harry the Piano.”  

He earns his living from playing on various TV and radio shows, touring global festivals, and musically directing acts such as Alexander Armstrong, Rick Astley, Alfie Boe, and Elvis Costello.

Harry also lectures and gives masterclasses on improvisation to schools and colleges up and down the UK. His hobbies are watching and playing football and cricket, setting cryptic crosswords, and visiting the art galleries of the world. He also happens to be married to a Pulitzer prize-winning lawyer named Sarah!

Entertainer at Sea

For eight weeks each year, his show headlines on cruise ships playing from the Norwegian fjords to Antarctica via Barbados! And that’s how I met Harry — aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. (The original, iconic QE2, not its spin-off namesake in Cunard’s current fleet of ocean liners.)

When I think back on those days of sailing the high seas as cruise staff, there’s one particularly fond seafaring reminiscence that comes to mind. It involves Harry.

As per usual at the end of a busy working day, friends (who, by the nature of the business, were all coworkers as well) would end up socializing below decks.

One particular voyage, Harry’d been headlining as guest entertainer and ended up down in crew quarters with us at the end of the evening. Spirits were high! (Perhaps due to our consumption of them!) And once the wee hours had rolled round, a small group of us hard-core devotees managed to infiltrate our way into the senior officers’ wardroom. (Which just happened to have a piano!)

Master of Improv

An atmosphere of excitement reigned! Naturally, we ended up piano-side (a group of ten-or-so shipmates), singing our cares away whilst placing request upon request upon request. It seemed miraculous to me that Harry was able to play, with absolute mastery, all of those requests! Also, there’s something magical about sharing a live, interactive performance of such high caliber in such an intimate setting. I still feel very fortunate to have had that performance all to ourselves!

Fast-forward fifteen (or so) years. Now, with the cruise industry at a complete standstill, Harry’s certainly not performing on ships these days. I reached out to see where Harry is and what the coronavirus situation’s been like for him. Here’s what he had to say.

Where do you live these days? And what has the situation been like there?

I live next to Battersea Park in southwest London. I’m very blessed to have a nice shared garden with 10 houses either side of us and be within 100 yards of London’s prettiest park, which we are able to run and stroll around. Really something to count one’s blessings for.

Our nephew Adam who has just turned 24 had just started a job in London when the situation broke. He had been living with us for nine months and now is here for the foreseeable! Nice to have some youth around the place! There are lots of little local food shops as well as supermarkets around, so again, we’ve been blessed: not really rubbing up against any shortages. Queueing for half an hour at the local supermarket is about as inconvenient as it gets, which is a pretty smooth ride all things considered.

How have you been spending your time?

Performing work has obviously evaporated, so I’ve moved all my eggs into teaching improvisation online. It’s actually a nice endeavour, and works quite well on the new platforms, to which we have all become so accustomed. I think it’s important to establish an element of routine — to which end I have been recording a daily tune in a series called “Lockdown Blues.” Other than that, cooking, running, and writing lots of music in the studio fill the days.

Harry's "Lockdown Blues" are available on his Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channel every day (under the "harrythepiano" handle).

Do you have any message for the world?

“Without resorting to too many platitudes, I really do hope that a positive outcome from this awful situation will be that we all emerge a few notches kinder to each other. The other plus I take is that at least any talk of selling our wonderful NHS, staffed with the bravest and most truly angelic people, will finally be laid to rest once and for all. I take most inspiration from my mother who, at 87 years old, says:

‘Imagine what it was like living through the Blitz. We’d set off for school each day not knowing if we’d have a house or indeed even parents to return to and with no end in sight to the conflict. At least with this we know it will be over in a few months or so.’

This calm and phlegmatic approach really does help give me perspective, but I do very much miss being able to hug her. I guess a direct message would be: If you know any single friends or those without access to an outdoor space, ring or Zoom them and tell them you love them!

Bespoke Piano Lessons in Improvisation

Anybody fancying a bespoke lesson in piano improvisation from beginner to advanced level in any style — classical, jazz, pop, or rock — please contact me through my website www.harrythepiano.com.

Harry’s teaching references and ITV footage of improv masterclass are available at www.taughtbyharry.com.

Also, be sure to check out Harry’s “Lockdown Blues” series of a tune a day (available at the “harrythepiano” handle) on his Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channel.

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More “Corona Quarantine Chronicles” Coming Up

Quarantine interviews with more fabulous Rick Steves tour guides are in the works, including:

• A healthy helping of Dutch life in Haarlem, the Netherlands — bicycles and all! — with Jody Van Engelsdorp Gastelaars
• A trek further east to Sofia, Bulgaria, where Stefan Bozadzhiev lives and shares an unshakeable passion for his country
• And (since Paris is always a good idea!) we’ll visit virtually with Véro of “French Girl in Seattle“ fame (known now as “French Girl in Seattle Takes France,” since her return to Paris in 2019)

And did you catch these previous posts?

• Rick Steves’ Scotland tour guide Colin Mairs invited us inside his quarantine “bubble” in Auckland, New Zealand
• We learned about life on lockdown for NYC Met Opera performer, Mike Gomborone (and how the show must go on…line)
• And tour guide Margaret Monnier shared insights into how she’s been coping in Granada, Spain, without ever leaving her apartment
• LAST BUT NOT LEAST, if you haven’t yet seen this “Hamilton” Tribute video in honor of Rick Steves’ 65th Birthday (an amateur production written and directed by yours truly!), be sure to take a peek

As always, thanks for stopping by! Please leave your thoughts in the comments section, and be sure to subscribe to “Postcards from Stef” below. Ciao for now!