Category: Dhani Harrison

You can’ t help being a musician because you’ve grown up with music, yet being one means being compared to your dad and being slated for it. But I really don’t have the ambitions of most people going into the industry.

‘Keep your head down at school.’ Those are sage words from my dad. They kept me in check for years.

When my dad toured in ’91, I think my first gig properly was the Tokyo Dome, 50,000 people indoors. That was pretty scary. I was 12, or 13.

I did Albert Hall, I got to play the Hall of Fame with Prince. So I’ve done that kind of stuff for ages. It wasn’t until after we finished working on Brainwash, my dad’s album after he died, then it was like ‘That phase is over in my life now, now we can get on with our music, with our band.’

I never really saw my dad around when the Iron Maiden and the AC/DC were playing. But he knew what I was doing. I was just absorbing music. So he just kind of left me to my own devices.

Playing music has always felt very natural. You know, you do try to do other things, and you do learn lessons that way, but, eventually – well… if your dad is a plumber, you become a plumber. It’s the family business, and I felt like I was taking over the family business.

I was recording stuff with my dad when I was like five, six years old. I played with him on tour. I’d gone with him to Japan in ’91, played some gigs, did a couple shows at the Albert Hall.