Jet Harris Blue Plaque

About This Blue Plaque

Jet Harris MBE (1939-2011) was a trailblazing English musician best known as the bassist for the immensely popular instrumental rock group The Shadows. Born Terence Harris at the former Willesden Maternity Hospital in Kingsbury, London, he acquired the nickname “Jet” due to his sprinting prowess in school.

Harris joined The Shadows (originally The Drifters) in 1958, providing the thumping bass lines that drove their signature sound on hits like “Apache” and “FBI.” Along with lead guitarist Hank Marvin, he helped shape the band’s innovative style that heavily influenced generations of rock guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Pete Townshend.

In 1962, Harris embarked on a solo career, scoring a hit with the instrumental “Besame Mucho” and collaborating with Tony Meehan on several successful singles. His later life was marked by struggles with alcohol, but he continued to tour and record. In 2010, Harris was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music. Sadly, he passed away the following year at age 71. This blue plaque, erected in 2012 near his birthplace in the Borough of Barnet, serves as a tribute to one of the unsung heroes of British rock and roll.

The Kingswood Centre now occupies the site of the former maternity hospital where Harris was born. Kingsbury is a district in northwest London that was largely rural until the 1920s and became a center for manufacturing in the mid-20th century. Today, the area is a vibrant, multicultural community.