By His Rules: Kid Harpoon

North London’s favourite sailor Kid Harpoon is back on the road again. With a Second EP and an album in the offing Gigwise hooks up with him to talk childhood memories, The Mystery Jets and his master plan to resurrect Phil Spector’s career.

Things started out simply enough for Kid Harpoon aka Tom Hull, who got an early taste for the stage in his hometown of Medway, Kent. He recalls: “I started playing guitar aged 9 or 10 doing gigs at junior school. I was always playing, then I joined a few bands and moved to London and things spiralled upwards”. Playing Bob Dylan and Tom Petty covers to his bemused teachers, he says, “I did it so early I didn’t know what the songs were about. There’s this song by Tom Petty about smoking weed, with the line: ‘Let’s get to the point lets roll another joint’”.

Following regular spots in Nambucca and other London haunts he was snapped up to play ex-Libertine Carl Barat's Club night. Guest spots on The Kooks videos and support slots for The Holloways and The Wombats quickly established Kid Harpoon’s cult fanbase. “I guess its cult in the sense that I’ve not released lots of stuff,” he says. “I’ve been touring and getting out there. Having really got in front of people, meeting people, playing my songs and building up this following, I can feel it spreading”.

His enthusiasm is shared as an increasing numbers of fans are being drawn to the softly spoken man known for his wildly energetic live performances. The Second EP shows a softer side on the soulful pleas of ‘In The Dark’, “there’s a glimmer of hope”, compared to the stripped down stomp of First EP’s ‘Milkmaid’.

Mostly seen as a one-man outfit, Kid Harpoon plays many of his gigs alongside The Powers That Be, with an ever-changing line up and a slew of guest musicians drawn along for the ride. Though his own sound is important Tom seems happy to be part of a band. “My idea of Kid Harpoon and The Powers That Be is one thing I love is being a song-writer,” he says. “I don’t want to dictate to people in the band. Like the guitars (on the record) were written by the people that played it with me”.

Friendships with bands like The Kooks, who he tours with in April and The Mystery Jets have boosted him into the public eye. Will from The Mystery Jets famously dueted with Kid Harpoon at the BBC Electric Proms last year. So how did their friendship come about? “We always used to play together and we just recorded some songs in Nottingham. We thought about touring with them as my backing band so they could interpret the songs the way they want.”