‘Absolutely elated’: Harry, 12, receives standing ovation again after playing drums with rock band

A young drummer from Snettisham has wowed audiences for the second time after being invited up on stage to perform with a rock band.Harry Murrell, 12, who is a pupil at Smithdon High School in Hunstanton, received a second standing ovation after drumming in front of a crowd of hundreds at Lynn’s Alive Corn Exchange last week.The band behind the Rock For Heroes show reached out to Harry’s family after he gave an impressive performance at their gig in October last year. At the time, his dad Paul Murrell described it as the “performance of a lifetime”, with Harry saying it was a “dream come true to play with a top rock band to a full house”.With Rock For Heroes bringing their show back to Lynn this year, the band got in touch with Harry’s parents asking if he could attend as they would give him the chance to do a drum solo.While Harry was always due to watch the show with his family on Thursday, September 5, he was not aware that the band would invite him to perform with them again.

“It came as a complete surprise,” Paul said. “The leader of the band remembered him from last year – he had a lovely conversation with him.”During the show, frontman Phil Hawkins invited Harry onto the stage and asked him to start playing a beat, with the band soon performing Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ with him – a song Harry himself did not actually know. Afterwards, Phil praised Harry’s ability and encouraged the audience to give him a standing ovation – saying he deserved it “even more” than last year due to how much he had improved.

“Harry was absolutely elated,” Paul said.“I can’t get my head around the fact that of all the gigs they do, they remember him from last year.“We said last year that it’s a chance of a lifetime, and for Phil to say he deserved the standing ovation last time but deserved it even more this time because of how much he had improved was amazing.”

He added: “Harry loves performing and to be able to perform at that sort of venue with musicians of that calibre was amazing. “It was a wonderful evening and the following day was his first day back at school.”Paul said the support for Harry’s musical abilities at Smithdon was “amazing” – where Harry is in the same class with two friends he is in a band with.

The rock band – called The Unknown – formed at Hunstanton Primary School and have performed at a number of local events, including the recent 200th anniversary celebrations of the RNLI in Hunstanton.“They absolutely brought the house down,” Paul added. “I always say whenever I watch them play that they may be The Unknown but not for long.”Harry started playing drums around three years ago and also is a vocalist for The Unknown, while he sometimes plays the guitar too. Asked whether we can expect to see his son perform with Rock For Heroes again in the future, Paul said: “They have already said to Harry whenever we perform in this area, we want you on stage with us.”He added: “I’m absolutely proud of him, totally and utterly. He’s just shown this amazing musical talent.“To see him perform live anywhere is a privilege to me. To see him perform at a venue like that – these are experiences he will never ever forget.”