Captain Hollywood Project

Before creating the Captain Hollywood Project in 1990, creator Tony Dawson-Harrison was a dancer, choreographer and music star in Europe. A native of Newark, New Jersey,[7] Harrison originally gained his stage name in 1982 while stationed in Germany as a U.S. Army captain. During his off-duty hours, he would entertain his military friends on base by performing street dance moves in his captain's uniform. As a result, his fellow officers nicknamed him ‘Hollywood’ and later ‘Captain Hollywood.’[5][7] Harrison's career began in 1983 after his television debut as Captain Hollywood on the German music chart television show Formel Eins. For his guest appearance on the show, he did a three-minute body popping dance routine to the Jonzun Crew song "Pack Jam".[8] Harrison quickly gained credit for being the first American to actually introduce the art forms to Germany and all of Europe in the early 1980s.[1][9][10] When his active military duty ended in 1983, he relocated to Germany and worked as the lead dance choreographer on Formel Eins.[7][11]

Between 1985 and 1987, Harrison achieved his first musical successes as a rapper, singer and music producer in Germany. He independently released singles "Deborah",[15] "Soulsister",[16] "Grand Piano", a solo album Do That Thang,[17] and many other dance music tracks. The success of his early hits helped to establish him in the music business as a serious musician, solo artist and music producer.

In 1989, Harrison co-founded and produced the Holland-based act Twenty 4 Seven with the Dutch producer Ruud van Rijen.[18][13] As co-producer, choreographer, rapper and frontman, Harrison led singer Nance Coolen and backup dancers Giovanni Falco (a.k.a. Hanks), and Wolfgang Reis (a.k.a. Jacks) on a successful year-long run in the UK and the Netherlands. Twenty 4 Seven became recognised for its memorable dance routines featured in their music videos and in their live act. The group successfully charted with the hit singles "I Can't Stand It!", "Are You Dreaming?"[19][20] and the album Street Moves[21] while also completing a successful three month European tour with MTV London that same year. Harrison decided to leave the act in 1990 in order to return to his solo career and to dedicate himself to his music project.

After many successful years of achieving chart topping hits and touring worldwide, Harrison decided to shift his focus to working more as a music producer and composer behind the scenes. In 2000, he relocated to the United States and settled in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Later that same year, music impresario and boy band mastermind Lou Pearlman[9] hired Harrison to be co-producer for the first season of the reality series Making the Band.[1] The series documented Pearlman's nationwide talent search and casting of his third boy band creation named O-Town. Not only did Harrison help mentor the band members, he also produced their first songs, choreographed all their early dance routines and trained them in dance and live performing techniques. He also served as composer for the score music heard in the first season of the series. The show’s casting format and high television ratings turned Harrison into one of the most sought after music composers for reality television at that time. He later became a manager and choreographer for the bands: 3rd Wish, B4-4 and Prymary Colorz. He has also worked extensively with Nick Carter of the band Backstreet Boys.[11]

Shirin Amour & Captain Hollywood in Mannheim, Germany (2014)

In 2008, Harrison co-produced two new Captain Hollywood singles "More & More Recall"[33] and "It Hurts With You")[34] exclusively for release in the UAE with producer DJ Base. Two years later, Harrison brought back the Captain Hollywood Project as a special guest act for DJ Bobo's massive Fantasy' tour. In response to the overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and general audiences to his presence on the tour, Harrison decided to officially revive Captain Hollywood Project as a live touring act after being on hiatus for so many years.

For the revival, Harrison recruited his wife Shirin von Gehlen (aka Shirin Amour) to co-star with him as the new lead singer and frontwoman for the act. A native of Düsseldorf, Germany,[1] von Gehlen is a trained singer, dancer, musician and choreographer with an extensive background in live performing and artistic gymnastics. Harrison and von Gehlen first met in 2000 in Germany and married in 2006 in Orlando, Florida, USA. She has previously worked as a dancer and choreographer for the German reality talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), the RTL II Popstars show winners Overground and DJ Tomekk and the boy band 3rd Wish. As a choreographer duo, Harrison and von Gehlen continue to work as choreographers of video, music and stage productions worldwide while also touring as Captain Hollywood Project. Before bringing back the project for DJ Bobo's Fantasy tour, both Harrison and von Gehlen spent a total of three months in Switzerland helping to plan, stage and choreograph the tour while also producing new songs for DJ Bobo's live act which performed in over 20 major German cities.

With over 20 years of Captain Hollywood hits, Harrison and von Ghelen continue to perform the hits with their band of live musicians and dancers at concert venues worldwide.

• Büchelmeier, Gerald (Jan 1993). "Captain Hollywood: Nr.1-RAP AUS NÜRNBERG". Bravo Magazine. 2: 21.

• [Official website