Being the only sister to four brothers, Pearl was born to rumble. Raised on military bases throughout Germany, her father was an Army Major and her mother, a very strict, stylish, shoe loving Filipino.
At the young age of 17, Pearl set off alone and moved to San Francisco to pursue her interest in music. In 1976, Pearl won a talent contest to dance with the "craziest rock band in the world" — The Tubes, and performed and toured with them for a year. During that time, Pearl was also a member of comedy/cabaret/rock act Leila and the Snakes, who she performed with for over two years.
Continuing her passion for music, Pearl formed her own band Pearl Harbor and The Explosions in 1978. They were signed to Warner Brothers Records in 1979 and made an album that was a hit in the "New Wave" scene. They toured with Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, The Clash, Mink DeVille, and a "World Tour" with the Talking Heads.
Pearl left The Explosions in 1980 and moved to London where she recorded her first solo record "Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost, Too." With this anticipated release, the British press continuously wrote her name with the English spelling “Harbour,” which she continues to use to this day. In London, she was signed to a solo deal with Warner Brothers, who liked the record, but were not pleased that she would not list the back-up musicians on her first solo album, who were an all-star line-up. Pearl felt it was more honest and "punk-rock" to not mention that her band included:
Drummers: Topper Headon (The Clash) and Steve Goulding (Graham Parker and the Rumour) / Bass: Paul Simonon (The Clash) / Guitars: Nigel Dixon (Whirlwind), Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood and Ian Dury & The Blockheads), Mick Jones (The Clash) and Steve Neu (The Rich Kids) / Keyboards: Otis Watkins (Nick Lowe) / Pedal Steel: B.J. Cole (Britain's #1 pedal steel player). The record was produced by Mickey Gallagher (Ian Dury and the Blockheads). Nonetheless, Warner Brothers took a sour note, printed only 2,000 LP's, and released Pearl from the label.
Pearl married Paul Simonon from The Clash in 1982. She toured with The Clash and others for the next six years, and during that time recorded her third album “Pearl's Galore.” This Japan-only release on Epic-Sony was recorded at the famous Abbey Roads Studios in London. Her fourth album of the same title, was recorded on Island Records in 1985, which featured the Japanese musicians, The Mods. This release was followed by a tour through Japan and England.
After Pearl and Paul's divorce in 1989, Pearl moved back to San Francisco and formed a number of bands in the Bay area. She recorded "Here Comes Trouble" in 1995 with various Bay area musicians including East Bay Ray (Dead Kennedys) and Frank Novicki, Mike Hunter, Lee Valenski, and Stinky LePew (Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys). After the album's release, they toured California and performed locally on a monthly basis.
Pearl moved to LA in 1997 and has been pursuing acting, comedy, country music, R&B music, and anything else that floats her boat. She has been featured in many books, including the cover of Rin Tanaka's My Freedamn! 8, a feature in My Freedamn 10!, Simon Doonan's Wacky Chicks, and Chris Salewicz's Redemption Song:The Biography of Joe Strummer. Pearl has also been featured in various magazines and films including The Rise and Fall of The Clash, and Julian Temple's film The Future is Unwritten.
Bringing it up to date, what is it now... oh yeah, 2013. Well, Pearl finally got off her butt and put her original L.A. band back together to play some rock and roll at the local dives. Upcoming shows are planned for this March.