Kid Harpoon

Kid Harpoon
Born	Thomas Edward Percy Hull 4/20/1982
Birthplace	Chatham, Kent, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Songwriter, record producer, musician
Known for	Co-writing and co-producing "As It Was" by Harry Styles, "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, and Harry's House
Awards	Grammy Award for Album of the Year (2023), Grammy Award for Record of the Year (2024), Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year (2023)

Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is a British songwriter, record producer, and musician from Chatham, Kent, England. Beginning his career as an indie rock singer-songwriter in the mid-2000s, Hull released EPs and a debut album before transitioning into a behind-the-scenes role that would bring him far greater commercial and critical success. He is best known for his extensive collaborative work with Harry Styles, having co-written and co-produced much of Styles's solo catalogue, including the album Harry's House (2022), which earned Hull the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year in 2023. He co-produced "As It Was," the best-selling global single of 2022, and "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, the best-selling global single of 2023. The latter won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. In 2025, Hull was announced as the composer of original music for the Broadway revival of Art, marking his first foray into theatre.

Early Life

Thomas Edward Percy Hull was born on 20 April 1982 in Chatham, a town in the Medway area of Kent, England. Details about his family background and childhood remain largely undocumented in published sources. He adopted the stage name "Kid Harpoon" early in his music career, under which he would first gain attention as a performer before establishing himself as one of the most commercially successful songwriters and producers of the 2020s.

Career

Early Solo Career (2006–2010)

Kid Harpoon first emerged as a performing artist in the mid-2000s British indie music scene. He released The First EP as an early entry into the music market, followed by The Second EP, both of which attracted attention within independent music circles. The Independent profiled him during this period, noting his growing reputation on the web and in the UK music press.

His debut full-length album, Once, was released to reviews from publications including NME and Drowned in Sound. Hull performed live at major UK festivals during this period, including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2007, which helped raise his profile as a live act.

Despite the critical attention, Hull's solo career did not yield significant commercial breakthrough. Over the following years, he began to shift his focus toward songwriting and production for other artists, a transition that would prove to be a pivotal turn in his career.

Songwriting and Production Career

Hull's transition from performing artist to songwriter and producer allowed him to work behind the scenes with a growing roster of musicians. His songwriting ability earned recognition from the Ivor Novello Awards, one of the most prestigious honours in British songwriting. This period saw Hull develop his craft as a collaborator, honing skills in arrangement and production that would later define the sound of major pop releases.

Collaboration with Harry Styles

The partnership between Kid Harpoon and Harry Styles became one of the defining creative relationships in mainstream pop music of the late 2010s and 2020s. Hull served as a principal songwriter and co-producer across Styles's solo discography, playing an instrumental role in shaping the artist's musical identity after his departure from One Direction.

A 2026 profile in The New York Times described Hull as "the architect of Harry Styles's sound," detailing the depth and longevity of their working relationship. The article noted that Hull was one of the producers and principal songwriters of Harry's House, Styles's third studio album, released in May 2022.

Harry's House achieved both commercial and critical success, debuting at number one in multiple countries and producing the single "As It Was," which became the best-selling global single of 2022. In an interview with MusicRadar, Hull described the creative process behind the track, revealing that a key sonic element came from a Moog One synthesizer preset. "I brought the synth into the studio with Harry, flicked through the presets and there's one called Harpoon Dream. I took the delay off and we were like… 'yeah!'" Hull recalled, describing the moment the song's distinctive synth sound was discovered.

In 2026, Styles released a new album titled Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally., continuing his collaborative work with Hull. The release further cemented Hull's role as one of Styles's closest and most enduring creative partners.

Work with Miley Cyrus and Other Artists

In addition to his work with Harry Styles, Hull co-produced "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, which was released as a single in 2023 and became the best-selling global single of that year. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, adding to Hull's growing collection of major industry honours.

Hull's production and songwriting credits extend across a range of artists, reflecting his versatility as a collaborator. MusicRadar described him as "the Grammy-winning co-creator that everyone wants on their team," a characterisation supported by his extensive and varied discography.

Broadway: Art Revival

In August 2025, it was announced that Kid Harpoon would create original music for the Broadway revival of Art, the 1994 play by Yasmina Reza in a translation by Christopher Hampton. The production was set to star Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, and Neil Patrick Harris.

The announcement marked Hull's first publicly documented venture into theatrical composition. Variety reported on the appointment exclusively, noting Hull's Grammy-winning credentials as a songwriter and producer. Broadway.com similarly highlighted the selection, describing Hull as a "Grammy-winning songwriter and producer."

Recognition

Kid Harpoon's work has been recognised at the highest levels of the music industry. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for his work on Harry's House by Harry Styles. At the same ceremony and in the same year, he was honoured with the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year, recognising his contributions to British music.

In 2024, Hull received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, a track he co-produced. The song's success — as the best-selling global single of 2023 — underscored Hull's status as one of the most commercially impactful producers and songwriters working in contemporary pop music.

Earlier in his career, Hull received recognition from the Ivor Novello Awards, a British award honouring excellence in songwriting and composing.

The Recording Academy maintains dedicated artist pages for Hull under both his birth name, Tom Hull, and his professional name, Kid Harpoon, reflecting his dual identity as both a behind-the-scenes creator and a former performing artist.

Hull's work has been the subject of profiles in major publications. The New York Times published a feature in March 2026 examining his role in shaping Harry Styles's musical direction, describing him as "the architect of Harry Styles's sound." MusicRadar featured an in-depth interview with Hull in October 2025, discussing his studio techniques and the creative processes behind some of his most successful productions.

Legacy

Kid Harpoon's career trajectory — from indie singer-songwriter to one of the most decorated pop producers and songwriters of the 2020s — represents an unusual path in the modern music industry. His willingness to step away from the spotlight as a performing artist and focus on collaborative creation behind the scenes allowed him to develop a body of work with outsized commercial and critical impact.

His partnership with Harry Styles is among the most notable artist-producer relationships of the era. Across multiple albums, Hull helped define Styles's sonic identity, moving from the guitar-driven rock influences of Styles's self-titled debut toward the more synthesizer-driven, 1980s-inflected pop of Harry's House and beyond. The success of "As It Was" as the best-selling global single of 2022 and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Harry's House confirmed the commercial viability of the creative direction Hull helped establish.

His production of "Flowers" for Miley Cyrus demonstrated his ability to work effectively across different artistic contexts, adapting his sensibilities to suit the voice and vision of different performers while maintaining a high commercial standard.

Hull's move into Broadway composition for the revival of Art in 2025 suggested an ambition to extend his creative work beyond pop music and into theatre, a medium with its own distinct traditions and demands. Whether this represented the beginning of a sustained engagement with theatrical work or a one-off project remained to be seen as of early 2026.

Within the broader landscape of contemporary songwriting and production, Hull occupies a distinctive position: a creator whose name is not widely known to the general public despite his work being heard by hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide. The New York Times profile in 2026 served in part to introduce him to a broader audience, acknowledging the gap between his industry stature and his public visibility.