Harper was born in Oldham and raised in Glasgow's Possilpark area,[3] attending St. Theresa's Primary and St. Augustine's Secondary School.
[4] Harper played for youth club Hutchison Vale in Edinburgh before he was signed by Hibernian and made his professional debut aged just 17.
[5] He was unhappy that having claimed Gary Mackay had racially abused him during an Edinburgh derby game in November 1996, the SFA did not take action in response to his complaint.
Despite starting his Stoke career impressively, Harper was dogged by injuries that prevented him challenging for a first team place.
Harper's season was rather inconsistent, though on 25 March 2008 he scored a hat-trick in a re-arranged fixture against First Division strugglers Stirling Albion.
[16] In November 2015, Thorniewood United manager and former Hibernian team-mate Andy Frame, persuaded Harper to come out of retirement and join the club in a player-coach role.
[21] Albion again avoided relegation by finishing ninth in that season, but Harper decided to leave the club at the end of his contract in May 2020.
[23] In June 2020, Harper appeared in a special podcast panel discussing his experiences of racism in football with A View from the Terrace host Craig Fowler.