MUSIC HISTORY 101 OCTOBER 28, 1957 - Born on this day in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England: Musician STEPHEN MORRIS Best known for his work with the rock bands Joy Divivsion and New Order, Morris attended The Kings School as did Ian Curtis who was also in Joy Division. After Joy Division went through several drummers, they eventually settled on Morris. In 1979, Morris was questioned about the Yorkshire Ripper case. Joy Divisions touring schedule happened to be similar to Peter Sutcliffes movements which led to the polices suspicion. Following gigs in Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and Manchester, both Morris and bassist Peter Hook were questioned. Early on, Morris was also a strong contender to become New Orders lead vocalist, and his voice can be heard on some early tracks (especially live versions). He also contributed musically to as-yet-unreleased demos by Quando Quango. Although he is primarily a percussionist, Morris also plays keyboards. He played drums on a couple of songs for Echo and the Bunnymen when they and New Order were both recording at Amazon Studios in Liverpool in 1986, a time when Echo and the Bunnymen didnt have a full-time drummer. New Order were recording Brotherhood while Echo and the Bunnymen recorded their eponymous fifth album. Beginning in 1990, Morris drummed in The Other Two, a band made up of him and his wife, Gillian Gilbert. Initially conceived from the remnants of unused soundtrack work and various studio experiments, The Other Two began during a hiatus in New Order activity. They decided to feature a female vocalist, and in early stages Kim Wilde was recruited as a potential singer for the group, but ultimately, Gilbert took over on vocals, and performs on both Other Two albums. Morris also performed live with the New Order spin-off band, Bad Lieutenant, a band that included both Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham of New Order, as well as Rambo and Leroys Jake Evans. Bassists Tom Chapman and Alex James of Blur also feature on a number of album tracks. In 2007, Morris and Gilbert remixed two tracks for the Nine Inch Nails remix album Year Zero Remixed. In June 2009, he, along with other members of New Order (except Peter Hook) formed a new band called Bad Lieutenant along with Blur bassist Alex James, though James did not stay in the band due to travel distance from other members. Tom Chapman replaced Alex James on bass in the final line-up. Bad Lieutenant released their debut album Never Cry Another Tear in 2009 and toured from October 2009 to April 2010. They had begun working on a second album and performed several one-off shows. New Order reformed in the summer of 2011, and Morris returned to playing with New Order. He and Gilbert live in Rainow, outside Macclesfield. Together they formed the side-project The Other Two. The latest Other Two CD is called Swing. They have together two daughters, Tilly and Grace. Morris is a fan of the BBC-TV science fiction series Doctor Who. He has a full-sized Dalek replica in his rehearsal room, and Sumner has called the Dalek the sixth member of New Order. Something of an eccentric, Morris owns several military vehicles. READ MORE: moderndrummer/site/2004/05/stephen-morris/ allmusic/artist/joy-division-mn0000290812/biography en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Morris_%28musician%29 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Division https://facebook/pages/Stephen-Morris-Greatest-UK-Drummer/154121628015710 https://facebook/JoyDivisionOfficial https://twitter/joydivision
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 17:41:51 +0000