Mark Morriss

This article is about the English singer-songwriter. For other people with a similar name, see Mark Morris (disambiguation).

Mark Morriss
Morriss in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Mark James Morriss
Born	(1971-10-18) 18 October 1971 (age 53) Hounslow, Middlesex, England
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock, Britpop
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1994–present
Website	markmorrissmusic.co.uk

Mark James Morriss (born 18 October 1971) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman for The Bluetones. He is the older brother of bandmate and bass player/illustrator Scott Morriss. He has released four solo albums, worked with Matt Berry's band The Maypoles and sung lead vocals on The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost project. When not touring with the Bluetones, he regularly plays solo acoustic shows across the UK.

Biography

Mark Morriss released his debut solo album, Memory Muscle in May 2008. A folk-tinged record, it featured five re-recorded tracks which had previously been released under the name "Fi-Lo Beddow" as a self-released EP in February 2006. The strings on the record were arranged by film composer David Arnold, who became a fan of Expecting to Fly whilst scoring Independence Day.^[1]

Morriss in concert

In 2014, Morriss released his second solo album A Flash of Darkness via Acid Jazz Records.^[2] This was followed by another Acid Jazz release in 2015, The Taste of Mark Morriss, an album of cover versions. Morriss has also recorded the theme music for all of the children's audiobooks written by David Walliams. Morriss is also currently a full member of Matt Berry's live band, The Maypoles, and regularly tours the UK with this outfit as a rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist.^[3]

In 2021, Morriss appeared as the vocalist for Billy Reeves' The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost project, on the album Afters. Morriss joined former theaudience member Reeves on the album, which was co-produced by Richard Archer of Hard-Fi, with the album also featuring members of Cocteau Twins, Engineers and Gazpacho.^[4][5][6]

Personal life

In November 2021, allegations of emotional and physical abuse against Morriss were made by his ex-wife, Anna Wharton.^[7] Morriss disputed the claims, telling The Guardian: "I may have been thoughtless and selfish in some of the dealings in my personal life of late, but these allegations of abuse and gaslighting are wholly untrue, and I refute them completely.” ^[7] Following these allegations, Morriss was dropped from The Big Britpop Family Party in London.^[8]

On 2 March 2022, Morriss issued a statement in response to his ex-wife's allegations.^[9]

Solo discography

EPs

• 2006 - The Fi-Lo Beddow EP

Singles

• 2008 - "I'm Sick"
• 2008 - "Lay Low" (download-only)
• 2014 - "This Is The Lie (And That's The Truth)"
• 2014 - "Space Cadet"
• 2015 - "Lucretia (My Reflection)"
• 2019 - "All The Wrong People"
• 2019 - "The Beans"

Albums

• 2008 - Memory Muscle
• 2014 - A Flash of Darkness (originally a Pledge campaign album, but reissued through the Acid Jazz label)
• 2015 - The Taste of Mark Morriss
• 2017 - Look Up (originally a Pledge campaign album, but reissued on vinyl in 2019 through the Reckless Yes label)

References

1. "Fullfill Music". Fullfill.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
2. Adam Jacques (16 February 2014). "How we met: Mark Morriss & Matt Berry". The Independent.
3. "How we met: Mark Morriss & Matt Berry - 'the most challenging thing". Independent.co.uk. 14 February 2014.
4. "The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost launch with video for Slow Down". 24 May 2021.
5. "The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost".
6. "THE HELICOPTER OF THE HOLY GHOST release video for second single 'I Will Never Hurt' | XS Noize | Online Music Magazine". 30 June 2021.
7. "Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss denies allegations of physical and emotional abuse (The Guardian)". TheGuardian.com. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
8. "Mark Morriss dropped from Britpop event following abuse allegations". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
9. "Statement". Mark Morriss | Official Site & Store. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.

External links

• Official website