Edge Rewrite
translate Source code View original
Jump to content

Mark Morriss

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from The Fi-Lo Beddow EP)
Mark Morriss
Morriss performing at the Rochdale Feel Good Festival 2009
Morriss performing at the Rochdale Feel Good Festival 2009
Background information
Born
Mark James Morriss

(1971-10-18) 18 October 1971 (age 54)
Chiswick, London, England
OriginHounslow, London, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1993–present
Labels
Member ofThe Bluetones
Formerly of
  • The Bottlegarden
  • The Mummys
  • The Maypoles
  • The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost
Websitemarkmorrissmusic.co.uk

Mark James Morriss (born 18 October 1971) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of the indie rock band the Bluetones. The older brother of bandmate/illustrator Scott Morriss,[1] he began a solo career in 2006,[2] fronted the backing group the Mummys,[3] worked with Matt Berry's band the Maypoles,[4] and sung lead vocals for the Helicopter of the Holy Ghost project.[5]

Since 2008, Morriss has been playing solo shows across the UK while not touring with the Bluetones.[3] Following the band's temporary split in 2011,[6] he continued these shows as well as expanding his solo discography.[7] In 2023, he started touring acoustic shows with Bluetones guitarist Adam Devlin, playing their songs.

Early life

[edit]

Morriss was born in Chiswick, West London, although grew up in Hounslow, West London.[8] His mother was a huge fan of music and named Morriss' younger brother Scott after British-American musician Scott Walker, and worked behind the bar at Shepperton Studios.[9] His step-father was an accountant.[10]

From a young age, Morriss showed a strong interest in football,[10] considering Kenny Dalglish to be his hero,[9] supporting Liverpool.[11] Being the captain for his school football team for five years, he had trials for Crystal Palace at age 10. He stopped playing five years later, as he felt it was becoming too competitive.[12]

Following an injury from a tree accident, Morriss was unable to play football in his free time and decided to spend more time in his school's music department, and ended up getting guitar lessons outside of school. In this time, he befriended some of the founding members of the Bottlegarden, a group from 1989 that Morriss was involved with until its disbandment in 1993, with its lasting members rebranding as the Bluetones.[12]

At the time he was taking his A-levels, Morriss' mother was relocating to a small village in Cornwall as she was getting married since Morriss' father left home in 1983. Since he had issues with his step-father,[13] he moved in with his former girlfriend's family, and Scott, who was in the middle of sitting his GCSEs, moved in with their grandparents' house, which were on the same estate. One of the earliest tracks written by the Bluetones, "The Fountainhead", was written about Morriss not wanting to seem a disappointment to his grandfather, who he viewed as a father figure.[14][15]

Morriss attended Cranford Community School and West Thames College, where dropped out. He left school with six GCSEs and three A-levels in English, art and theatre studies.[16]

Career

[edit]
Morriss performing at the Rochdale Feel Good Festival 2009

Morriss released his debut solo album Memory Muscle in May 2008 to praised reviews.[17] A folk-tinged record, it featured five re-recorded tracks which had previously been released under the name Fi-Lo Beddow, a rephrased name of the protagonist from the American action comedy film Every Which Way but Loose (1978), Philo Beddoe,[18] 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 the Bluetones' debut album Expecting to Fly (1996) whilst scoring the science fiction action film Independence Day, which was released in the same year.[19]

In 2014, Morriss released his second solo album A Flash of Darkness through Acid Jazz Records.[20] This was followed by another Acid Jazz release in 2015, The Taste of Mark Morriss,[21] an album of covers. Morriss has also recorded the theme music for all of the children's audiobooks written by David Walliams, all released on HarperCollins.[22] Morriss became a member of Matt Berry's live band, the Maypoles, and regularly tours the UK with this outfit as a rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist.[23]

In 2021, Morriss appeared as the vocalist for Billy Reeves' the Helicopter of the Holy Ghost project, on their only album Afters.[24] 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.[25][5][26]

In 2021, Morriss, Nigel Clarke of Dodgy and Chris Helme of the Seahorses formed a short-lived supergroup together entitled MCH, their combined surname initials (Morriss, Clarke, Helme). They wrote songs together, trying to capture a "broad, poppy sound".[27][28]

Television appearances

[edit]

In 2001, Morriss, alongside the other members of the Bluetones, had an uncredited cameo appearance in the second series of Edgar Wright's Spaced, who also directed the music videos for Bluetones singles "Keep the Home Fires Burning" (2000) and "After Hours" (2002).[27][18] Later in 2003, Morriss had another cameo appearance in the first series of the sketch show Little Britain as a politician.[18][29]

Personal life

[edit]

In November 2021, allegations of emotional and physical abuse against Morriss were made by his ex-wife, Anna Wharton.[30] 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."[30] Following these allegations, Morriss was dropped from The Big Britpop Family Party in London,[31] and dismissed from the Helicopter of the Holy Ghost. MCH's ending coincided with this.

On 2 March 2022, Morriss issued a statement on his website in response to his ex-wife's allegations made against him.[32]

Discography

[edit]

Solo

[edit]

Albums

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

EPs

  • The Fi-Lo Beddow EP (2006)

Singles

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

The Bluetones

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Design & Illustration". scottmorriss.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  2. ↑ O'Brien, Jon. "Mark Morriss: Memory Muscle Tracks & Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "About". markmorrissmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Jacques, Adam (14 February 2014). "How we met: Mark Morriss & Matt Berry - 'the most challenging thing about Matt is how difficult he is to say no to'". The Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 "The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost". Kscope. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "The Bluetones to split up after September UK Tour - ticket details". NME. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "MARK MORRISS". themouthmagazine.com. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Sturt, Sarah (21 January 2014). "Meet musician Mark Morriss". greatbritishlife.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Four Shades of Blue". Vox. September 1995. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Cup Of Tea: Mark Morriss From The Bluetones". The Anfield Wrap. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "with a little charm...: interviews: 2000: aol web chat". bluetones.org.uk. 13 January 2000. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Live Wyre Music Podcast Episode 7 The Bluetones". YouTube. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Lewis, Helen (15 January 1999). "Bluetones star Mark reveals all". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Whiley, Jo (1996). Mark Morriss Radio 1 interview (Radio broadcast). BBC Radio 1.
  15. ↑ "The Bluetones - Slight Return - Lead Singer Mark Morriss (Sept 2024)The God Cast Interview". YouTube. 25 July 2026. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Melody Maker, 23 September 1995". Melody Maker. 23 September 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Carroll, Steve (13 June 2008). "Mark Morriss, Memory Muscle (Universal) **** | York Press". York Press. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 "Interview with Mark Morris from The Bluetones, 13th October 2005". cinemaetc.co.uk. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Fullfill Music". Fullfill.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  20. ↑ Adam Jacques (16 February 2014). "How we met: Mark Morriss & Matt Berry". The Independent.
  21. ↑ Paterson, Kevin (4 August 2015). "Album Review: Mark Morriss – The Taste Of Mark Morriss". backseatmafia.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Mark Morriss (Bluetones)". crystalballroomglossop.com. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "How we met: Mark Morriss & Matt Berry - 'the most challenging thing". Independent.co.uk. 14 February 2014.
  24. ↑ Corbridge, Ian (9 August 2021). "The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost | After | Louder Than War". Louder Than War. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost launch with video for Slow Down". 24 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "THE HELICOPTER OF THE HOLY GHOST release video for second single 'I Will Never Hurt' | XS Noize | Online Music Magazine". 30 June 2021.
  27. 1 2 Ryan, Gary (2 July 2021). "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – The Bluetones' Mark Morriss". NME. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "Mark Morriss / Nigel Clark / Chris Helme / Neeve Zahra - Altrincham The Bowdon Rooms - 8th July 2021". EVEN THE STARS. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Little Britain (TV Series 2003–2006) - Mark Morriss as Politician". IMDb. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 "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.
  31. ↑ "Mark Morriss dropped from Britpop event following abuse allegations". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  32. ↑ "Statement". Mark Morriss | Official Site & Store. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Morriss&oldid=1368205663"