Stephen Morris (musician)

For other people named Stephen Morris, see Stephen Morris (disambiguation).

Stephen Morris
Stephen Morris performing with New Order at Mechanics Bay, Auckland, New Zealand on 27 February 2012
Background information
Birth name	Stephen Paul David Morris
Born	(1957-10-28) 28 October 1957 Macclesfield, Cheshire, England
Genres	Post-punk alternative rock alternative dance synthpop electronica new wave
Instruments	Drums percussion programming keyboards synthesizers
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Factory London Warner Bros. LTM
Associated acts	New Order Joy Division The Other Two Bad Lieutenant

Stephen Paul David Morris (born 28 October 1957) is an English musician who is best known for his work with the rock band New Order and, previously, Joy Division. He also drummed in The Other Two, a band made up of Morris and his wife, Gillian Gilbert. Morris has also performed live with the New Order spin-off band, Bad Lieutenant. He is known for his machine-like drumming that seamlessly wove with New Order's and Joy Division's drum machine sounds. Stylus Magazine ranked Morris No. 5 on their list of "50 Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time".

Life and career

Morris was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. He attended The King's School, Macclesfield, as did Ian Curtis who was also in Joy Division. After Joy Division went through three drummers, they eventually settled on Morris. In 1979, Morris was questioned about the Yorkshire Ripper case. Joy Division's touring schedule happened to be similar to Peter Sutcliffe's movements which led to the police's 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 Order's lead vocalist, and his vocals 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 didn't have a full-time drummer. New Order were recording 'Brotherhood' while Echo and the Bunnymen recorded their eponymous fifth album.

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.

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 début 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.

Morris is a fan of the science fiction TV 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. Morris owns several military vehicles.

Discography

With Joy Division

Main article: Joy Division discography

With New Order

Main article: New Order discography

With The Other Two

• The Other Two & You (1993)
• Super Highways (1999)

External links

• Short bio at JoyDiv.org
• Bio at Joy Division – The Eternal