Ian Morris | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ian Gordon Morris |
Also known as | Tex Pistol |
Born |
England |
22 January 1957
Died | 7 October 2010 Napier, New Zealand |
(aged 53)
Genres | Pop, rock |
Occupation(s) | musician, record producer, recording engineer, songwriter |
Instruments | Guitar |
Associated acts | Th' Dudes, DD Smash, Tex Pistol, Dave Dobbyn, Peter Urlich, Rikki Morris |
Website | igmusic |
Ian Gordon Morris (22 January 1957 – 7 October 2010) was a musician, record producer, recording engineer and songwriter from New Zealand.
Ian Morris and his brother Richard (who would also go on to become a successful singer, songwriter and sound engineer in New Zealand under the name Rikki Morris) were born in England but emigrated with their family to New Zealand in 1966.
Ian was a founding member of iconic New Zealand band Th' Dudes, who formed at Sacred Heart College in Auckland in 1975. He also had chart hits as a solo artist under the name Tex Pistol (a name he took on as "Ian Morris [didn't] sound poppy enough" ), and in collaboration with his brother Rikki as Tex Pistol and Rikki Morris. As recording engineer and record producer, his production credits include a number of successful Kiwi artists: Hello Sailor, DD Smash, The Screaming Meemees, The Warratahs, When the Cat's Away, Greg Johnson, Dave Dobbyn, and Southside of Bombay to name a few. Morris also wrote numerous jingles, arrangements, and orchestrations.
In 2001, members of APRA were invited to vote on their favourite New Zealand songs of all time. Of the final 100, 2 Morris-related songs appeared on the list.
Morris was married to singer Kim Willoughby of New Zealand's most successful all-female group When the Cat's Away, with whom he had two daughters, Julia and Maude, and a stepson, James.
Morris died at Te Pania Hotel in Napier on 7 October 2010. Police noted that there were no suspicious circumstances to his death.