Birth name Ian Gordon Morris Name Ian Morris Also known as Tex Pistol Role Musician | Genres Pop, rock Instruments Guitar | |
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Born 22 January 1957England ( 1957-01-22 ) Occupation(s) musician, record producer, recording engineer, songwriter Albums Where Are the Girls?: Th' Definitive Collection Similar People | ||
Music group Th' Dudes (1975 – 2008) | ||
Ian Gordon Morris (22 January 1957 – 7 October 2010) was a musician, record producer, recording engineer and songwriter from New Zealand.
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Musical career
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.
With Th' Dudes
Other contributions
APRA
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.
Personal life
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.
Death
Morris died at Te Pania Hotel in Napier on 7 October 2010. Police noted that there were no suspicious circumstances to his death.