Stephen Paul David Morris (born 28 October 1957) is an English drummer who is best known for his work with the rock band New Order and, previously,

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

. He also wrote and performed in

The Other Two ''The Other Two'' is an American comedy television series created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. The story follows two floundering millennial siblings who must grapple with their 13-year-old brother's overnight fame. The series premiered o ...

, a band consisting of Morris and his girlfriend and later wife,

Gillian Gilbert Gillian Lesley Gilbert (born 27 January 1961) is an English musician and singer, best known as the keyboardist and guitarist of the band New Order. Early life Gilbert's family moved from her birthplace, Manchester, to the nearby market town of ...

. Morris also participated in the New Order spin-off band Bad Lieutenant.

Career

Stephen Paul David Morris was born on 28 October 1957, in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

. His father was a travelling salesman who also put on dances. His uncle was a musician. When Morris told his father he wanted to be a drummer, he replied: "Drummers, Stephen. I’ve never met a sane one yet... They all end up taking morphine and drinking absinthe, rotting their brains. You don’t want to end up like that, do you?" He attended the

King's School, Macclesfield The King's School, Macclesfield, is an independent school for day pupils in Prestbury, Cheshire, England, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1502 by Sir John Percyvale, a former Lord Mayor of Lon ...

, as did

singer Ian Curtis. After Joy Division (then called Warsaw) tried three other drummers, they eventually recruited Morris, who responded to a wanted ad posted in a local music shop. Morris is noted for his "machine-like" skills as a drummer, which he credits to

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...

influences. The drummers he named as musical inspiration, were

Jaki Liebezeit Jaki Liebezeit (born Hans Liebezeit; 26 May 1938 – 22 January 2017) was a German drummer, best known as a founding member of experimental rock band Can. He was called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral". ...

of Can and

Moe Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

of the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

because they "were the ones who kept it simple". He also cited John French as an influence. From 1977, he was influenced by the music of

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine ...

because their "drummer Kenny Morris played mostly toms"; "hearing the sessions they'd done on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's show and reading gig write-ups", ..inspired him. During Joy Division recording sessions with

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

, Morris was asked to record his parts one drum at a time so that Hannett could have complete control over the production. He also took an early interest in drum machines, combining them with traditional drumming on many Joy Division and New Order releases. Although he is primarily a percussionist, Morris also plays keyboards and synthesizer. Early on, Morris was a contender to become New Order's lead vocalist, and his vocals can be heard on some early live tracks. He also contributed musically to as-yet-unreleased demos by

Quando Quango Quando Quango were a British electronic music group, formed by The Haçienda DJ and Factory Records A&R man Mike Pickering, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New Yor ...

and produced a number of acts with Gilbert for Factory, such as duo Red Turns To...., under New Order's Be Music production tag. He played drums for Echo & the Bunnymen on their rendition of

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

' " Soul Kitchen", which they recorded at Amazon Studios in Liverpool in 1986. During a hiatus from New Order, Morris and Gilbert formed the side project

; together they have released two albums as well as various remixes and soundtrack work. In 2007, Morris and Gilbert remixed two tracks for the

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

'' Year Zero Remixed''. In June 2009, during New Order's second break-up, band members

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the po ...

and Phil Cunningham, along with Jake Evans, formed a new band called Bad Lieutenant. Morris recorded drums on several songs with the band, and joined their line-up for live gigs. Bad Lieutenant released their debut album ''

Never Cry Another Tear ''Never Cry Another Tear'' is the only studio album by Bad Lieutenant. It was released on 12 October 2009. Ex-New Order member Bernard Sumner formed the group with Jake Evans and Phil Cunningham. The three guitarists wrote and performed the alb ...

'' in 2009 and toured from October 2009 to April 2010. They began work on a second album, but are presently on hiatus. New Order reformed with a new line-up in September 2011, and Morris returned to playing with New Order. Stephen Morris performing with New Order, 2012

Stephen Morris performing with New Order, 2012

In 2019, the book ''Record Play Pause'', the first volume of his ''Confessions of a Post-Punk Percussionist'', was published by

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

and later by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. On 2020 the second volume, ''Fast Forward'', was published by Little, Brown and Company.

Personal life

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 bass player

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings w ...

were questioned. Morris married fellow New Order member

in 1994. The couple live in Rainow, Cheshire, and have two daughters. He is science fiction fan, particularly of the TV series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

''. He has a full-sized

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

in his rehearsal room, which Sumner has called "the sixth member" of New Order. He also owns several

military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles; both specifically designed for, or significantly used by military and armed forces. Most military vehicles require off-road capabil ...

s including a Mark IV Ferret armoured reconnaissance vehicle and several tanks.

Discography

;With Joy Division ;With New Order ;With The Other Two * '' The Other Two & You'' (1993) * ''

Super Highways ''Super Highways'' is the second album by New Order members Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris under the name the Other Two. It was released in 1999 six years after their début, and a year after New Order reformed. Four tracks were co-written ...

'' (1999)

References

External links

* *
Short bio at JoyDiv.org

Stephen Morris at the IMDb Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Stephen 1957 births 20th-century multi-instrumentalists 21st-century multi-instrumentalists Alternative rock drummers British alternative rock musicians British synth-pop new wave musicians English new wave musicians English rock drummers English rock keyboardists English multi-instrumentalists English record producers Ivor Novello Award winners Joy Division members Living people New Order (band) members People educated at The King's School, Macclesfield People from Macclesfield British post-punk musicians New wave drummers