The Bluetones’ Mark Morriss Talks About The Brotherhood of the Band And Singing Solo

Jayna Patel | 28th July 2015

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We all know of boy bands that were once enveloped in drama and gossip as they split due to fights or being at loggerheads with one another over style of music, pay or anything really. When Robbie Williams left Take That in 1995 on bad terms or when tensions hit breaking point amongst the members of Boyzone back in 2000 are just some examples.  But what about the bands who return after splitting up because they wanted a break from all their success? VIVA caught up with Mark Morriss, lead vocalist in the the accomplished British indie-rock band, The Bluetones, on the day his new solo single, Lucretia (My Reflection)  is released. The close knit four piece, made up of guitarist Adam Devlin, drummer Ed Chesters and Mark’s younger brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, are geared up and ready for their 20th anniversary UK tour kicking off from 16th September until the 27th, their first outing in four years.

“I’m very excited at the prospect about the four of us getting together and sharing our chemistry once more. We didn’t break up acrimoniously or anything like that. We just decided to put a full stop on everything and it’s now turned into a comma,” explains the band’s front man mysteriously.

Famed for his enigmatic nature, Mark offers more insight into why the band are so keen to get back together: “We just miss each other; it’s difficult to explain really. As musicians, you get to play with a few people but we all learnt together, we grew up together, playing together so we’re never going to be able to recreate that same chemistry.We miss it, we just sort of miss that, that, for want of a better word, buzz.” As the singer muses over the brotherhood of the band, it’s clear all four members of The Bluetones bonded over the insatiable itch they all shared for playing music live on stage, explaining why Mark has continued his music career solo during the band’s sabbatical.

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Reunited: The Bluetones will perform at The Ritz on September 19th in Manchester as part of their comeback tour.

“I’ve continued to make records for the last four years and I’ve kept touring on my own as a solo artist but we just thought, at that point we’d been together for almost twenty years now, it’s twenty years since our first record was released and so we’ve decided to go out for a little jaunt, really. I don’t think it’s going to be the second stage of the band’s career, I mean that remains to be seen,” highlighting how this tour could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the band live again, whilst capturing some of Mark’s modest optimism.

And how does his experience of playing solo compare to his time of performing live with the band? “I definitely prefer playing in a band because, to me, music is all about collaboration and people coming together but when I do my solo stuff, obviously it is a lot less collaborative and, although I do enjoy it and it is disciplined, nothing quite beats the buzz of synchronicity when there’s four or five of you all locked in together.”

“I do enjoy collaboration and I don’t prefer the process of writing on my own because I like to have people to share ideas with and steel ideas from,” Mark chuckles mischievously, with a twinkle in his voice.

With his solo album “A Taste of Mark Morriss” out on July 31st, Mark has had a colourful career playing with The Bluetones, with more than an amazing 10,000 shows in over 73 countries under the band’s belts, along with touring with Radiohead, The Range and Bruce Hornsby and performing at Top of the Pops and Glastonbury. So it’s understandable that Mark finds it hard to pick a prominent moment when quizzed on his favourite musical memory.

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Going solo: Mark Morriss’ new solo album ‘ A Taste of Mark Morriss” is out July 31st.

“It’s difficult to say, there’s so many wonderful memories we’ve shared together,” he says fondly. “But one that stands out is the first time we visited Japan. That was incredibly exciting because you know it was purely through our music because it gave us a passport to destinations which we’d never imagined we’d be able to visit. The crowds were incredible in Japan. There’s a completely different etiquette at gigs than there is over here and in Europe. They really listen, stop dead, whilst you’re playing.  It takes some getting used to at first but it certainly has its own charm.”

With The Bluetones new tour being more of a look back and revisit to their most popular songs, where the audience can enjoy a crowd pleasing set from what Mark dubs a “jukebox angle”, the front man is thrilled to be playing The Ritz in Manchester on September 19th. “I think that was the first gig on the tour to sell out, which is always obviously quite a big buzz for us, gives us quite a lift but I mean we’ve been playing in Manchester now since 1994, and never had a bad experience.” 

Displaying his cheeky sense of humour, Mark says “I don’t know why fans should come, depends on the telly that night I suppose,” but then adds: “We’re completely charged up for this, I mean the four of us are so excited. Four years is a long time. Imagine playing together every day since you were eighteen, nineteen, not playing for four years it brings back a nice time in itself, so we’re really stoked as they say in Australia to be together again.” 

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