British music legend and drummer Kenny Morris has died at the age of 68.
Morris was a founding member and drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees, a band known for their gothic post-punk music during the 1970s.
The musician featured on the band’s first two albums – 1978’s The Scream and 1979’s Join Hands – before leaving the group.
Both albums, which are regarded as seminal post-punk influences, reached the Top 20 charts.
Confirming his death, his longtime friend John Robb said: ‘He was sweet, articulate, artistic and fascinating company and his beautiful eccentricity was adorable.
‘It was great to know you, Kenny and we will miss your sweet eccentricity and long WhatsApp messages and your art and your gentle presence in a cruel world.’
The music journalist’s tribute added: ‘He would turn up in a suit and a dress with open handcuffs on one hand and the next time in a totally different yet perfectly created bricolage of style, whilst still dressing in the artful confrontation of the 1976 punk era that he was such a key part of.’
The drummer replaced Sid Vicious, who only played one show for Siouxsie and the Banshees before he joined the Sex Pistols.
Solidifying their place on the London underground scene, Morris performed the drums for their debut single, Hong Kong Garden.
He also recorded the cymbals track first, before doing the tom-toms, which came to influence post-punk groups.
Both Morris and guitarist John McKay quit the band in 1979 following an argument during an in-store record signing.
As the band transitioned into the new wave genre, Morris headed to film school and pursued live drumming projects before moving back to Cork and then finally Dublin.
Well-known in the art space, his paintings have also been exhibited at major art shows in Ireland’s capital.
As tributes poured in for Morris following news of his death, author Jon Savage wrote on X: ‘RIP Kenny Morris: original punk, Banshee drummer extraordinaire. I knew him well in the Banshees and was in touch with him recently about his memoir. Which I hope will be published. God bless you Kenny’.
‘Sad news. Another important part of my youth gone’, said @devo14uk.
‘That has shocked me. A long life fan of the original Banshees line up. Kenny and John’s sound WAS the Banshees. Rest in peace Kenny’, wrote @StopTheWorld9.
Others declared him a ‘brilliant drummer’, with those who met him recalling him being ‘lovely’.
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