Russell Morris

Russell Morris joined Somebody’s Image in 1967.

The band (Russell, Eric Cairns, Les Townsend, Kevin Thomas and Les Owen) became very popular in Australia and released three singles – When I Come Home, Hush and Hide and Seek. He left the group 18 months later.

After visiting old friend Ronnie Burns, Russell decided to try and make it as a solo artist and in early 1969 he went into the studio to record his debut solo single, The Real Thing.

Written by John Young (later the host of Young Talent Time) and produced by future Countdown svengali Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum at a cost of $10,000 over several weeks in the studio, the epic six-minute psychedelic production horrified executives at EMI who refused to release the track.

After weeks of battling, the song was finally released. It topped the Australian charts and spent 17 weeks at #1, earning Russell a gold record.

Today, it is recognised as a landmark in Australian recording history – a work of pure genius crafted from the most basic raw material.

Almost overnight, Russell Morris became the most adored Australian pop star since Normie Rowe.

His success took the entire Australian music industry (except perhaps Molly Meldrum) by surprise – after all, he wasn’t really the most attractive bod in the land.

Yet his gawky boyish charm and honest sincerity, combined with a wardrobe of the most absolutely trendy gear and the continual support of Go-Set and Uptight won him the heart of every young girl who laid eyes on him.

The young lad found it almost impossible to meet the huge national demand for him, and rarely has the lifespan of a pop star been so ridiculously brief.

Russell stood the breakneck pace for just a few months before he began to crack under the strain.

His most memorable appearances included the 2UW New Sounds of ’69 competition playoff at Sydney Showground in July 1969 (where he topped the bill over 26 local rock groups and kept the ambulance men working at a frantic pace for the short duration of his set) and the national Starlift tour, which he undertook throughout September with Ronnie Burns, Johnny Farnham, Zoot, The Valentines, Doug Parkinson in Focus and The Masters Apprentices.

In June 1971, after a sojourn in Britain, Morris released the single Sweet Sweet Love which became a solid Australian hit. In April 1972, he hit the charts again with the sprightly Live With Friends, a #13 national hit, and turned quite a few heads at the Mulwalla Rock Festival.

He then headed to the UK again, having cooked up a deal to use Cat Stevens backing group to record a new album. He left Australia with the classically beautiful single Wings of an Eagle, which shot straight into the top ten.

Morris recorded the album in England but then scrapped it and began again in Los Angeles a year later. The (self-titled) album eventually surfaced on RCA in 1975. He followed it in 1976 with Russell Morris 2 (titled Turn It On in Australia).

Returning to Australia, he toured with Russell Morris & the Rubes, who achieved critical acclaim, but mainstream radio refused to play their tracks. They eventually called it a day, and Morris branched out into musical theatre, appearing in The Rocky Horror Show and Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 1996, Morris joined fellow 1960s singers Ronnie Burns and Darryl Cotton and began touring as Burns Cotton & Morris. The group released three albums.

In 2000, Jim Keays replaced Burns, and the group called themselves Cotton Keays & Morris. They released five albums over the next five years and toured until Darryl Cotton’s death in 2012.

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