Biography
Born in London in 1950, Morgan Fisher personified the classic British eccentric across a career stretching through pop, glam, and ambient realms. Initial attention arrived via his Hammond organ work in the 1960s pop outfit the Love Affair, which topped the U.K. charts in 1968 with "Everlasting Love." An early synthesizer purchase prompted a shift toward electronic composition, yielding film scores for experimental projects while he also assembled the "classical rock" outfit Morgan, fronted by Tim Staffell, the onetime Queen singer who had briefly belonged to the Third Ear Band.
Joining Mott the Hoople as pianist in 1973, Fisher stayed on after Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson departed, performing with the remaining members now operating simply as Mott. The band later became the British Lions before splitting in the late 1970s. Despite his history and flamboyant style—marked by a signature white suit, homburg, and waxed mustache—Fisher embraced punk's energy by launching the independent Pipe Records and producing releases for the Dead Kennedys, Jayne County, and Cherry Vanilla.
The 1980 ambient collaboration Slow Music with avant-jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill preceded his adoption of the Hybrid Kids alias for A Collection of Classic Mutants, a fabricated 1980 compilation presented as new wave covers of pop standards by obscure acts. In truth the entire album came from Fisher and associates including Jah Wobble. He next curated the authentic Miniatures anthology, gathering 51 one-minute pieces from contributors such as Robert Wyatt, the Residents, the Damned's Dave Vanian, and XTC's Andy Partridge.
After issuing Claws in 1982, another Hybrid Kids project focused on Christmas material, Fisher toured with Queen and then undertook an extended period away in India and the United States. Settling in Japan, he adopted the name Veetdharm and resumed ambient work with 1984's Look at Life. Water Music appeared in 1985 and Ivories in 1987; in 1990 he collaborated with Yoko Ono on the tribute Echoes of Lennon. His 1994 return to London for a memorial concert honoring the late Mick Ronson led to the assembly of artists for Miniatures for the Millennium, released in 1995. Inside Satie arrived two years afterward, followed by 1999's Peace in the Heart of the City on Cherry Red. The subsequent year brought both Nova Solis under the Morgan name and another edition of Water Music.
Joining Mott the Hoople as pianist in 1973, Fisher stayed on after Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson departed, performing with the remaining members now operating simply as Mott. The band later became the British Lions before splitting in the late 1970s. Despite his history and flamboyant style—marked by a signature white suit, homburg, and waxed mustache—Fisher embraced punk's energy by launching the independent Pipe Records and producing releases for the Dead Kennedys, Jayne County, and Cherry Vanilla.
The 1980 ambient collaboration Slow Music with avant-jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill preceded his adoption of the Hybrid Kids alias for A Collection of Classic Mutants, a fabricated 1980 compilation presented as new wave covers of pop standards by obscure acts. In truth the entire album came from Fisher and associates including Jah Wobble. He next curated the authentic Miniatures anthology, gathering 51 one-minute pieces from contributors such as Robert Wyatt, the Residents, the Damned's Dave Vanian, and XTC's Andy Partridge.
After issuing Claws in 1982, another Hybrid Kids project focused on Christmas material, Fisher toured with Queen and then undertook an extended period away in India and the United States. Settling in Japan, he adopted the name Veetdharm and resumed ambient work with 1984's Look at Life. Water Music appeared in 1985 and Ivories in 1987; in 1990 he collaborated with Yoko Ono on the tribute Echoes of Lennon. His 1994 return to London for a memorial concert honoring the late Mick Ronson led to the assembly of artists for Miniatures for the Millennium, released in 1995. Inside Satie arrived two years afterward, followed by 1999's Peace in the Heart of the City on Cherry Red. The subsequent year brought both Nova Solis under the Morgan name and another edition of Water Music.
Albums
