RUSSELL MORRIS
With a staggering 50 year career and counting, Russell Morris returns with his brand new album, Black And Blue Heart.
Produced by the very highly regarded Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Powderfinger) alongside co-producer Bernard Fanning, Russell continues to find unique ways to challenge himself creatively.
When Russell sent his Black And Blue Heart demos to Nick and Bernard, the producers were immediately blown away, calling him to say they could not stop listening to the songs.
DiDia and Fanning speed-dialled their studio ‘dream team’: guitarist Dan Kelly, drummer Declan Kelly and, from Fanning’s touring band, bassist Matt Englebrecht and former Wolfmother keyboard player Ian Peres. Perched between the tropical bush and panoramic ocean views of La Cueva Studios near Byron Bay, Black And Blue Heart found its rhythm fast.
“I met Bernard [Fanning] a few years ago,” Russell Morris remembers. The Powderfinger frontman came backstage at one of the Australian rock legend’s countless gigs to pay his respects with a mutual friend. “But it wasn’t ‘til I moved up to Queensland last year that we sat down and started talking.”
The warmer environs had already exerted a strange, organic influence on the songs Russell was writing in the wake of the platinum-selling, ARIA-winning blues-rock trilogy — Sharkmouth, Van Diemen’s Land, and Red Dirt Red Heart — that so spectacularly relaunched his career from 2012 onwards.
“As soon as we heard the demos, the quality and grace of the songs was obvious immediately,” Fanning says of the album overall. “It sounded to me like the kind of music only someone with Russell’s backstory could make. He’s always been renowned for his incredible voice but it’s really come into its own now. His tone just communicates this unique life experience, so we just had to get that down.”
Born and bred in the USA, Nick DiDia only learnt of Russell’s top-shelf pedigree during the recording process.
“I was hearing of this amazing Australian music history for the first time as we were making the record,” he says.
It all started, of course, over 50 years ago when Russell Morris became the first Australian artist to score consecutive number one singles with his first two releases – ‘The Real Thing’, which is one of the classic psychedelic singles of all time, and ‘Part Three Into Paper Walls’. Both reached #1 on the Australian chart, and what followed has become one of the most remarkable stories in contemporary Australian music.
Fast forward to October 2012, when Russell Morris began a trilogy of albums, each with a theme of Australian stories. The first, Sharkmouth, is a collection of tracks about the Australia of the 1920s and 1930s. The album went on to reach #6 on the ARIA Chart, and is certified platinum.
Then came Van Diemen’s Land in 2014, which focused on significant events rather than the stories of individuals. From the prison ships that began Australia as a penal settlement, to the union strikes, the First and Second World Wars, Van Diemen’s Land covers a vast array of Australian history.
In 2015 Russell released Red Dirt – Red Heart, amazing musical stories with unique Australian themes, which won the coveted Best Blues And Roots Album at the 2016 ARIA Awards.
Through it all, Russell remains one of the hardest working musicians in the country. For some artists, a new album can almost write itself after almost six decades on the road, but it takes a rare combination of talent and circumstances to realise that vision as vividly and succinctly as Russell Morris does on Black And Blue Heart.
Russell Morris – Black And Blue Heart tracklist:
- Ain’t No Angel
- Is There Anybody Out There?
- Sitting Pretty
- Black And Blue Heart
- See You Go
- Full Moon
- Not My Lucky Day
- Fat Man And The Priest
- Asleep At The Wheel
- Witness Protection
- Forever Remembered
RUSSELL MORRIS
AUSTRALIA
MARCH – JUNE 2019
Mon 11 Mar
Huon Festival | Franklin, TAS
Tickets available at the gate
Thu 14 Mar
Spiegeltent at Adelaide Fringe Festival | Adelaide, SA
gardenofunearthlydelights.com.au
Fri 12 Apr
Darwin Casino | Darwin, NT
moshtix.com.au
Sat 13 Apr
Edgehill Hotel | Cairns, QLD
oztix.com.au
Thu 18 Apr
Byron Bay Bluesfest | Byron Bay, NSW
bluesfest.com.au
Wed 24 Apr (ANZAC Day Eve)
The Espy | St Kilda, VIC
With special guest Ash Grunwald
moshtix.com.au
Fri 26 Apr
The Gov | Adelaide, SA
With special guest Ash Grunwald
oztix.com.au
Fri 3 May
Freo Social | Fremantle, WA
moshtix.com.au
Fri 10 May
Paddington RSL | Paddington, NSW
With special guest Ash Grunwald
trybooking.com
Sat 11 May
The Triffid | Brisbane, QLD
With special guest Ash Grunwald
oztix.com.au
Sun 12 May
Toronto Hotel | Toronto, NSW
Ph: 02 4959 1033
Thu 16 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Bunbury Entertainment Centre | Bunbury, WA
bunburyentertainment.com
Fri 17 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Perth, WA
perthconcerthall.com.au
Sat 18 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Thebarton Theatre | Adelaide, SA
ticketmaster.com.au
Fri 24 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Geelong Performing Arts Centre | Geelong, VIC
gpac.org.au
Sat 25 May
APIA Good Times Tour
Palais Theatre | Melbourne, VIC
ticketmaster.com.au
Sun 26 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Ulumbarra Theatre | Bendigo, VIC
gotix.com.au
Thu 30 May
APIA Good Times Tour | Empire Theatre | Toowoomba, QLD
empiretheatre.com.au
Fri 31 May
APIA Good Times Tour | QPAC Concert Hall | Brisbane, QLD
qpac.com.au
Sun 1 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Twin Towns | Tweed Heads, NSW
Ph: 1800 014 014
Sun 2 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Twin Towns | Tweed Heads, NSW
Ph: 1800 014 014
Thu 13 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Civic Theatre | Newcastle, NSW
ticketek.com.au
Fri 14 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Enmore Theatre | Sydney, NSW
ticketek.com.au
Sat 15 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Anita’s Theatre | Thirroul, NSW
ticketmaster.com.au
Sun 16 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Theatre Centre | Canberra, ACT
canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Fri 7 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Wrest Point Entertainment Centre | Hobart, TAS
ticketmaster.com.au
Sat 8 Jun
APIA Good Times Tour | Princess Theatre | Launceston, TAS
mpv.tickets.com
BLACK AND BLUE HEART IS OUT 5 APRIL 2019 THROUGH BLOODLINES
AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING AND PURCHASE HERE
russellmorris.com.au | facebook.com/realthingrussellmorris
Twitter @landofmorris | Instagram @realthingrussellmorris
youtube.com/user/russellmorrismusic
Part of the Mushroom Group | mushroom.com
For further MEDIA information contact your Mushroom Promotions rep or:
Melbourne: +61 3 8687 1353 | Sydney: +61 2 8356 1299 | info@mushroompromotions.com
mushroompromotions.com | twitter.com/MushroomGroup | facebook.com/MushroomGroup
New Zealand: +64 9 849 7707 or info@mushroompromotions.co.nz
