Siouxsie And The Banshees’ Founding Drummer Kenny Morris Dead At 68

Kenny Morris, the founding drummer for goth post-punk legends Siouxsie And The Banshees, has died. His friend, journalist John Robb, is among those who’ve confirmed the news. No cause of death has been revealed. Morris was 68.

Morris only played with the Banshees from 1977 to 1979, but his playing on their first two albums, 1978’s The Scream and 1979’s Join Hands, helped them to develop a haunted post-punk sound that would become massively influential over the years. Morris’ pounding, primitivist style became an essential component of the early post-punk aesthetic; Stephen Morris of Joy Division and New Order, in particular, cited Morris as a key influence. In his book Goth, the Cure’s Lol Tolhurst credited Morris specifically for shaping the Banshees’ aesthetic:

The Banshees as a band had a sort of monochromatic power that mostly
came from Kenny Morris’s drums and John McKay’s guitar underpinned by
Steven Severin’s bass pulse. It helped that the drums were big and black as most
of the instruments were. No sunburst hippie instruments for the Banshees!

Morris was born to Irish parents in the London area in 1957 and grew up in Essex. In 1976, while studying art and filmmaking, he briefly joined Sid Vicious’ band Flowers Of Romance. That year, he attended Malcolm McLaren’s 100 Club Punk Festival, where vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin played a semi-impromptu set with Marco Pirroni on guitar and Sid Vicious on drums, vamping on the Lord’s Prayer for 20 minutes.

Morris was among those impressed with the performance, which was supposed to be a one-off. When Sioux and Severin decided to keep the band going, Morris came on board as their drummer in January 1977. By midyear, they’d landed on guitarist John McKay to complete the classic ’70s lineup.

The Banshees were critical darlings from the beginning, praised by outlets like NME for their unique combination of influences and unconventional use of the guitar-bass-drums setup. The BBC’s John Peel was an early supporter, as was Factory Records/Hacienda cofounder Tony Wilson. The band was also closely aligned with the Cure, whose Robert Smith filled in on guitar when Morris and McKay quit the band in 1979 following an argument at an in-store appearance.

Morris’ departure from the group led to Budgie from the Slits taking over as the Banshees transitioned to more of a new wave/alt-rock sound. After leaving the Banshees, Morris pursued various live drumming and production projects and used his film-school experience to direct short films. He relocated to Ireland in 1993, where he taught, painted, and ran an art gallery. Late in life he began drumming again for Dublin post-punk band Shrine Of The Vampyre. During the pandemic he finished writing his memoir, which is scheduled for release this year.

Below, revisit some of Morris’ Banshee beats.