Bryan Morrison (14 August 1942 – 27 September 2008) was an English businessman, music publisher and
polo
Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
player.
Career
He served as representative for musicians such as
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. His company, the Bryan Morrison Agency, became one of the leading London booking agents for R&B and progressive rock, as well as organising tours for US acts. Eventually Bryan had the exclusive booking rights for clubs like Blaises, the Cromwellian and the Revolution, in
Bruton Street, Mayfair. Among other notable bands he represented were
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
,
Incredible String Band,
Tyrannosaurus Rex
''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...
,
The Pretty Things, the
Deviants and the
Pink Fairies
Pink Fairies are an English proto-punk rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and ot ...
. Helping John Schatt to expand his early Music Management Company, eventually to become The Filmpow Group.
In 1968 he formed Lupus Music, a publishing company representing Pink Floyd,
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...
, The Pretty Things and
The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, T. Rex,
Doctors of Madness and
Free.
In 1977, Morrison went on to form further music publishing companies, And Son Music, publishing
The Jam
The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...
and
John Otway and
Bryan Morrison Music, publishing
Secret Affair,
Richard Strange and
Haircut 100.
In 1981, Morrison went into partnership with
Dick Leahy as Morrison/Leahy Music and published
Wham!
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...
and
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
as a solo artist.
He developed a passion for
polo
Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
after he learnt to play at
Ham Polo Club in London. For a short while he was the club's president. Later Morrison founded his own polo club, the
Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club. He died in September 2008 following a polo accident that left him in a coma. His son Jamie represented England in polo and later became chairman of the club.
References
External links
www.lupus-music.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Bryan
1942 births
2008 deaths
Roehampton Trophy
English polo players