This track was originally released on the 2011 album 'Domestic Abuse'
There is so much one could say about Simon. Back in the 1970s, his Norton Lindsey/Stratford punk group Domestic Bliss was a fixture on the local scene, often sharing bills alongside the Shapes, Flackoff, School Meals etc. In latter years he was a solo performer but could be seen occasionally with bands such as a Domestic Bliss reunion and joining legendary Coventry band the Ramrods when they got back together. Both his solo albums 'Domestic Abuse' and 2019's 'More Songs About Hospital Food' (reviewed in "Hot Music Live") were critically acclaimed
Alongside his frequent gigs, often raising money or awareness or both for the causes dear to his heart, Simon found international fame as the founder, creator & chief writer for trakMARX magazine which published insightful & often trenchant articles on punk past & present and hosted articles by renowned names. Perhaps still more to his credit, his work as part of the Coventry Recovery community touched & changed countless lives for the better: driven & informed by his own experiences & health issues, which in turn very much informed his songwriting.
Simon tragically lost his life while this album was being compiled & we are grateful to his family for allowing the inclusion of this track (it was always planned that he'd have one on a volume of the series at some point) and to his daughter Katie for selecting both "Somewhere Over The Spectrum" and the accompanying photograph.
"Morgan’s songs splice the energy and worldly cynicism of punk rock to anthemic tunes with genuinely affecting melodies. In a similar literate lyrical vein to such singer/songwriters as Elvis Costello and Billy Bragg, (His) lyrics delineate a post-modern kitchen-sink landscape of sexual politics, autism, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, death, parental loss, unrequited love, requited love, and social networking. An important voice from the bedsitter heartlands, the evocative nature of Morgan’s descriptions of ‘players, doggers, gold-diggers, users and their pimps’ identifies his talent for charting the topography of the heart. Packed with small-town detail, the dozen songs on Domestic Abuse represent the culmination of over 30 years of songwriting experience and stand as a vivid testament to a creative talent that has not only lived life to its fullest extent, but is also prepared to lay his often hard won experiences bare to a wider audience. " - Dick Porter (writing about 'Domestic Abuse')
"There have, lord knows, been plenty of great songs about addiction & even more about the immediate effects of substances. Few people (I can't actually think of any) have written whole bodies of work about recovery & the long term journeys of themselves nor the people they have supported & Simon deserves much credit for this" (Hot Music Live on 'More Songs About Hospital Food')
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