Farewell dude - tribute to Ian Morris

Founding member of Th' Dudes, author of sporting anthem C'mon The Bay, husband, father and a huge Hawke's Bay talent, Ian Morris will be missed.
Friends and family of Ian Morris are heartbroken over the loss of their "beloved Ian", a man described as a musical genius, mate and dearest friend.
Morris was a musician celebrated nationwide who touched the hearts of many he came into contact with.
With his death on Thursday, New Zealand music has lost not only one of the founding members and guitarist of late 70s pop-rock band Th'Dudes, but a gifted studio producer. His friends and family say he will be sorely missed.
Napier police would not provide details about Mr Morris' death but said there were no suspicious circumstances.
A statement released on behalf of his family yesterday by musician and manager Brent Eccles said "the Morris family are deeply saddened by the loss of their beloved Ian".
He was married to When the Cat's Away singer Kim Willoughby.
"They are mourning at this time and request respect for their privacy - they're having to deal with a horrendous situation.
"An awful lot of people in the entertainment industry are deeply saddened."
Mr Eccles said details about information concerning a celebration of his life would follow but at the present time the loss of Morris was enough to deal with.
His Dudes bandmate Peter Urlich said "I am trying to awake from a terrible dream ... my dearest and oldest friend has gone.
"Countless memories and images flood my head ... the shy wee English kid in Form 1 plucking his nylon stringed guitar to Feed the Birds - the first ever Ian Morris performance I witnessed.
"The proud 15-year-old with his first electric, already spending too much time in his bedroom.
"The best rhythm player in the country, effortlessly cool in his louche shirt and boots, capturing the stares of more girls than me.
"The perfectionist, bent over the multi-track, as the best ears in the business produced another great song.
"The dearly loved friend of 42 years showing my young boys, with all the patience and kindness of a dad, how to tune a 'gat'.
"We shared so much. A million songs, a thousand jokes, even a couple of girlfriends. He was a part of me and I never once considered he mightn't be there all the way."
Speaking on behalf of Dave Dobbyn was his manager Lorraine Barry, who said her client wasn't up to making a comment.
Peter Urlich, Dave Dobbyn and Ian Morris were school friends at Sacred Heart College and on leaving school they shared the dream of becoming musicians. Th' Dudes began rehearsing in the summer of 1975 and went on to have national success.
Morris had a hand in penning many of the band's hits, including Walking In Light, Right First Time and the party favourite Bliss but left Th' Dudes in 1980.
Showing the sense of humour he carried through the rest of his life, Morris played the final Dudes show naked but for a strategically placed Fender Stratocaster.
He also found success as a solo artist under the name Tex Pistol, with his cover of the Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders song The Game of Love topping the New Zealand charts in 1987.
A collaboration with his brother Rikki Morris on the song Nobody Else also reached the No 1 spot in 1988.
His talents saw him produce a wide range of acts over the years including Hello Sailor - it was Morris who engineered the distinctive snare drum sounds on Gutter Black, which has had a second life as the theme to Outrageous Fortune.
He was also behind the mixing desk on Dobbyn's post-Dudes outfit DD Smash, the Screaming Meemees, the Warratahs and Greg Johnson, and worked with Dobbyn on his former bandmate's 2000 album Hopetown.
His next move was to Hawke's Bay from Auckland with his wife and two children in 2005 to escape working in advertising.
Morris was one of the management crew who re-opened Napier's Cabana, saying the CBD needed to be a place where people could freely congregate, enjoy themselves, entertain and be entertained.
In recent years Morris' non-musical activities included his website Stupidad (www.igmusic.co.nz/stupidad.html) in which he made "observations on the stupidity that advertising agencies try to serve on an unsuspecting public".
In 2006 Th' Dudes reformed for a national tour, with Morris writing a tour diary for the NZ Herald.
Current owner of the Cabana Roy Brown knew Morris through the bar and playing in local rockabilly rave-up band Black Snapper. "It's all just a bit close at the moment. I love him dearly and he was a genius, an absolute genius.
"It just breaks my heart, just absolutely breaks my heart."
Sport Hawke's Bay commercial manager Kevin Murphy dealt with Mr Morris through the creation of the song C'mon The Bay and through social sport. He describes Morris as a great musician, but more importantly a "mate" who will "be missed dearly".
- Additional reporting, NZ Herald