Footage has been shared on social media of The Bluetones‘ frontman Mark Morriss joking on stage about allegations made against him last year by his ex-wife, who called him a sexual predator and claimed he had abused her.
In a lengthy blog post, titled ‘If I’m Lying, Come Sue Me’, newspaper executive Anna Wharton accused Morriss of being a “pathological liar and serial predator” – detailing years of alleged gaslighting, abuse and cheating.
When approached by NME about the claims, Morriss said: “I completely refute all the allegations of abuse which have been raised in this article,” and did not wish to comment further.
In new footage shared on social media over the weekend, a video has emerged that captures a solo show Morriss was playing at Cafe Indie in Scunthorpe on February 12.
After discussing that he would have music and merchandise for sale at the show, he told the crowd: “You do know that, by buying my merchandise, you are enabling a whole, whole wardrobe full of unseemly behaviour, which I can only afford to do with that merchandise money.”
He later appeared to remark: “That’s a side of me I didn’t really want you to see. I’d rather you just think of me as a sexual predator… an abuser. A party guy.”
He added: “Isn’t it funny how life keeps throwing you these lemons? It’s just the way the cards come down.”
Does Mark Morriss *really* think it's ok to make jokes about being a predator?
Location: Cafe Indie, Scunthorpe
Date: Sat 12th February 2022#markmorriss #thebluetones #believewomen pic.twitter.com/ir50tW8Mgx— Mary (@indiefail) February 13, 2022
When speaking to The Guardian in response to last year’s abuse allegations, Morriss said: “I may have been thoughtless and selfish in some of the dealings in my personal life of late, but these allegations of abuse and gaslighting are wholly untrue, and I refute them completely.”
The frontman went on to say that his personal life had “certainly gotten into a hell of a tangle, people have undoubtedly been hurt because of me” and that “in many ways, all this coming to light is a great relief,” adding: “I am sincerely sorry for everything to anyone caught up here.”
Wharton’s post began: “I have often talked on here, or on Twitter of my abusive ex-husband, though I have never named him. I am aware, it is not difficult to put us together though. But I have a particularly important reason for naming him now: to protect other women.”
She continued: “For too long, he has relied on telling people that I am crazy, and lying about me. He has been gaslighting women to believe what he wanted them to, convincing them not to put the dots together and realise what a narcissistic, pathological liar and serial predator he is.”
The Bluetones found fame in the ’90s, with hit singles top 20 singles including ‘Slight Return’, ‘Cut Some Rug’ and ‘Marblehead Johnson’. They released their sixth and final album ‘A New Athens’ in 2010 and then split in 2011, before reforming in 2015 and continuing to tour. Morris also works as a solo artist, and has appeared as the vocalist for Billy Reeves’ The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost project and in the live band of Matt Berry, The Maypoles.
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