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Kenny Morris, Founding Drummer of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dies at 68

Tributes highlight his tom-driven style, a defining force in the Banshees’ early post‑punk sound.

Overview

  • His death was confirmed by friend and music journalist John Robb via Louder Than War, and no cause of death has been disclosed.
  • Morris was the band’s first permanent drummer and performed on their first two albums, The Scream (1978) and Join Hands (1979).
  • Peers and writers credited his primitivist, tom‑centric approach as widely influential, with Stephen Morris and Lol Tolhurst among those citing his impact.
  • He left the group with guitarist John McKay in 1979 after a dispute, after which Budgie took over on drums and Robert Smith temporarily filled in on guitar.
  • After moving to Ireland in 1993, he focused on visual art and teaching, later returning to perform with Shrine Of The Vampyre and completing a memoir previously slated for release this year.