03 July 2024 - 0 Comments

Plus1 proudly announces that much-loved singer-songwriter Rikki Morris will be releasing his first album in 28 years – About Time – on August 30th.

To celebrate he'll be touring New Zealand for six concerts from 30 August to 8 September. The tour reaches Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch, Tauranga, Hamilton and New Plymouth, with tickets on sale at Plus1.co.nz from 8am today.

In 1988, New Zealand was riding the wave of 80's pop culture, and at the forefront was Rikki Morris. Nobody Else captured the hearts of Kiwis, making it one of the biggest hits of the era, and a song that still resonates with audiences today. Produced by Rikki's late brother Ian Morris, Nobody Else topped the NZ charts in October 1988.

In 1991 Rikki's song Heartbroke won the APRA Silver Scroll award for the best New Zealand song of the year, and in 1996 he released a solo album, Everest, produced by Eddie Rayner, formerly of Split Enz. Following the album's release, Rikki scored support gigs with US chart-toppers Hootie & The Blowfish, and New Zealand and Australian tours with the legendary Bread.

Then life got in the way.

Rikki says, "Every New Year I would make the same promise…“THIS is the year I start recording a new album”. I had hundreds of songs sitting around! It can’t be THAT difficult? And therein lay the problem. Pre-production would take ten times longer than recording the album itself. The process appeared daunting.

Enter Mr Wayne Bell. An old friend who drummed on my debut album Everest. A fine producer and musician and an even better bloke..."

You can hear the results yourself when About Time is released on August 30th, and Rikki Morris will celebrate with his Auckland release show that night at the Tuning Fork.

Rikki’s album release continues a big year for the singer-songwriter. In March he featured at the three Sounds Series festivals alongside The Human League and Go West, and earlier this week it was announced Rikki will be part of the Th’ Dudes reunion.

Rikki's daughter Oni Kidman will be the support act for all shows, and and joining Rikki on stage is one of our country’s finest guitarist, Chet O’Connell.

Tickets for all Rikki Morris shows are available from Plus1.co.nz

The first single from Rikki Morris's forthcoming album About Time is The Saddest Sound, which was actually written by his brother Ian Morris, who sadly passed away on 7 October 2010.

Rikki says, "After Th' Dudes broke up in 1980, Ian recorded a bunch of acoustic demos. He gave me a cassette tape of the songs he had recorded and I fell in love with one in particular, called The Saddest Sound. During one of the lockdowns, I found the cassette whilst clearing out some boxes. After dusting off my cassette player and reminiscing over the long-lost demos, I knew I had to record 'The Saddest Sound'. I'm fairly certain it would've been a Dudes song, had they stayed together."

Listen to The Saddest Sound on Bandcamp

Rikki Morris: About Time Album Release Tour

Friday 30 August, Tuning Fork, Auckland

Saturday 31 August, Room Twenty5, Nelson

Sunday 1 September, The Shelter, Lincoln Christchurch

Friday 6 September, The Jam Factory, Tauranga

Saturday 7 September, Nivara Lounge, Hamilton

Sunday 8 September, 4th Wall Theatre, New Plymouth

Tickets for all Rikki Morris shows are available from plus1.co.nz

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