by Kelley Simms
( Photo : Jane Stuart )
12 illinoisentertainer . com august 2024
I
Billy Morrison
Help From My Friends
f you ’ re not familiar with Billy Morrison ' s name , now ’ s a good time to familiarize yourself with this talented
British musician ’ s eclectic resumé .
After moving from London to Los Angeles , Morrison played bass in The Cult ’ s live lineup during their 2001 Beyond Good and Evil tour . The following year , he formed the mammoth supergroup Camp Freddy ( now called Royal Machines ) with Jane ’ s Addiction / ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro , ex-Guns N ’ Roses / ex- The Cult ’ s drummer Matt Sorum , Donovan Leitch , and Scott Ford . In 2006 , Morrison formed the dynamic rock band Circus Diablo with fellow The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy , former Fuel frontman Brett Scallions on bass guitar , former The Almighty frontman Ricky Warwick , and Slunt drummer Charles Ruggiero . Over the past 15 years , Morrison has been slinging the axe for Billy Idol ’ s band .
However , on May 24 , 2024 – with a little help from his friends – Morrison released his long-awaited third solo album , The Morrison Project . For the album , Morrison invited a diverse range of guest artists including Ozzy Osbourne , Billy Idol , Steve Stevens , Darryl McDaniels , Al Jourgensen , Steve Vai , Linda Perry , JOHN5 , and others . The 12 genre-hopping tracks showcase Morrison ’ s brilliant songwriting skills and free-flowing creative vision .
Lead-off single , “ Crack Cocaine ,” featuring Osbourne and Stevens , exploded onto the US ’ s top 10 Rock Mediabase chart at No . 5 , as well as No . 7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart , No . 22 on the Billboard Rock & Alternative Chart and No .
1 on Secondary Market Rock Radio . “ Of course , I was surprised ,” Morrison explains during a recent Zoom chat . “ Whenever you do anything creatively , you do it primarily to please yourself . You can ’ t create with a view of , ‘ I wonder if other people will like this .’ The song primarily was created with Steve Ozzy and myself sitting around in a studio writing a song together . When the track came out , the video was really well received . Then it entered in the top 20 . It surpassed all expectations and finally it made it to number one . All of us – Steve , Ozzy and myself – were ( pleased ) to know that we made a song that resonated with not only Ozzy fans , everyone seems to like that song . So , it ’ s an honor .”
This isn ’ t the first time Morrison collaborated with Ozzy . In 2015 on Morrison ’ s second solo album God Shaped Hole , he created the ballad “ Gods ” at the request of Ozzy himself . However , with “ Crack Cocaine ,” Morrison composed the song a few years ago before he even knew he would be doing a solo album . It was just sitting on the shelf when Stevens and Morrison decided to dust it off specifically for this album . “ That song was done two or three years ago by me and Steve ,” Morrison remembers . “ And in the meantime , Covid came along and I was writing music — not necessarily songs — just riffs ; I ’ d write a chorus and then leave it . I had this whole ( hard ) drive full of ideas . I started to put those ideas together in song format . At the same time , Sharon ( Osbourne ) contacted me and said that the “ Crack Cocaine ” song that I did with Ozzy and Steve was a winner , and they thought I should put it out as part of my solo work . At
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