Ozit-Morpheus Records

Ozit-Morpheus Records is a UK independent label. They also have (had?) an American office in Century City, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The label was started in Northwich, Cheshire, by Chris Hewitt (2), who oversees operations with the help of Darl Morgan, who runs the US office. The Morpheus part of the name was what Morgan had called his label before merging with Hewitt. Ozit's first act was called Tractor, with origins from Rochdale. In 1968, guitarist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton were recording as The Way We Live with school friend John Brierley operating primitive recording equipment. Their first album as The Way We Live, 'A Candle For Judith', appeared on John Peel's Dandelion label in 1971, followed by a name change to Tractor and a second album in 1972. Also in Rochdale in the early 70s, student Chris Hewitt was promoting bands at local venues. Links with the 'Music Liberation Front' in Liverpool, organised by former Liverpool scene sax player Mike Evans and Bit Information Service in London, led to Hewitt promoting community benefit gigs in Rochdale featuring Ladbroke Grove artists such as The Pink Fairies and Skin Alley. The underground ideology of the Pink Fairies/Hawkwind/International Times influenced Hewitt, who became Tractor's manager. In the 80s, Tractor launched its own label, using the label name Roach Records (now under the Ozit-Morpheus) and in the early 90s, Dr. Graham Bell introduced Chris Hewitt to both Chris Adams of String Driven Thing and Big George Ross Watt of Big George And The Business. Hewitt arranged a reunion gig after 18 years for Chris Adams of SDT and SDT violinist Grahame Smith (also ex-Peter Hamill and Van Der Graaf Generator), as well as bringing Big George And The Business to English audiences. Former SDT drummer Billy Fairley is now living in Canada, and he introduced Chris Hewitt to a friend of his, David Bacha, who would also become an Ozit-Morpheus artist a few years later. In 1996, following the Deeply Vale 20th Anniversary event , Hewitt and Dave Edwards launched the Ozit-Morpheus record label. Hewitt drafted in designer Steve 'Jacuzzi' Hardstaff, known for his sleeve work on the Led Zeppelin VI (aka ZOSO) album, 'Grave New World' by the Strawbs and one album by The Icicle Works. Hardstaff gave Ozit-Morpheus releases an underground hippie identity with his artwork. Tractor members Jim Milne and Steve Clayton have done production work for the label, as well as supervising the transfer of the Tractor/Way We Live catalogue to Ozit-Morpheus administration. Three String Driven Thing albums (all complete with extensive biographical artwork), as well as Chris Adams' new solo album were released, as were the Tractor releases. other planned releases include Big George (former guitarist with The James Dewar Band) and David Bacha. The label has a Audio Collage and Spoken Word series. Including three Jim Morrison releases, one from Beatles, one from John and Sid as The Sex Pistols, one from Sid Vicious alone titled 'Probably His Last Ever Interview' and a spoken word biography of Phil Lynott/Thin Lizzy. The Jim Morrison releases led Ozit-Morpheus to release Doors organist Ray Manzarek and Darryl Reed for the music and poetry album, 'Freshly Dug'. A sister company of Ozit-Morpheus Records is Billy Fury Ltd., set up with Albie Wycherley (aka Joe Meek artist Jason Eddie), who is Billy Fury's brother, and their mother, Jean. One album 'Wondrous Place - Live' is released and Billy Fury and Jason Eddie rarities are planned. An album distributed by Ozit-Morpheus is 'I Never Met Colette' (a reference to a Billy Fury track) by Albie Wycherley. Two releases related to Deeply Vale is Nik Turner of Hawkwind's 'Live At Deeply Vale, 1978', and Pete Farrow's 23-track album, 'Who Says There's No Beach In Stockport?'. The Phil Lynott spoken word album, 'I Am Just A Cowboy', was produced in conjunction with Phil's mother, Philomena, and also includes eight songs performed by Dizzy Lizzy, a tribute band to Thin Lizzy, with paintings by artist Chris Daniel. Hewitt and Hardstaff were invited to assemble the packaging and remaster ex-Beatle Pete Best's 40th Anniversary album for the Casbah Coffee Club, birthplace of The Beatles. This album is distributed by Ozit-Morpheus Records. Another release is Captain Beefheart's 'Live In Liverpool' album, passed on to Ozit-Morpheus by the late Roger Eagle, a promoter in the North West music scene. Doctors Of Madness frontman Richard 'Kid' Strange agreed to re-release three of the group's albums. The first Doctors Of Madness release on Ozit-Morpheus, 'Late Night Movies, All Night Brainstorms', har bonus tracks which include Dave Vanian (of The Damned) and T.V. Smith (once of The Adverts). Two other Smith-related albums on Ozit Morpheus are 'Last Words On The Great Explorer' by Smith's Explorers and T.V. Smith's 'Channel Five, both with bonus tracks. Other plans include an album of remixes featuring the voice of Jim Morrison with tracks supplied by remix artist Karl Fog, who is a mastering engineer for Ozit-Morpheus when not writing and performing his own music. An album with a track from each of the major artists who appeared at Deeply Vale in the 70s is also planned, as are two albums from the Tractor archives, one of totally acoustic songs and the other a collection of all the group's heaviest material. Other plans involve a new album by The Deviants, Merseyside progressive band Inside The Pyramid and an act from the North West, Mr. Blonde, an album by punk band Total Chaos and a vinyl double LP by Tractor/The Way We Live, 'Steve's Hungarian Novel'. Ozit-Morpheus has also been involved in live gigs promoting the label's artists.