As frontman of the underrated indie four-piece the Bluetones, Mark Morriss' softly spoken vocals provided a more sensitive edge to the attitude-laden mid-'90s Brit-pop era. Born in Hounslow, Middlesex in 1971, Morriss began performing in his teens in various local bands before teaming up with Adam Devlin, Eds Chesters, and brother Scott to form the Bluetones, whose debut album, Expecting to Fly, reached number one in 1996. The quartet has continued to record new material ever since, despite decreasing commercial fortunes, but in 2004 Morriss began performing solo at various acoustic open-mike nights, and two years later recorded his first release, The Fi-Low Beddow EP. After signing to Fullfill Records, he began work on his debut album with producer Gordon Mills and Grammy-winning composer David Arnold. Inspired by Love, Fleetwood Mac, and Kurt Vonnegut, the folk-pop-oriented Memory Muscle was released in 2008. ~ Jon O'Brien