Stephen Morris of Joy Division and New Order perfected the art of placing the human at the core of the electronic music machine. It’s perhaps that instinct that has led him to building up quite a collection of military vehicles, housed in a barn next to the New Order studios in the Pennine hills above Macclesfield. Quietus co-founder Luke Turner and filmmaker Ethan Reid travelled to this secret installation within artillery range of central Manchester to speak to Morris about his hobby and to watch him do battle with the local postman in his Ferret armoured car. In the film, Morris reveals that it all began with Airfix kits and the time when his New Order bandmate and partner Gillian Gilbert wouldn’t let him buy a Bristol car but said it was fine to have a huge Abbot self-propelled gun. He also describes the Beltring, a Glastonbury for military vehicle enthusiasts, where the SS re-enactment groups always seem to be policemen. Unsurprisingly, collecting military vehicles was a better investment than the Hacienda. With Gabe Gurnsey of Factory Floor, he looks at the connections between his enthusiasm for military vehicles and old synthesisers. "My bandmates laugh at me," he says "you’ve bought some more old shit!". The Stephen Morris film is part of a series called The Quietus At Leisure, looking at what our favourite musicians do in their spare time, and is brought to you in association with Lush. To read Luke Turner’s profile of Stephen Morris on the Lush website, go here.
The Quietus At Leisure Films: Stephen Morris’ Military Vehicles
In our new short film series produced in association with Lush, Stephen Morris of New Order and Joy Division discusses his collection of military vehicles, poised for action on the Pennine hills
