Ozit Morpheus

Archived

4 replies · 890 views

This is an archived legacy thread. Replies are closed, but the discussion is preserved.

← Back to Digital Republic

5 posts

11 Jul 2009, 07:23

Who knows anything about those shady Martin Hannett tapes compilations from Ozit Morpheus/Interstate Records?

I picked up a copy of the 2-disc In The Studio With Martin Hannett yesterday just out of curiosity, and it's really weird. If these are legit, then Hannett had his own private psychedelic reel - sped up versions of songs? Yeah, I used to do stuff like that when I was tripping, too.

They aren't very listenable. Plus, the graphic design is awful, and this latest one includes a catalog/order form that's thicker than the CD booklet, full of shady Doors, Steve Hillage, and 70's festival releases.

Who is Chris Hewitt?

12 Jul 2009, 00:26

The 2 disc one is largely fake and does a huge disservice to the work and legacy of Martin Hannett.

I mean, what band uses a friggin' metronome in a studio?

12 Jul 2009, 00:45

Had a look over at the MDMArchive and Chris Hewitt had done some work at Tractor Music(A Manchester PA hire/gear building place). There was a photo of their shopfront with a bass cabinet out the front which was supposed to be one built for Hooky. Martin Hannett was working with them at one stage as well from what I've heard/read elsewhere. Maybe Martin had left some of his production tapes around the place and Chris Hewitt had copied them...the lure of lucre probably became too much to resist. :nono:

12 Jul 2009, 00:48

The second disc was full of fake stuff, so Chris has seemingly run out of material to bootleg and wasn't going to let that fact stop the cash-in.

16 Jul 2009, 10:02

Chris Hewitt used to be a business partner of Hooky. They owned Suite 16 in Rochdale together.

Hewitt owns Ozit which is basically a bootlegging outfit, marketed in an attempt to make it appear legit. It's been pretty successful to an extent...it's not unusual to find his stock in high street record shops. There was even an (un)healthy supply of Ozit releases in HMV, Tokyo last year!.

Hewitt's involvement in recording studios and PA firms is how various master tapes and sound board recordings etc have fallen into his possession over the years. He was the subject of a major league rant by Hooky on Myspace last year in relation to ownership of JD Masters which I understand Hooky has now bought from Hewitt.

You have to wonder how his business - trading in blatant contravention of copywrite, at least on the face of it - has escaped serious legal action. Maybe some tenuous 'grey area' of the law that's providing protection??.