Tex & Rikki

Every day in May, to mark NZ Music Month, Gary Steel presents something local from his considerable behind. Personal archive, that is. Today’s surprise item?

First published in the RTR Countdown, June 1989.

IS IT TEX Pistol, Ian & Rikki, or Tex Pistol & Rikki Morris? How about plain ol’ TEX & RIKKI?
In ’87 Tex Pistol (otherwise known as former Dude and current studio whizzkid Ian Morris) had a top 10 hit with his unique version of ‘The Game Of Love’. One year later he had a number one hit with ‘Nobody else’, a song written by his real-life bro’ Rikki. Now they’re back as Tex & Rikki to avoid confusion, with a new single called ‘Come Back Louise’, which Rikki describes as “very tongue-in-cheek.”
“I wrote it a couple of years ago. You know those keyboards that write songs for you? Push two keys together and it starts playing. I came home drunk one night and started playing these patterns and thought, ‘that’s a neat little feel’, and it eventuated into this ridiculously poppy, commercial song. It’s about walking home in the rain with your pay and having nowhere to go because she’s gone It’s truly awful but I think it’ll be a hit.”
What’s the hit formula? Rikki writes the basics, sings lead and adds some 36 tracks worth of backing vocals (“I don’t need a backing vocalist, I AM a backing vocalist!”); Tex adds the technical studio wizardry and “sprinkles some magic dust over it”.
And what does Rikki think of his climb to fame? “ ‘Nobody Else’ wasn’t going to be a single! The last six months have just been really strange. This whole Tex thing was never meant to be a career move!” GARY STEEL

Note from the author: RIP Ian Morris.

Don’t forget to check out www.audioculture.co.nz after May 31, where you’ll find a vast repository of NZ music history.