The 72-year-old taking the Scottish dance music scene by storm

A new star is taking the dance music scene in Scotland by storm – 72-year-old Tony Morris.

The retired book-keeper, who has also tried his hand at lecturing and driving a taxi, previously considered himself a failure until he discovered electronic dance music just before lockdown.

He composes his songs at home – which are no longer than a minute long as he gets out of breath easily – and his sets last just 30 minutes.

He favours dark, steamy subterranean clubs and has adoring fans clamouring for selfies and kisses after his sets – with one woman even kissing his feet.

He has a gig coming up with Belfast musician and composer David Holmes and his first single is soon to be released.

“I don’t dance myself – I want to make that absolutely clear,” he told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme.

“But I’ve always liked dance music and I got the opportunity to mess about with it myself when someone introduced me to the software.

“I couldn’t play any musical instruments but I thought ‘crikey you can make music with a computer these days’ so I started putting some stuff online

“It got a wee bit of notice and then I made a wee Instagram video in the house and it went viral at the beginning of the year.”

Tony really enjoys playing in the small clubs around Glasgow and has seemingly gained quite a following, saying he has been received by clubbers “ridiculously well”.

His fans range from people in their early 20s to those in their early 70s.

“Probably my only achievement in life is my voice,” he said.

“I particularly enjoy live performance. It’s opened up a completely different aspect of my personality.

“I love doing it, especially in the subterranean, dark, steamy, late-night venues. I just love playing in those.”

He said the response he has received has been “absolutely incredible”

“It’s almost like a mini Beatlemania – folk coming up to me at the end, hugging me, wanting selfies, kissing me,” he said. “One woman came up and kissed my feet.”

Tony’s songs are only about a minute long and his sets only last half an hour.

“My own attention span is pretty limited – probably because of my age,” he said. “I cant be bothered going to a very long film at the cinema or anything like that.

“I quite like short, sharp things and I’ve always liked pop singles going back to the 60s and 70s which only lasted two-and-a-half or three minutes.”

Speaking about his sets he said: “I’m absolutely drenched with sweat at the end of the half hour and more or less have to get an ambulance to take me home.”

Tony grew up listening to the likes of The Beatles and The Kinks then in his late teens he discovered radio DJ John Peel and got into avant-garde music such as Captain Beefheart.

He also appreciates classical and church music.

“My father was always singing Welsh male voice choir songs around the house,” he told BBC Scotland News.

Tony discovered electronic dance music in his mid 60s.

“It seemed to me to be the best form of pop music going,” he said. “It had all the features I like but just in clubs and raves.

“I thought it was fantastic.”

Tony has a gig with musician David Holmes in Belfast at the end of the month which he described as “a very exciting and important gig in the world of electronic dance music”.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” he said.

His first single, entitled Single, will be out on Glasgow’s Optimo music label in September.