Photo: Heath | Hiroshi Morie (January 22, 1968 – October 2023), known exclusively by his stage name Heath, was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2007 until his death in 2023.
After performing in bands such as Paranoia and Media Youth, Heath joined X Japan in August 1992, replacing Taiji who had left earlier in the year. They released two number one studio albums, Art of Life (1993) and Dahlia (1996), before disbanding in 1997. Heath then focused on his solo career, which he started in 1995, before forming Dope HEADz with X Japan guitarist Pata and former Spread Beaver percussionist/programmer I.N.A. in 2000. The group ceased activity after its second album in 2002. Heath reunited with X Japan in 2007 and continued to perform and record with them sporadically for the next 16 years, until his death from cancer in October 2023.
The first band Heath became a fan of was Mötley Crüe, followed by Deep Purple, Rainbow and Kiss. He started playing in bands himself during junior high school. When one of these groups decided each member should have a stage name, Hiroshi choose Heath, which was derived from his nickname “Hi-chan”. His first known band was the heavy metal group Paranoia, which he joined in 1986 as bassist. They released one studio album in 1987 before splitting up the following year, with vocalist Nov moving on to the thrash metal band Aion. In 1988, Heath joined Sweet Beet as vocalist for a year. After moving to Tokyo in 1990, he was introduced to Hide of X through a common friend, and attended their Nippon Budokan concert in May.
In 1991 Heath performed at Extasy Summit ’91, an event put on by X drummer Yoshiki’s Extasy Records, with a band called Majestic Isabelle. In April 1992 he joined Sweet Death, a band produced by Extasy that he had previously played with in 1990. That same year the band’s new leader Kiyoshi (who years later joined Spread Beaver), decided to change their name to Media Youth. Heath did not stay with them long, because in May 1992, Hide invited him to join X after a rehearsal with the band. Heath explained that Hide asked him to record with X as they were lacking a bassist and gave him a demo tape of about five songs to learn. After playing with the band in a studio, he received a phone call almost immediately after getting home from Hide, who told him that everyone liked him and to consider officially joining.
In June, Heath left Media Youth and on August 24, 1992, at a press conference in New York at Rockefeller Center, it was announced that he had joined X Japan. At the same time, the band announced the changing of their name from “X” to “X Japan”. Heath’s first concert with them was the October 1992 Extasy Summit, and the following year they released Art of Life, which topped the Oricon Albums Chart. However, that year the members of X Japan took a break to start solo projects. Dahlia, which would become the band’s last album, was released on November 4, 1996, and once again, it reached the number one spot. In September 1997, it was announced that X Japan would disband. They performed their farewell show, aptly titled The Last Live, at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997.
In 1995, Heath began a solo career with a self-titled home video release on February 22, that came with a five-track CD. His October 1996 single “Meikyuu no Lovers” was used as the ending theme of the Detective Conan anime adaptation and reached number six on the Oricon Singles Chart. His first album, Gang Age Cubist, followed in June 1998. For the 1999 Hide tribute album, Tribute Spirits, Heath teamed up with X Japan guitarist Pata and former Spread Beaver percussionist/ programmer I.N.A. to cover the song “Celebration”. He reunited with them in 2000 when they formed Dope HEADz, adding vocalist Jo:Ya. They released two singles and an album in 2002 when they recruited new singer Shame and released Planet of Dope, but ceased activity soon after its release.
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In response to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011, Heath supported X Japan vocalist Toshi in eight concerts throughout western Japan in April. All of the shows were acoustic in support of nationwide power conservation efforts and also featured Luna Sea’s Shinya and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. All proceeds were donated to the Japanese Red Cross to aid the victims.
Heath performed at the 25th anniversary concert of his X Japan band mate Sugizo that was held at Zepp Haneda on November 29, 2022. He played bass during “Enola Gay Reloaded”, “Misogi” and “Tell Me Why?”. Heath appeared at the “Evening / Breakfast with Yoshiki 2023 in Tokyo Japan Sekaiichi Gokana Dinner Show” event on August 20, 2023, where he performed “Rusty Nail” on bass with Yoshiki on piano. It turned out to be his final public performance due to his death two months later.
On November 7, 2023, News Post Seven reported that Heath had died from cancer in October 2023, at the age of 55. A source told the news website that the musician had felt unwell since the beginning of the year and that when he went to a doctor, he was diagnosed with cancer that had already progressed to an advanced stage. Heath reportedly died suddenly in late October, shortly after his diagnosis, without having notified his X Japan band mates of his condition.
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Read more of Heath’s bio here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_(musician)
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OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
If you are thinking of committing suicide, please think of how much it will hurt your family and friends. Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at
http://www.wikipedia.com
November 2023
7: C-Knight, 52, American rapper (The Dove Shack), complications from a stroke; Heath, 55, Japanese bassist (X Japan), cancer.
6: Nadira Begum, Bangladeshi folk singer; Iván Cruz, 77, Peruvian bolero singer and composer; Sean Martin, 26, English musician (The Night Café).
5: Ryland Davies, 80, Welsh operatic tenor and voice teacher (Royal College of Music), mesothelioma; Anne Hart, 90, British actress and singer; Harald Heckmann, 98, German musicologist; Lolita Rodrigues, 94, Brazilian singer and actress (Rainha da Sucata, Despedida de Solteiro, Kubanacan), pneumonia.
4: Manuel Castillo Girón, 83, Honduran singer-songwriter; Akbar Golpayegani, 89, Iranian singer.
3: Pete Garner, 61, British bassist (The Stone Roses), cancer.
2: Michel Pilz, 78, German jazz clarinetist; Evgeniy Shiryaev, 80, Russian composer; Yuri Temirkanov, 84, Russian conductor.
1: Pierre Dutour, 91, French trumpeter; Leela Omchery, 94, Indian classical singer and musicologist; Vladimir Urbanovich, 85, Russian baritone; Vic Vergeat, 72, Italian guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2023
Photo: Heath of X Japan | From Facebook
Hiroshi Morie, a/k/a Heath, Bassist for Heavy Metal Band X Japan // Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths
