Polo boss who managed Pink Floyd is dead after two years in a coma
The music impresario Bryan Morrison died in the early hours of yesterday morning, after spending more than two years in a coma.
Mr Morrison, the former manager of pink floyd, suffered severe brain injuries in a polo accident at the Royal Berkshire Polo Club in 2006, and never recovered.
He is believed to have died after contracting an infection. He was 66.
Life of luxury: Bryan Morrison in the garden of his Berkshire mansion before his accident
Last
night a friend of the family said: ‘Bryan was recently moved from a
home for incurables to a nursing home nearer the family. There’s been no
response from Bryan ever since the accident, no recognition, nothing.‘It has been, literally, a living death for all of them. The longer he’s been in a coma, the more susceptible he’s been to infections. He’s been very weak for a long time.’
Mr Morrison was married to Greta, a former model, for 35 years and the couple have two children: polo player Jamie, 31, and 28-year-old Karina, a film maker.
In a rather unconventional arrangement, the pop impresario received hospital visits from his young mistress, a pretty former PR executive, Siobhan Barney.
She and Mrs Morrison would allegedly visit him on alternate days.
The Hackney-born son of an accountant, Mr Morrison – whose autobiography was called Crazy Diamond – made a £90 million fortune publishing the music of Elton John, the Bee Gees and Wham.
He didn’t learn to ride horses until he was 29, but became an avid polo fan and founded the club where he would later have his accident.
The first playing member there, after Mr Morrison, was the Prince of Wales, who was made an honorary life member.
Other players at the club have included Princes William and Harry and the actress Stefanie Powers. Mr Morrison used to employ the Duchess of York’s father, the late Major Ron Ferguson, as his sponsorship manager.
Sad loss: Bryan with is wife Greta at a polo match in 1999
Mr Morrison allegedly met Ms Barney at the club four years ago, when she was competing in a match on one of the club’s six grounds.
Greta put the club up for sale ten months ago at a price of £12million. Mr Morrison was also a co-owner of the Holyport Real Tennis Club, which is now up for sale as well, with a £500,000 price tag.
The family have also put their 18th Century, ten-bedroom mansion in Holyport, Berkshire, on the market.
Before his accident, Mr Morrison was a well-known figure on the polo circuit and in showbusiness circles.
Glamorous: Bryan's daughter Karina, 28, at Royal Ascot in 2001
The friend said: ‘He was such a character. We’re all devastated and feel so terrible
for Greta and the children. The sad fact is we all lost him a long time ago but that doesn’t make it any easier.’
Mr Morrison once said: ‘I’m a very fortunate man. All my businesses are my hobbies – I love music, I love design and I love polo.
‘But if you want to know what I rate as my greatest achievement of the last decade, I’ll tell you. It’s got nothing to do with horses – it’s learning how to fly a jet helicopter.’
His home was filled with a fine collection of art and ceramics, including
a blue and white plate by Picasso. In the sitting room, there was a pair of Aubusson rugs and an enviable collection of 18th Century hunting oils on the walls.
Enormous portraits of Bryan and Greta by artist Bryan Organ adorned the walls of the dining room and there was a Henry Moore nude hanging over the fireplace.
Mr Morrison was instrumental in securing a commission for Mr Organ to paint his celebrated portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales, which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
In the Sixties, Morrison enrolled at the Central School of Art in London, later setting up successful furniture company OMK with two friends.
He also used his entrepreneurial skills to promote bands.
After managing The Pretty Things, he was hungry for a new act and found it in pink floyd, at first booking gigs for them, but later becoming their manager
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