Jonny Morgan & The Moral Support

Venue:

The Grace, Highbury Corner, London

Date: 25/03/2026

Jonny Morgan & The Moral Support are virtually unknown but are I believe one of the very best live bands around. Not so obscure that they can’t sell out the 150 capacity Grace, but operating at a level where they are having to build an audience through hard gigging at a time when it’s never been more difficult to establish a presence.
This was the second last date of their tour promoting their new album The Hope That Kills You and the third time I’ve seen them. They just get better every time.
They come on stage to LZ’s When The Levee Breaks.
They rock. Set opener Another Heartache matches the intensity of the recorded intro. While they do rock they also have a delicate side too, as displayed in a song like 30 By Spring. Aside from Jonny on guitar on vocals there is the twin attack of Joe Coombs on guitar (“looks like Jesus… plays like him too) and Eve Lesedi on saxophone. (Eve recently became Mrs Morgan, or he became Mr Lesedi).
Johnny is obviously the fulcrum of the band, bringing his “white boy, middle class blues from the heart of the Dorset delta” to everyone prepared to listen, but it is very much a band show. There are few bands that I have seen over the years where everyone on stage looks like they’re having a party on stage and enjoying every minute of it.
Someone shouted out (somewhat bizarrely) “You’re a young Bruce Springsteen” to which Johnny replied “Yea, a young Springsteen without the money or success”. Johnny is really engaging performer with a nice line of repartee between songs. He noted the band were getting tired of some of his jokes, but promised he had some new ones. Judging from the laughter he elicited from them he wasn’t lying.
The songs are rooted in personal experience, but leavened with lots of humour – Deleting Pictures Of You recounts part of a flight being occupied with removing photos of an old girlfriend from his phone while Play Us One We Know recalls a slightly unsavoury character’s displeasure with one of his performances. Indeed for the complete newcomer he does play a couple of covers – Subterranean Homesick Blues (introduced as one of his own that’s going to need a bit more work) and Walk Of Life.
Look out for the name the next time they tour. Go and see them if they are in your area. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The audience:

A really good mix. Some people as old as me, others very much younger. I guess it covered us Boomers down to Gen X, possibly the older end of Gen Z too and well balanced gender wise too.

It made me think..

This band has badly missed out on the golden age of CD sales. Bob Harris has played him, but not for years. He could have been played on 6 Music, but it’s hard to see where he and the band are going to get played. Are they a band to appeal to Tik-Tokers? I have no idea about that. It’s tough out there if you want to make a career out of music.

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