Peter Murphy

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For the Stuckist artist, see Peter Murphy (artist).
For the Canadian journalist, see Peter Murphy (journalist).

Peter John Murphy (born July 11, 1957, near Northampton, England) was the singer of the British rock group Bauhaus who later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria. Thin, with prominent cheekbones, a rich voice, and a penchant for gloomy poetics, Murphy is often called the "Godfather of Goth."

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With Bauhaus

Rising from a coffin on-stage, driving a hearse called the "Bauhearse," or appearing in concert as a vampire all helped to cement the gothic look with this dark, emotionally charged style of music (see gothic rock). Murphy's Bauhaus epitomised a dark post-punk world, with fans drawn to the shadowy, otherworld feel of the music; the band evoked flickering over-exposed '20s horror films by using strobe lights in their live concerts.

In 1982, Bauhaus appeared during the opening sequences of the modern vampire movie The Hunger. Performing a powerful rendition of Bela Lugosi's Dead, the camera focused almost exclusively on Murphy during most of that scene, panning only briefly to the stars David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve.

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Solo Career

By 1983, Bauhaus broke up and Murphy went on to new projects. After some brief dabbling with acting and dance - including a slightly odd televised performance to Bauhaus's "Hollow Hills" - he soon formed Dali's Car with Mick Karn, the bass player from Japan. The group recorded only one album, which was a commercial flop.

Murphy's solo career over time became more nuanced than Bauhaus, ranging from pseudo-pop to haunting ballads that showcased his deep and complex vocals. While critics allege his lyrics can be "pretentious" to "incomprehensible," the lyrical themes are often metaphysical, pulling his songs into a dream-like state of rhythm, imagery, and emotion. His knack for such lyricism and the occasional pop-reinvention did, however, cause some initial trepidation by the record-buying public. After the commercial non-start of Dali's Car, Murphy's first solo album was similarly overlooked. Should the World Fail to Fall Apart did spawn several singles, including a cover of Pere Ubu's "Final Solution" that made a minor splash on the club scene.

The followup, Love Hysteria, did much better, and was a more focused effort. It also marked the beginning of a long-term collaboration with songwriter Paul Statham, who co-wrote songs with Murphy until 1995. The resulting singles "All Night Long" and "Indigo Eyes" helped garner a wider following, and the black-and-white video for "All Night Long" entered rotation on MTV.

The pinnacle of Murphy's solo popularity came with the release of Deep. For this album Murphy reinvented himself as somewhat of a rock-god, now sporting hair dyed platinum blonde and a performing a much more aggressive alt-rock sound. The single "Cuts You Up" from Deep held on to the top spot on the Billboard alternative charts for longer than any other single before - ironically displacing "So Alive" by his former Bauhaus-bandmates Love and Rockets. The record was unbroken until the release of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

In the 1990s, Peter Murphy converted to Islam, eventually moving to Turkey, and this Middle Eastern influence can be heard in his later albums. In particular, Murphy has been inspired by the mysticism of Sufism. His first album to reflect this was 1992's Holy Smoke, which mixed some traditional Turkish influences into the music while continuing the sound pioneered on Deep. The album was unable to recapture the momentum of Deep, and in the post-grunge alternative landscape, the more pop-flavored album seemed anachronistic, and the choice of the odd, disheveled-Murphy Anton Corbijn photo used on the cover baffled many fans. In 1995, Murphy embraced a lower-key, ambient pop sound for Cascade, featuring producer Pascal Gabriel, guest work from "infinite guitarist" Michael Brook, and overall a much stronger incorporation of electronics. This album was also to be his last major collaboration with Paul Statham, who departed to form Peach Union with Pascal Gabriel and eventually write songs for Dido and Kylie Minogue. Cascade was also Murphy's last original release for Beggar's Banquet records, which had been his label since Bauhaus. Shortly after this departure, Murphy recorded the Recall EP for the newly-formed Red Ant records, featuring a few new songs and some new, heavily electronic versions of older material, reworked in conjunction with Sascha Konietzko of the band KMFDM. Once again, he became label-mates former Bauhaus alums Love and Rockets, who had also signed to Red Ant. This generated a significant number of rumours regarding a possible reformation of Bauhaus. While Red Ant quickly folded, Bauhaus did reform in 1998 for the Resurrection tour, which was released on DVD by Metropolis records.

In 2000, Murphy performed his international Just for Love tour, which resulted in the album Alive Just for Love. It is a live recording of the fully uninterrupted set from the El Rey show in Los Angeles on November 30, 2000. During the tour, Murphy chose to perform with only two back-up musicians, Canadian electric violinist Hugh Marsh and Peter DiStefano from Porno for Pyros on guitar, although former Bauhaus bassist David J sometimes joined the trio for an encore. At this point he also contributed to works by noted film composer Harry Gregson-Williams.

Shortly thereafter, Murphy collaborated with the Turkish artist Mercan Dede on the album Dust. Heavily steeped in traditional Turkish instrumentation and songwriting, coupled with Dede's trademark atmospheric electronics, the album showed Murphy all but abandoning his previous pop and rock incarnations. Dust, released on goth/industrial stalwart label Metropolis, alienated many fans who had expected a more uptempo Murphy album (especially post-Recall), but it garnered some critical praise.

In 2004, Murphy signed to yet another new label, Viastar, which was home to several other 80's pop artists who had moved into more eclectic areas. Despite numerous problems with the label, the album Unshattered was released, showcasing Murphy returning to a more pop sound.

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Trivia

Peter Murphy was the model for Maxell's memorable "Blown Away Guy" ad campaign and logo during the 1980s.

He is married and has two children. His wife has directed several of his videos, and leads the Turkish National Modern Dance company.


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Discography

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Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1985 "Final Solution" - - - - Should the World Fail to Fall Apart
1986 "Blue Heart" - - - - Should the World Fail to Fall Apart
1986 "Tale of the Tongue" - - - - Should The World Fail To Fall Apart
1988 "All Night Long" - - - - Love Hysteria
1988 "Blind Sublime" - - - - Love Hysteria
1988 "Indigo Eyes" - - - - Love Hysteria
1989 "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth (And That Which Cannot Be Repeat)" - #18 - - Deep
1990 "Cuts You Up" - #1 (7 weeks) - - Deep
1990 "A Strange Kind of Love [Version 1]" - #21 - - Deep
1992 "You're So Close" - - - - Holy Smoke
1992 "The Sweetest Drop" - - - - Holy Smoke
1992 "Hit Song" - - - - Holy Smoke
1995 "The Scarlet Thing in You" - - - - Cascade
1995 "I'll Fall with Your Knife" - - - - Cascade
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External links

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