Dave Murray (musician)

Last updated

Dave Murray
Soundwave Iron Maiden (5508224503) (cropped).jpg
Murray performing in Melbourne, Australia on 4 March 2011
Background information
Birth nameDavid Michael Murray
Born (1956-12-23) 23 December 1956 (age 67)
Edmonton, Middlesex, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Guitarist
Years active1975–present
Member of Iron Maiden
Formerly of

David Michael Murray (born 23 December 1956) [1] is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He joined Iron Maiden early in its history, and is the second-longest serving member of the band after founder Steve Harris. He and Harris are the only members of Iron Maiden to have appeared on every album.

Contents

Growing up in various areas of London, Murray became a member of a metalhead gang fighting skinheads before he took an interest in rock music at 15 and formed his first band Stone Free with Adrian Smith. After leaving school at 15, [2] he regularly answered advertisements which appeared in Melody Maker before auditioning for Iron Maiden in 1976. In 1977 he was temporarily sacked from Iron Maiden and spent six months in Smith's band, Urchin. He rejoined Iron Maiden in 1978 and remains with the band to this day.

Biography

As a child, Murray's family lived in poverty and were constantly moving to different areas of London, which meant that he was often bullied and involved in fights. His father Albert was a Pub Landlord and his mother was a nurse. [3] By the time his family settled in Clapton in 1970, Murray joined an early metalhead gang that brawled and won fights against East end skinheads and "had a rowdy couple of hairy hellraising years of being out on the street." [4] He developed an interest in rock music when he was 15 after hearing "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix on the radio, about which he recalls, "everything changed, just like that. Getting into rock music wasn't like a gradual process for me; it was completely sort of extreme, totally black and white. I heard 'Voodoo Child' on the radio and I thought, 'Bloody hell! What is THAT? How do you do THAT?' And I started hanging around the rock music section of the record stores and buying albums, thinking about getting into the big time, wondering what that would be like." [4]

After "hanging 'round record stores" and acquiring several Hendrix and blues albums, Murray decided to take up the guitar. [5] At 16, he formed his first band, a trio called Stone Free, which also included his childhood friend Adrian Smith on vocals. [5] From there, Murray would answer ads in Melody Maker and regularly audition for different bands at the weekend, [5] leading to short stints in Electric Gas, "this sort of soft-rock, American-type band", and The Secret, "this sort of mad punk band", with whom he would record a single "The Young Ones" under the alias "Reggie Mental", [6] and a demo, Café De Dance, in 1977. [7]

Murray (left) performing with Adrian Smith in 1982 Iron Maiden 05.jpg
Murray (left) performing with Adrian Smith in 1982

He auditioned for Iron Maiden in late 1976, eager to get back into "a more sort of heavy rock-type vibe." [7] At the time the band already had two guitarists, Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance, who disapproved of Murray being permitted to audition, seeing it as a slight on their ability. [8] The group's founder and bassist Steve Harris did not hesitate to choose Murray over Sullivan and Rance, later stating: "When the others made it plain that it was either them or Dave Murray, there was no choice. There was no way I was gonna let Dave go. Not only was he a nice bloke, he was just the best guitarist I'd ever worked with. He still is." [9] Unfortunately, after only a few months in the band, Murray was sacked following an argument with singer Dennis Wilcock after a show at the Bridge House pub in Canning Town. [10] [11]

Murray then reunited with Adrian Smith in Smith's band Urchin. [12] During his short tenure with the band, Murray recorded one single, entitled "She's a Roller", [12] after which he was asked to rejoin Iron Maiden shortly before Dennis Wilcock's departure. Murray managed to hold down a 9 to 5 job working as a storekeeper for the London Borough of Hackney, which he has stated was "so I could sleep off the night before", [13] but was able to resign once Iron Maiden signed with EMI in 1979. [14] Murray remains with Iron Maiden to the present day, and he and Harris are the only members who have appeared on all the band's commercial releases. [1]

Playing technique and style

Murray's solo guitar style throughout his career has been mainly based on the legato technique, such as on "The Trooper", which he claims "evolved naturally. I'd heard Jimi Hendrix using legato when I was growing up, and I liked that style of playing." [15] His playing has a distinctly fluid sound which distinguishes him from the other two guitarists in Iron Maiden. He has also written songs for Iron Maiden, though he is less prolific than other band members, [16] usually forgoing lyric writing and instead concentrating on the musical elements of songwriting. [15] He mainly co-writes songs with another member of Iron Maiden, "Charlotte the Harlot" (from 1980's Iron Maiden ) being to date the only composition for which he is credited as sole writer. [17]

Along with Adrian Smith, Murray appears at no. 9 on Gibson's list of the "Top 10 Metal Guitarists of All Time". [18] Murray played with the jazz ensemble on Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain's instructional video Rhythms of the Beast. [19]

Equipment

Murray used and endorsed Marshall amplifiers almost exclusively, [20] other than on the Somewhere in Time (1986) and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) albums and their respective tours, when he instead used Gallien-Krueger amps, and Victory Amps during the recordings of The Book of Souls , but again Marshalls on tour (JVM410h). [21] . As of 2023, during Maiden's Future Past World Tour, it was revealed Murray had begun using the Fractal Axe-FX III units, [22] replacing the long-serving Marshall JMP-1 preamps.

Guitars

He has used Fender Stratocaster guitars almost exclusively. His black 1957/63 (the body is from a '63; the neck from a '57) Stratocaster, previously owned by late Free guitarist Paul Kossoff, was used approximately between 1978 and 1990. [23] [24] It was used as a template by Fender to manufacture an Artist Signature model in 2009. [25] The original now resides at his mother's home. [26] "I bought it in 1976," he said. "I saw it advertised in Melody Maker … I got the serial number to check it was [Kossoff's] guitar. It cost quite a bit of money but I didn't care. I just sold everything I had so I could get it, and I used it from then on. It just felt like I was holding a piece of magic because he had used this guitar." [27] [28]

In addition to Fender guitars, Murray has occasionally performed with various Dean, [29] Gibson, [30] Ibanez, [28] ESP and Jackson electric models. [31] During the Dance of Death World Tour 2003–4, Murray used a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar for live performances of the song "Journeyman". [31]

As of 2015, his main guitar is a 2-tone sunburst Fender Californian Series Stratocaster with two Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pick-ups (bridge and neck positions), one Seymour Duncan JB Jr. pick-up (middle position) and a chrome Floyd Rose tremolo system. [30] In 2015, Seymour Duncan announced the release of the official Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard set with demonstrator Danny Young performing the official video on the Seymour Duncan YouTube channel. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] On stage, Murray has also performed with a cream USA Floyd Rose Classic Stratocaster (with a 22-fret maple neck and same electronics and hardware as the sunburst model), [37] a custom Stratocaster based on his aforementioned Paul Kossoff Fender, [30] and a Gibson Flying V. [30]

In 2010, he began using a Gibson Les Paul Traditional model, featuring Seymour Duncan '59 and JB pickups in the neck and bridge positions respectively, [30] which his guitar technician, Colin Price, states was originally brought in for Adrian Smith to try, [38] but was then bought by Murray for practising on tour. [39] In addition to this Les Paul, he primarily used a 2002 Les Paul Classic with a Seymour Duncan '59 and JB neck and bridge pickups for the recording of The Book of Souls (2015), as well as a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Axccess with the same pickup configuration and a Floyd Rose tremolo. [30]

In 2015, Fender announced a second Artist Signature model, based on his California Series Stratocaster. It retains all the specifications of his original guitar, has a compound radius fretboard and is made entirely in their Ensenada plant in Mexico. [40]

Guitar specifications

Amplifiers

Units and tuners

Personal life

In his spare time, Murray (along with bandmate Nicko McBrain) is an avid golfer, as seen in the Rock in Rio DVD and Iron Maiden: Flight 666 ; he revealed in 2002 that he tries to play "a couple of rounds in each week" and his handicap "can be anywhere from 15 to 24." [49] Murray and his wife Tamar have one daughter named Tasha (born 1991). [1] Murray resides on the island of Maui, Hawaii in the US. [1]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Fender</span> American inventor and founder of the Fender company (1909–1991)

Clarence Leonidas Fender was an American inventor and founder of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janick Gers</span> English guitarist

Janick Robert Gers is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band even after Smith rejoined. Gers was previously a member of Gillan and co-founder of the band White Spirit in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Stratocaster</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. Along with the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, and Fender Telecaster, it is one of the most-often emulated electric guitar shapes. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jazzmaster</span> Electric guitar

The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Fender Jaguar, though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Smith</span> English guitarist

Adrian Frederick Smith is an English guitarist and singer best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Hartman</span> Musical artist

Robert "Bob" Hartman is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took a break from touring in 1995, but continued to write most of the band's songs, record guitars and produce most of the albums. He officially returned to touring with Petra in 2003 until he decided to retire the band in late 2005. Hartman also toured with Petra in 2023 for the band's 50th Anniversary Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superstrat</span> Electric guitar design

Superstrat is a name for an electric guitar design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck shapes with increased cutaways to facilitate access to the higher frets, an increased number of frets on the fingerboard, a contoured heel at the neck joint facilitating easier higher fret access, the usage of humbucking pickups, and locking vibrato systems, most commonly the Floyd Rose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Cyclone</span> Series of electric guitars manufactured by Fender

The Fender Cyclone denotes a series of electric guitars made by Fender. Introduced in late 1997, the Cyclone body is similarly styled to the Mustang, but it is a quarter of an inch thicker than the body of a Mustang and is made of poplar, whereas contemporary Mustang reissues were made of basswood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster</span>

The Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton. It was the first signature model guitar released by Fender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charvel</span> American electric guitar brand

Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DiMarzio</span> American manufacturer of guitar pickups

DiMarzio, Inc. is an American manufacturing company, best known for its direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces other accessories, such as hardware, guitar straps, and instrument cables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankenstrat</span> Electric guitar created by Eddie Van Halen

The Frankenstrat, also known as "Frankie", is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen. Its name is a portmanteau of Frankenstein, the fictional doctor who created a monster by combining body parts of the recently deceased, and the Stratocaster, a model of electric guitar made by Fender.

The Fender Bullet was an electric guitar originally designed by John Page and manufactured and marketed by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was first introduced as a line of "student" guitars to replace the outgoing Mustang and Musicmaster models.

The Fender Prodigy is a discontinued model of electric guitar produced by Fender from 1991 to 1993. It is one of Fender's attempts to compete with the superstrat-style guitars produced by Ibanez, Jackson/Charvel, Carvin Corporation and Yamaha. Since the Prodigy series was discontinued after about 2+1⁄2 years of production without a clear reason, it is considered one of Fender's rare models because of its limited production. Fender also produced a Prodigy Bass based on the Precision Bass Plus Deluxe featuring a P/J pickup layout (P as in Fender Precision Bass and J as in Fender Jazz Bass), 2-band active circuitry and a "fine-tuner" Schaller Elite bridge assembly.

This is a list and description of the guitars and other equipment played by musician Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan played a number of Fender Stratocasters throughout his career, one of which, a 1963 body and a 1962 neck, became "the most famous battered Strat in rock history." He was notoriously hard on his guitars, and many of them required extensive periodic maintenance, as well as other equipment. He used a limited number of effect pedals, and favored Fender and Marshall amplification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster</span>

The Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of American guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, based on his favorite guitar, Number One. The guitar debuted at the NAMM Show in January 1992 and began selling at various music stores.

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Strat</span> Guitar used by David Gilmour

The Black Strat is the nickname for a black Fender Stratocaster guitar played by David Gilmour of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared for the first time with Gilmour at the 1970 Bath Festival. Gilmour stated in an interview prior to the auction of his guitar collection that 'The Black Strat' featured in many of Pink Floyd's and his individual albums and was used in “Money”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”, among many others.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wall 2004, p. 35.
  2. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 40.
  3. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 37.
  4. 1 2 Wall 2004, p. 39.
  5. 1 2 3 Wall 2004, p. 41.
  6. ↑ "Reggie Mental". Discogs. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 Wall 2004, p. 42.
  8. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 33.
  9. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 34.
  10. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 46.
  11. ↑ Perrone, Pierre (11 January 2008). "Legends of the Bridge House: The venue everyone loved". The Independent . London. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 Wall 2004, p. 47.
  13. ↑ Bushell, Garry; Halfin, Ross (1985). Running Free, The Official Story of Iron Maiden (2nd ed.). Zomba Books. p.  32. ISBN   0-946391-84-X.
  14. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 114.
  15. 1 2 3 McIver, Joel (December 2010). "Iron Maiden: Dave Murray". Total Guitar (208): 32–34.
  16. ↑ Ling, Dave (2005). "Dave Murray". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 47.
  17. ↑ Wall 2004, p. 144.
  18. ↑ Erickson, Anne (30 September 2015). "Top 10 Metal Guitarists of All Time". Gibson.com . Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Nicko McBrain: Rhythms of the Beast". Artistdirect. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  20. ↑ "Products Used by Dave Murray". TC Electronic . Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  21. ↑ Smolden, Michael (21 September 2011). "Steve Harris and Dave Murray of Iron Maiden Open Up in 1988 Guitar World Interview". Guitar World .
  22. ↑ "Iron Maiden's Dave Murray is now using Fractal's Axe-Fx". 26 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Bienstock, Richard (3 July 2011). "Iron Maiden: Maiden Voyage (page 2)". Guitar World . Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 "Dave Murray Signature Fender Strat". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  25. ↑ "Dave Murray Stratocaster®". Fender. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "Iron Maiden Dave Murray's 1957 Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar". Gear Vault. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  27. ↑ "All right then" (no credited author); Classic Rock #216, November 2015, p21
  28. 1 2 Thompson, Kevin (August 1983). "Interview with Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Steve Harris". Artist Magazine. I bought it from an ad in the papers. [Other than that, I have] three Fender Stratocasters and an Ibanez Destroyer I picked up on tour.
  29. ↑ "The Dean Artists - Dave Murray of Iron Maiden". Dean Guitars . Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Laing, Rob (3 December 2015). "Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray's guitars". MusicRadar . Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  31. 1 2 Heatley, Michael (2005). "Hardware". Metal Hammer Presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 68.
  32. ↑ "Seymour Duncan Introduces Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard for Stratocasters — Video". Guitar World. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  33. ↑ Seymour Duncan (20 July 2015), Dave Murray Pickguard , retrieved 25 March 2018
  34. ↑ "Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard". Seymour Duncan. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  35. ↑ "Daniel Young". Seymour Duncan. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  36. ↑ "Seymour Duncan Releases the Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard" . Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  37. ↑ "Dave Murray's Fender American Standard Strat (Cream)". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Iron Maiden: Dave Murray's Guitar Rig Rundown". Blabbermouth.net. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  39. ↑ "Dave Murray's Gibson Les Paul". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  40. ↑ Parker, Matt. "NAMM 2015: Fender unveils Dave Murray California Series Strat". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  41. 1 2 "Dave Murray's Fender American Standard Strat". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  42. ↑ Bradley, Simon (24 June 2009). "Dave Murray Stratocaster review". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  43. ↑ Cooper, Adam (23 August 2003). "Dave Murray's 2003 Iron Maiden Guitar Rig" Archived 27 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine . GuitarGeek.com.
  44. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dave Murray's Rack". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  45. ↑ "V100 played by Dave Murray on Iron Maiden's The Book of Souls". VictoryAmps.com. 7 September 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bosso, Joe (19 October 2015). "Iron Maiden: Out of Thin Air". Premier Guitar . Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  47. 1 2 3 "Dave Murray's MIDI". Premier Guitar . November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  48. ↑ "Iron Maiden's Dave Murray is now using Fractal's Axe-Fx". 26 June 2023.
  49. ↑ Brannigan, Paul (2002). "Dave Murray". Kerrang! Legends (2): 16.

Literature

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.