Noel Murphy (musician)

Last updated

Noel Murphy
Born (1943-11-27) 27 November 1943 (age 79)
Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland
Genres Irish music, folk, comedy
Occupation(s)Musician
Years active1962–2005
Labels Columbia, Fontana,
Village Thing, MFP,
Plant Life, RCA
Website http://www.noelmurphy.org.uk

Noel Murphy (born 27 November 1943) is an Irish folk musician. His family moved to Dublin when he was seven years old. At school he was a keen actor and played drums. He was also a gifted Association Football goalkeeper, being chosen to represent Ireland Schoolboys XI.

Contents

In 1962 he moved to England to work in various jobs and began to visit folk clubs in London, where he would often sing "floor spots" as an unpaid support act. In 1964 he began his career as a professional singer and became the first resident singer at the renowned Les Cousins club. Here he compered and performed alongside many celebrated acts including Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Bert Jansch and many other notable musicians. He busked his way to Greece and back in 1965, his first recording being released the following year. In 1968 he was joined by young Scottish banjo player Davey Johnstone; they toured as Murf & Shaggis for two years until they added double bass player Ron Chesterman (formerly of Strawbs) to the line-up and changed their name to Draught Porridge. Johnstone moved on to play with Magna Carta and later became guitarist with Elton John's band, a position he still holds. He recorded on the Columbia, Fontana, Village Thing, MFP, Plant Life, and RCA labels, He now [ as of? ] runs his own Fine Hairy Rope Records label. In June 1987, Murphy made his only appearance in the UK Singles Chart, with the song, "Murphy and the Bricks". [1] The song became Murphy's only Australian charting single, peaking at 82. [2]

Murphy has appeared on over 300 television programmes and has broadcast on radio over 2,000 times. His television appearances have included two comedies with Eric Sykes for ITV and playing a navvy in The Gathering Seed, on BBC Two. His one-man shows have appeared on Grampian, Trinidad, Southern and Danish television.

His singing career was interrupted for five years from 1982, due to an accident in which he swallowed broken glass, which had found its way into the beer served to him at a charity dinner in a Manx hotel[ citation needed ]. He retired in 2005 due to health reasons.

Outside of his work, he supported rugby and Gaelic games, and played golf; he played for both Surrey and Middlesex during the 1970s, and has partnered Ian Woosnam on BBC Television's Pro-Celebrity Golf as well as taking part in many charity matches.

Conviction

In April 2018, he pled guilty to three incidents of indecent assault against a girl in North Wales during the 1970s and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. [3] [4]

Selected discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Richard</span> British singer (born 1940)

Sir Cliff Richard is an Indian-born British singer and actor who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf Harris</span> Australian entertainer (1930–2023)

Rolf Harris was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He often used unusual instruments like the didgeridoo and the Stylophone in his performances, and is credited with the invention of the wobble board. He was convicted in England in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel B</span> British singer and TV personality

Melanie Janine Brown, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Hopkin</span> Welsh singer

Mary Hopkin, credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be signed to the Beatles' Apple label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Wales</span> Music associated with Wales

The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Dickson</span> Scottish singer, actress (b. 1947)

Barbara Ruth Dickson is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include "I Know Him So Well", "Answer Me" and "January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a number of hit singles, including four which reached the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The Scotsman newspaper has described her as Scotland's best-selling female singer in terms of the numbers of hit chart singles and albums she has achieved in the UK since 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Box Dancer</span> 1979 single by Frank Mills

"Music Box Dancer" is an instrumental piece by Canadian musician Frank Mills that was an international hit in the late 1970s. It features an arpeggiated piano theme in C-sharp major designed to resemble a music box, accompanied by other instruments playing a counterpoint melody as well as a wordless chorus. Most modern piano music sheets have the song in the key of C major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Whittaker</span> Kenyan-British singer-songwriter (1936–2023)

Roger Henry Brough Whittaker was a British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager style. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as his guitar skills.

Craig Dougall McLachlan is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap operas Neighbours and Home and Away and the BBC One spy drama Bugs. He has portrayed the title character in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, for which he was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actor; he has previously won the award in this category three times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suggs</span> English musician

Graham McPherson, known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England.

"The Black Velvet Band" is a traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and the United States describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a common punishment in the British Empire during the 19th century. Versions were also published on broadsides.

This is a summary of 1989 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Felix</span> American musician (1938–2020)

Julie Ann Felix was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on her own record label.

David Spencer, known professionally as Ricky Valance, was a Welsh pop singer. He was best known for the UK number one single "Tell Laura I Love Her", which sold over a million copies in 1960. He was the first male Welsh singer to have a UK number one single hit.

"Two Little Boys" is a sentimental song about two friends who grow up to be soldiers. Recorded as early as 1903 in the United States, it became an international hit for Australian Rolf Harris 66 years later. It was published in 1903 by American composer Theodore F. Morse and lyricist Edward Madden.

This is a summary of 1984 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Glitter</span> English musician and child sex offender (born 1944)

Paul Francis Gadd, best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former glam rock singer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was imprisoned for downloading child pornography in 1999. He was also convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006 and a series of sexual offences in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf Harris discography</span>

The discography of Australian musician, singer-songwriter, painter and television personality Rolf Harris consists of 30 studio albums, 2 live albums, 4 compilation albums, and 48 singles. He often used unusual instruments in his performances: he played the didgeridoo and the stylophone and is credited with the invention of the wobble board. Harris also collaborated with other artists, including Kate Bush, Rick Parfitt, and The Wiggles.

Gregory Gray, born Paul Lerwill, was a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of Rosetta Stone, a 1970s boy band, and became an influential cult musician who made indie music and videos under the pseudonym Mary Cigarettes. He published his work on online platforms such as YouTube and SoundCloud. During the course of his career his musical style ranged over an eclectic spectrum of pop, post-punk, indie rock, electronic dance music, jazz and folk.

References

  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 384. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 212. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  3. "Folk singer Noel Murphy admits sexually abusing girl". BBC News. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. Roberts, Elwyn (30 April 2018). "Irish singer and actor sexually assaulted young girl while on North Wales tour". North Wales Live. Retrieved 25 March 2021.