Pauline Murray | |
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 Murray performing live with the Invisible Girls at the Paard van Troje in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1981 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Murray |
| Born | 8 March 1958 Waterhouses, County Durham, England |
| Origin | Durham, County Durham, England [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1976—present |
| Labels |
|
| Member of | Penetration |
Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958) is best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band Penetration, originally formed in 1976.
Pauline Murray was born on 8 March 1958 in Waterhouses, County Durham, England, and her parents later moved to Ferryhill. She left school at age sixteen, studied art at Darlington College and then worked at odd jobs. [2] In May 1976 the 18-year-old Murray saw the Sex Pistols perform, and she and her Ferryhill comrades became Pistols devotees, earning for themselves the title of "Durham Contingent" (coined by the NME ).
In late 1976, Murray formed a band with friends Robert Blamire and Gary Smallman and named it after the Stooges' song "Penetration" from Raw Power (1973). They played their first gig in October 1976 at the Middlesbrough Rock Garden, and played their first gig in London at The Roxy in January 1977, supporting Gen X. [3]
The band debuted on vinyl with the single "Don't Dictate", issued by Virgin Records in November of the same year. The band went on to release two studio albums, Moving Targets (1978) and Coming Up for Air (1979), as well as an official bootleg, Race Against Time (1980). Later there would be a Best of Penetration compilation album. After a measure of success during 1978/79, including a headline show at the Rainbow Theatre and a five-week American tour, they announced a split in October 1979. [4]
Penetration played a number of gigs around London in 2001–2002, leading to a band reunion. [4] In 2015 the band announced they would release Resolution, a new studio album. [5]
In 1980 Murray worked on her first solo studio album with record producer Martin Hannett's band the Invisible Girls, which also included ex-Penetration member and co-writer Robert Blamire, as well as guesting Manchester musicians such as Vini Reilly, guitarist in the Durutti Column, and Steve Hopkins. John Maher from Buzzcocks also drummed for the band. The resulting album, Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls , reached Number 25 on the UK Albums Chart [6] in October 1980 and spawned the singles "Dream Sequence" and "Mr. X". [7] The album was well received by critics. A reviewer for Melody Maker called it, "Unquestionably a musical highpoint of this year or any other. An exciting new area of electronic pop where Motown meets the modern world." [8]
Murray also provided lead vocals for the Only Ones on their song "Fools" and backing vocals on "Me and My Shadow". [9]
In the early 1980s, Murray formed the band Pauline Murray and the Storm, with Robert Blamire (bass), Tim Johnston (drums) and Paul Harvey (guitar), releasing the singles "Holocaust" in 1984, a cover of Alex Chilton/Big Star and the self-penned "New Age" in 1986. In 1989 Murray released the EP This Thing Called Love and the studio album Storm Clouds under her own name. [10]
In 2011 Murray established Polestar Studios with Robert Blamire in Byker where bands can rent out rehearsal and recording space. In 2013 she booked a number of solo acoustic dates around the North East in the UK. [11] She said about the gigs, "This is the first time in my career that I’ve done a full solo set with just me and my guitar." [12] During the tour, she played a number of older songs from her career and also played a number of new songs she had recently written.
On 25 September 2021 Murray released a new solo studio album Elemental, the 10 tracks of which had been recorded in 2016. [13]
Murray was married to Peter Lloyd, Penetration's road manager, but split with her husband after the release of Searching for Heaven in 1980. She and Robert Blamire then became a couple and moved together to Liverpool. [8] She currently resides in Newcastle upon Tyne. Murray has two children. [14]
All UK releases except as noted.
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, or D.A.F., was a German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl, Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke, Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas in 1979. Since 1981, the band has consisted of Delgado-López and Görl. Gabi Delgado-Lopez died on 22 March 2020 aged 61.
James Martin Hannett was a British record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, Magazine, John Cooper Clarke, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Happy Mondays. His distinctive production style embraced atmospheric sounds and electronics.
Bernard Sumner is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and techno music scenes, as well as their various related genres, and was an early influence on the Manchester music scene that presaged the Madchester movement of the late 1980s centred on Factory Records and The Haçienda club in Manchester.
Live Heroes is a compilation album recorded by Nico with the Blue Orchids, the Invisible Girls and Samarkand. The tracks "Heroes", "Valley of the Kings" and "Femme Fatale" were recorded live at Saltlageret in Copenhagen on October 5, 1982, while the tracks "Procession" and "All Tomorrow's Parties" were recorded during a studio session with the Invisible Girls and Martin Hannett.
Movement is the debut studio album by English rock band New Order, released on 13 November 1981 by Factory Records. Recorded in the wake of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis' suicide the previous year, the album is a continuation of the dark post-punk sound of Joy Division's material, increasing the use of synthesizers while still being predominantly rooted in rock. At the time of its release, the album was not particularly well received by critics or audiences, only peaking at number thirty on the UK Albums Chart; the band would gradually shift to a more electronic sound over the course of the next year.
Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members. Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, Moving Targets (1978), is still widely admired.
A megamix is a remix containing multiple songs in rapid succession. It often features various artists. There may be only one verse or even just a brief chorus of each song used, sometimes in addition to samples of the same or other songs. It is common to use different samples to maintain and sometimes even ridicule the original. To unify the songs together smoothly, a single backing beat may be added as background throughout the megamix, although this is not a must. This backing beat is kept basic so as to simplify mixing and to not compete with the music. These mixes are usually several minutes long at minimum, going up to a half-hour or an hour, or even more sometimes.
"This Is the House" is a 1982 song by the British new wave duo Eurythmics. It was their third single, and was included on the band's second album Sweet Dreams .
The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order producer Martin Hannett and keyboardist Steve Hopkins, with contributions from, amongst others, Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks and Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe. The band also played on the first solo album by Pauline Murray, the eponymous Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls and some singles, and later with Nico for the single "Procession".
Paul Burgess is an English rock drummer, notable for his association with a wide range of British rock and folk-rock bands. In addition to extensive session work, he has been a member of 10cc, Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works.
John Maher is a British musician who was part of the punk and new wave scenes in Manchester, England, most notably as the drummer with Buzzcocks.
"Searching for Heaven" is the third and final single from Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls, released in April 1981 on Illusive Records. It was produced by Martin Hannett.
Stephen Hopkins is a British former musician who worked with different Manchester punk and new wave artists including John Cooper Clarke, Pauline Murray, Morrissey and Ed Garrity amongst others. After retiring as a musician, he pursued a career in experimental cold atom physics.
Robert Blamire is known primarily as bassist for the punk and new wave band Penetration.
Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls is the only album made by Penetration singer Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, John Cooper Clarke's backing band. It was released in September 1980 on the RSO label.
Smoke Fairies are a British band hailing from Chichester.
"Way of the World" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1980 as a single from their fourth studio album Dream Police (1979). The song was written by Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander and produced by Tom Werman. In February 1980 it was released as a 7" vinyl single in the UK only, backed by "Oh, Candy," from the first Cheap Trick album, and peaked at #73. It attempted to capitalize on the success of the mid-1979 single "I Want You to Want Me" and the live album Cheap Trick at Budokan which both entered the top 30.
Always Now is the debut studio album by Section 25. It was released in September 1981 through iconic Manchester record label Factory with the catalogue number FACT 45. The album was produced by Martin Hannett, best known for producing both of Joy Division's studio albums. Joy Division front man Ian Curtis has been credited as co-producing the record in parts before his death in May 1980. Recording took place in February 1981 at Britannia Row Studios in Islington, London, owned by Pink Floyd.
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Moving Targets is the debut studio album by English band Penetration, released in 1978 by record label Virgin.
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