External links
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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Pete Murray | |
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| Born | Peter Murray James 19 September 1925 Hackney, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Radio and television presenter, stage and screen actor |
| Years active | 1943–2002, 2008, 2021–present |
Peter Murray James OBE (born 19 September 1925), known professionally as Pete Murray, is a British radio and television presenter and actor. [1] He is known for his career with the BBC, including stints on the Light Programme, Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 4. In the 1950s, Murray became one of Britain's first pop music television presenters, hosting the rock and roll programme Six-Five Special (1957–1958) and appearing as a regular panellist on Juke Box Jury (1959–1967) and a regular host on Top of the Pops (1964–1969).
Murray was a recurring presence in the BBC's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest. Murray retired in 2002, before he returned to broadcasting for a Boom Radio special on Boxing Day 2021, over 70 years after his career began. He returned to the station on Boxing Day 2022, presenting a two-hour show alongside his friend David Hamilton. [2] Murray has influenced many other radio personalities. Presenter David Hamilton has credited him as an influence and disc jockey Kenny Everett was also influenced by Pete's "ad-libbing style and warmth". [3]
Murray was born in Hackney, London on 19 September 1925. [4] [5] He grew up in Chiswick. [6] Murray's mother once sang in the chorus line for Jack Buchanan, and left the music scene to have a family; Murray's father was a World War I veteran who was badly injured in a gas attack in the Battle of the Somme. [6] Murray attended St Paul's School, an experience he did not like. [6] He described himself as a youth as a "thug". [6]
Murray was an extremely shy child, and decided that the best way to overcome this was through acting, and so when he was fifteen, he auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and despite having no acting experience, was accepted. [7] [6] The school's director, Kenneth Barnes, tried kicking him out; however, Murray argued his way back into the school. [6] While at RADA, Murray toured with local repertory theatres, and won a bronze medal for his work. [8]
After graduating with a diploma in 1944, he entered the Air force for the last year of the Second World War. [9] [10] [8]
In late 1949, Murray's agent approached him with an offer, spending three months in the rebooted English service of Radio Luxembourg, who needed an English speaking disc jockey, for £15 a week. [6] [11] He went to an office in London connected to the station, and was hired on the spot and immediately given a box of half a dozen records. [11] Murray said in a 2015 interview with David Hamilton that the only reason he got the job was because no one else wanted it. [11]
Murray officially joined Radio Luxembourg in September 1950; he was one of its resident announcers in the Grand Duchy, and instead of the expected three months, Murray remained there until 1955. [7] [6] During his time for Radio Luxembourg, he stayed in a hotel in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. [6] One day, Murray was given a box of records from America by a native, who told Murray he had "the hottest thing since show business started"; it was a box of rock and roll records. [6] Murray played one of the records, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, four times within fifteen minutes, and credits himself as the "first person that ever played Bill Haley" for a European audience. [6] [10]
Murray claims that his "natural charisma" meant that advertisements were always being played on air when he was on (disc jockeys were paid per ad) and states that at one point he was earning more than the chairman of Radio Luxembourg. [6] Pete once swore live on the air, muttering the word "fuck" to himself, as revealed by him on Radio 4's Quiz "Wireless Wise". [8] Murray left the radio station and returned to London in 1955, feeling that his stay at the station had long passed its due time, and he wanted to return to the UK again. [6]
Back in London, and now calling himself "Pete" rather than "Peter", he continued to be heard frequently on Radio Luxembourg for many years, introducing recorded sponsored programmes. He also presented popular music on the BBC Light Programme, particularly on the programme Pete Murray's Party from 1958 to 1961. Murray joined Pirate radio in 1965 and hosted a show, Call in at Curry's, that was broadcast on Radio Caroline. [12]
In September 1968, he stood in for Alan Freeman on Pick of the Pops , while Freeman was in New York. Murray linked up with him for a look at the American pop scene during the two shows that he did.
Murray was one of the original BBC Radio 1 disc-jockeys when the station started in 1967. By 1969, he was one of the mainstays of BBC Radio 2, where for over ten years he anchored the two-hour magazine show Open House five days a week, heard by 5.5 million listeners. [13] [7] One April Fools' Day he pretended that the show was being televised. In 1973 and 1976, he was voted BBC Radio Personality of the Year. [14]
In 1980, Radio 2 moved Murray from weekday to weekend programming. In 1981, he began a move into more serious, speech-only radio with a stint as presenter of Midweek on BBC Radio 4. At the end of 1983, the BBC cancelled his radio shows, describing his style of broadcasting as too old-fashioned, which led to Murray leaving the BBC altogether, a decision he later admitted to regretting, calling it a "very big mistake". [6] [15]
In 1984, he started afresh as a presenter for LBC, a local talk radio station in London. He later won the Variety Club of Great Britain award for his show. Murray introduced his last programme there on 22 December 2002, and has not broadcast regularly since. In August 2008, he returned as a presenter on an Internet-only station, UK Light Radio. [16]
Murray returned to radio to host a special show for Boom Radio on Boxing Day 2021. [17] In 2022, he appeared in the Channel 5 documentary TOTP: Secrets & Scandals. [18] He returned to Boom Radio on Boxing Day 2022 for another show, this time alongside Hamilton. On 2 June 2025, Murray helped Boom Light turn on its DAB+ transmitters at 10:00 a.m. that morning. Murray announced that he would host a slot on Boom Radio on his 100th birthday from 11:00 a.m., playing the biggest songs from his birthday week from the year 1963. [3]
Murray started his career on television in the late 1950s; he co-hosted one of BBC Television's earliest pop music programmes, the skiffle-based Six-Five Special (1957–1958); other regular presenters were Jo Douglas and Freddie Mills. He was a regular panellist on the same channel's Juke Box Jury (1959–1967), and was a panellist on the show's first and last episodes. [19] [20] [21] [6]
Murray hosted the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1959, and provided the British commentary for the contest itself on both radio and television from 1959 until 1961; 1968; 1972 to 1973 for radio; and television commentary for the 1975 and 1977 contest. He was an occasional compère of variety shows at the London Palladium.
During the early 1960s, Murray co-hosted the New Musical Express Poll Winners' Concert, annually held at Empire Pool, Wembley, with acts such as the Beatles, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers, the Who and many others. These were shown on television.
Murray was the "guest DJ" on several editions of ABC-TV's Thank Your Lucky Stars (1961–1966) and he later hosted Come Dancing .
After being offered a spot by Johnnie Stewart, Murray was among the first regular presenters of Top of the Pops when it began in January 1964. Pete originally turned down the role due to him wanting to focus more on his acting career however Stewart convinced him to join the show. [11] He was one of the original four presenters on the show (himself, Jimmy Savile, David Jacobs and Alan Freeman) who for the first few years hosted episodes in a rotating line-up.
Murray hosted the 16 June 1966 broadcast of Top of the Pops, which is notable for being the only time in which The Beatles actually appeared in the Top of the Pops studio to perform. [22] [23] The footage was thought to be lost when the tapes were wiped however in 2019 almost the entire performance was discovered when a fan, David Chandler, who had filmed the episode on his silent film camera revealed his copy. [23] [24] [25]
During the taping of one Top of the Pops episode on 24 August 1967, when the show still required artists to either mime or sing live to a pre-recorded backing track, Murray introduced Jimi Hendrix on, who was supposed to mime to his record "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" but instead the song "The House That Jack Built" by Alan Price began to play. [26] [27] [28] [29] Around 12-14 million people were watching at the time, and in an interview with Disc and Music Echo a week later, Murray stated: "the looks on everyone's faces was incredible, I was reading at the time (the cameras were on Hendrix) and suddenly saw myself on the monitor screen. It was the first time to my knowledge that anything has gone as drastically wrong as this ... I should think the BBC is a bit worried because the kids are not supposed to know that we use backing tracks for many of our guests, and I don't think the studio audience realised that either."
Murray is now the sole surviving of the original four Top of the Pops hosts since the death of David Jacobs in 2013.
Murray also appeared in pantomime, and guested on many radio and TV panel games. In 1984 and 1985, he was a team captain on the ITV panel game Vintage Quiz. In 2015, he appeared as a guest on a chat show on Big Centre TV hosted by his friend and former radio colleague David Hamilton.
After graduating from RADA, Murray found work as a background extra in a few films, including TheLife and Death of Colonel Blimp and The Young Mr Pitt , [6] as well as Caravan (1946), Hungry Hill (1947), My Brother Jonathan (1948), Portrait from Life (1948) and No Highway in the Sky (1951).
On the London stage, he co-starred with David Hughes and Edward Woodward in the musical Scapa! (1962). [30] During the 1960s, he starred in the British sitcoms Happily Ever After (1961-64), opposite Dora Bryan, and Mum's Boys (1968), with Bernard Bresslaw and Irene Handl. [31] Murray also appeared on Escort for Hire (1960), A Taste of Money (1960), Design for Loving (1962), The Cool Mikado (1962), and later Simon, Simon (1970) and Cool It Carol! (1970). On television, Murray played Philippe in "My Friend the Inspector", a 1961 episode of BBC TV's Maigret . He appeared as himself in several productions, including the 1962 British musical comedy It's Trad, Dad! alongside fellow BBC disc jockeys Alan Freeman and David Jacobs, and in "The Writer", an episode of ATV's Hancock (1963). [32] [33]
Murray duetted with Vera Lynn on a 1958 Decca EP of songs from My Fair Lady , performing "The Rain in Spain". [34]
In 1960, he released a comedy single, "What's It All About?" with disc jockey Brian Matthew. [35]
In 1974, Murray was featured on the Emerson, Lake and Palmer live album Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends – Ladies and Gentlemen as the master of ceremonies, at the beginning of the album. His introduction to the live show ("Ladies and gentlemen"), mixed with the opening line of the bands song "Karn Evil 9: First Impression, Part 2" ("Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends"), made up the title for the album.
Murray married his first wife, Germain, in Luxembourg, in 1952, but they divorced.
He was in a relationship with presenter Valerie Singleton from 1967 to 1971 and was engaged to her. [36] He then married Patricia Crabbe, a former barrister. Crabbe died of breast cancer in 2010. [37] He lives in Wimbledon. [37]
Murray turned 100 on 19 September 2025. Ahead of Murray's 100th birthday, a show hosted by the Grand Order of Water Rats honouring his life took place in London on 17 September, during which the Water Rats awarded him a Lifetime Acheivment Award, presented to him by Mike Read. [38] [3] The event was covered by BBC News, who mistakenly reported his 100th birthday as happening on the day of the event rather than on the following friday. [39]
Murray once broke down on live television after his son, Michael Murray James, who had been a pupil at Wycliffe College, and also an actor, committed suicide at the age of 27 in 1981. [37] Afterwards, he gave talks on coping with family tragedy. [40]
Murray is a lifelong teetotaller. In 1983, he appeared as a guest newspaper reviewer on the BBC TV's early-morning magazine show Breakfast Time . During an outburst, he told viewers how to vote at the upcoming election, saying that "a vote for Labour is a vote for communism. May God have mercy on your soul if you don't vote Conservative". [41]
Murray has been a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats since 1969. [37] [42] In 1975, he released his autobiography, One Day I'll Forget My Trousers. [43] [44] [8] He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. [8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | TheLife and Death of Colonel Blimp [45] | Background extra | Uncredited [46] |
| 1944 | The Hundred Pound Pillow | Office assistant | |
| Time Flies | Chick | ||
| 1946 | Caravan [45] | Juan [46] | |
| Jane Eyre | The Reverend Wood | Television movie [46] | |
| 1947 | Hungry Hill [45] | Lieutenant Fox [46] | |
| Laburnum Grove | Harold Russ | Television movie [46] | |
| Captain Boycott [45] | Young officer | Uncredited [46] | |
| 1948 | My Brother Jonathan | Tony Dakers [46] | |
| Mas' Bit o' Brass | Photographer | Television movie [46] | |
| 1949 | Portrait from Life [45] | Lieutenant Keith [46] | |
| A Pair of Spectacles | Dick Goldfinch | Television movie [46] | |
| 1950 | The Poltergeist | Bobby Ashley | |
| 1951 | No Highway in the Sky [45] | Radio operator | Uncredited [46] |
| 1956 | A Touch of the Sun [47] | Honeymooner | |
| 1958 | Six-Five Special [46] | Himself | |
| Record Roundabout | |||
| 1960 | Alice Through the Looking Box | Red King | Television movie [46] |
| Escort for Hire | Buzz [46] | ||
| Transatlantic | Robert Stanton [46] | ||
| 1961 | A Taste of Money | Dave [46] | |
| 1962 | Design for Loving | Lloyd Stanford [46] | |
| Behave Yourself [46] | unknown | ||
| It's Trad, Dad! | Himself [46] | ||
| 1963 | The Cool Mikado [47] | Man in Boudoir [46] | |
| 1969 | Otley [45] | Radio presenter | Voice only [46] |
| 1970 | Simon, Simon [47] | Fireman [46] | |
| Cool It Carol! | Man at party [46] [47] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | ITV Play of the Week | Richard Hilary | One episode [46] |
| Hit the Limit | Himself / host | Six episodes [46] | |
| 1956—1962 | Spot the Tune | ||
| 1957 | These Are The Shows | Himself | Television special [46] |
| Pantomania: Babes in the Wood | Television special [46] | ||
| 1957—1958 | Six-Five Special | Himself / host | Fifty-seven episodes [46] |
| 1959 | Eurovision Song Contest 1959 | Commentator [46] | |
| 1959—1979 | Juke Box Jury | Himself | Seventy-eight episodes [46] |
| 1960 | Man from Interpol | Haynes | One episode [46] |
| Maigret | Philippe | ||
| Dial for Music | Himself / host | Four episodes [46] | |
| This is Bobby Darin | Television special [46] | ||
| Saturday Spectacular | Himself | One episode [46] | |
| The Tin Pan Alley Show | Himself / host | ||
| Laugh Line | Nine episodes [46] | ||
| 1960—1961 | Summerhouse | Himself | Two episodes [46] |
| 1961 | Boyd Q.C. | David Spencer | One episode [46] |
| The Men from Room 13 | Curly Elphick | Two episodes [46] | |
| Call me Captain | Himself / narrator | ||
| 1961—1966 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Himself / host | Thirty-three episodes [46] |
| 1961–1964 | Happily Ever After [47] | Peter Morgan | Twelve episodes [46] |
| 1962 | Winning Widows | Flint Clarke | Two episodes [46] |
| 1963 | Hancock [47] | Compere | One episode [46] |
| Jezebel ex UK | Larry | ||
| Don't Say a Word | Himself | ||
| The Larkins | |||
| Music Match | Himself / host [46] | ||
| 1964 | One Night Stand | ||
| Open House | |||
| Drama 61-67 | Himself | One episode | |
| Highlight: The Singing Cinema | |||
| 1964—1988 | Top of the Pops | Himself / host [46] | One hundred and two episodes |
| 1965 | Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium | Himself | One episode |
| Cribbins | |||
| Is Your IQ Ok? | |||
| 1965–1967 | No Hiding Place | Frank Dorman (1965) Bobby Vowles (1967) | Two episodes [46] |
| 1965—1966 | Glamour... | Himself / host | Eleven episodes [46] |
| 1966 | SOS: The Record Star Show | ||
| Action | Three episodes [46] | ||
| New Musical Express Poll Winner's Concert | Television special [46] | ||
| Countdown | Himself | One episode [46] | |
| A Royal Gala | Television special [46] | ||
| 1966—1972 | Quiz Ball | ||
| 1967 | The Record Star Show | Himself / host [46] | |
| How to Live with a Neurotic Dog | Himself / narrator [46] | ||
| Carnival Time | Himself / host | Thirteen episodes [46] | |
| 1968 | Mum's Boys [47] | Robin Fosdyke | Seven episodes [46] |
| The Dickie Henderson Show | Himself | One episode | |
| 1969 | Come Dancing | ||
| Miss World 1969 | Himself / host | ||
| 1970 | A Present for Dickie | One episode [46] | |
| Mike and Bernie's Scene | Himself | ||
| Under the Table You Must Go | |||
| Time Out for Sardinia | Himself / narrator | ||
| 1970—1971 | The Golden Shot | Himself / host | Seven episodes [46] |
| 1971 | The Melodies Linger On | ||
| 1972 | The Two Ronnies | Host | Television special [46] |
| 1972—1973 | The Morecambe & Wise Show | Major Ivor Request (1972) Himself (1973) | Two episodes [46] |
| 1973—1995 | This Is Your Life | Himself | Eight episodes [46] |
| 1973—1978 | The Generation Game | Two episodes [46] | |
| 1973—1977 | Whose Baby? | Three episodes [46] | |
| 1973—1976 | Password | ||
| 1973—1974 | Jokers Wild | Six episodes [46] | |
| 1974 | Whodunnit? | Panelist | One episode [46] |
| Just a Nimmo | Himself | ||
| Danny La Rue: The Ladies I Love | Television film [46] | ||
| Fifty Bighearted Years: The Variety Club of Great Britain's Tribute to Arthur Askey | Himself / host [46] | ||
| Radio Wonderful | Himself | Short [46] | |
| 1974—1976 | Looks Familiar | Three episodes [46] | |
| 1974–1975 | Second Time Around | Disc Jockey | Two episodes [46] |
| 1975 | Eurovision Song Contest 1975 | Himself | Commentator [46] |
| Parkinson | One episode [46] | ||
| The Book Programme | |||
| Look Who's Talking | Two episodes [46] | ||
| 1975—1978 | Celebrity Squares | Six episodes [46] | |
| 1975—1976 | Husband of the Year | ||
| 1976 | Saturday Night at the Mill | Himself | One episode [46] |
| Going a Bundle | |||
| Nobody Does It Like Marti | |||
| The Val Doonican Show | |||
| 1977 | The Mike Reid Show | Himself | One episode [46] |
| Eurovision Song Contest 1977 | Commentator [46] | ||
| Pop at the Mill | Himself / host | Six episodes [46] | |
| 1979 | Pebble Mill at One | One episode [46] | |
| 1979—1985 | Blankety Blank | Himself | Six episodes [46] |
| 1980 | Night of One Hundred Stars | Himself | Television movie [46] |
| 1980—1982 | Give Us a Clue | Three episodes [46] | |
| 1981 | It's a Knockout | One episode [46] | |
| Family Fortunes | |||
| 1981—1983 | Punchlines | Five episodes [46] | |
| 1982 | Pete Murray Takes You to Nottingham | Himself / narrator [46] | |
| Tuesday's Documentary | Himself | One episode [46] | |
| The Royal Variety Performance 1982 | Television special [46] | ||
| 1983 | The Time of Your Life | One episode [46] | |
| Pete Murray Takes You to Coventry | Himself / narrator [46] | ||
| Pete Murray Takes You to Hastings | |||
| 1984—1992 | Fotry Minutes | Himself | Two episodes [46] |
| 1985 | Vintage Quiz | Himself | Three episodes [46] |
| 1986 | Chasing Rainbows - A Nation and Its Music | One episode [46] | |
| 1987 | Wogan | ||
| 1988 | A Question of Entertainment | ||
| 1989 | Alexei Sayle's Stuff | Himself | One episode [46] |
| Scene | One episode, uncredited [46] | ||
| 1989—1999 | Arena | Three episodes [46] | |
| 1990 | Dors: The Other Diana | Television movie [46] | |
| 1991 | The Happening | ||
| The Cook Report | One episode [46] | ||
| 1995 | Countdown | Himself / dictionary corner | Four episodes [46] |
| 2002 | Jukebox Heroes | Himself [46] | |
| 2004 | Rove Live | ||
| 2005 | Favouritism | One episode [46] | |
| 2006 | The Story of Light Entertainment | Two episodes [46] | |
| 2007 | Children's Trial on TV | One episode [46] | |
| 2009 | Weakest Link | ||
| 2015 | The David Hamilton Show | One episode [46] | |
| 2020 | The One Show | ||
| 2025 | BBC News at Ten |
| Year | Label | A-side | B-side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Decca Records | "What's It All About Eh?" [48] | "Gee Ma I Wanna Go Home" |
| 1978 | Columbia Records | "Forever Young" [48] [49] | "I'll Be Alright" |
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