Stuart Murdoch | |
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 Murdoch performing in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stuart Lee Murdoch |
| Also known as | Stewpot [1] |
| Born | 25 August 1968 |
| Origin | Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Genres | Indie pop |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboard |
Stuart Lee Murdoch (born 25 August 1968) is a Scottish musician, writer and filmmaker, and the lead singer and songwriter for the indie pop band Belle and Sebastian.
Murdoch attended Belmont Academy in Ayr from 1980-1985. [2]
Murdoch's parents made him take piano lessons during his childhood, and he claims not to have enjoyed them at the time but now "appreciates this decision vastly".[ citation needed ] Apart from early musical activities at secondary school (at age 12 he formed a band with fellow pupils, in which he played piano), Murdoch first became publicly involved in music as a radio DJ for Subcity Radio at the University of Glasgow.
While at university at the end of the 1980s, he became ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and was unable to work for seven years. Murdoch said that the isolation of these years led to his becoming a songwriter: "That was a big desert at the time, a kind of vacuum in my life. From that, these songs started coming out, these melodies where I could express what I was feeling." By early 1995 Murdoch had largely recovered from his illness and began to look for fellow musicians to form a band, which became Belle & Sebastian. Murdoch's struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome is the subject of the song "Nobody's Empire" on Belle & Sebastian's album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. [3]
This was also when he began living above a church hall and working as its caretaker, a position he maintained until 2003. In 2004 Murdoch told The Guardian , "I'm not actually a Christian with a capital C. I'm still asking questions. But I had this time when I found myself singing all these old hymns in my kitchen and I couldn't work out why I was doing it. Then one Sunday morning I got up, looked at my watch, and thought, 'I wonder if I could make it to a church service?' It was so welcoming. It just felt like you were coming home. Twelve years later, I've never left". [4]
Murdoch's interest in faith has been perceptible in his lyrics. Belle and Sebastian's first album included lines about "reading the Gospel to yourself," and on the second Murdoch sang of "the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever." Religious references became more confident and direct on later albums, including "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love" (which continues "say a prayer to the man above"; this line becomes a refrain) on the album Dear Catastrophe Waitress and the two-part "Act of the Apostle" on The Life Pursuit . Of "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," Murdoch told Gross, "At the time I was writing it I thought, well, should I be so overt? Because I've often couched any religious overtones within characters in the past, but this is a bit more out there. And then I just thought, come on, you've been doing this for years, why not? Why not just be a bit more straightforward?" [5]
Murdoch ran the Glasgow Marathon in 1986, and finished with a time of 2:57:08. [6]
He married longtime girlfriend Marisa Privitera on 26 November 2007 in New York City. Privitera is on the cover of Belle and Sebastian's DVD Fans Only and LP The Life Pursuit. [7] Their eldest son, Denny (named after his goddaughter), was born in May 2013. [8] Their second son Nico was born in November 2016. [9]
Murdoch is a fan of American baseball, in particular the New York Mets and Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, whom he wrote about in "Piazza, New York Catcher". [10] [11]
Murdoch dated Tracyanne Campbell, the lead singer of the band Camera Obscura, for three years in the 2000s. [12]
Murdoch was diagnosed with colour blindness at an early age.
In 2009, Murdoch contributed the song "Another Saturday" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night , produced by the Red Hot Organization. He was one of the most notable protesters attending a 5 December 2009 march in Glasgow supporting governmental intervention to combat climate change, prior to the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen. [13]
In 2010 Murdoch published his first memoir, The Celestial Café. In 2012–2013 he wrote and directed the musical feature film God Help the Girl , released internationally and online in 2014. [14] When talking about his life experience, he stated, “I realized pretty fast San Francisco is my kind of town.” [15]
Murdoch has been diagnosed with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). [16]
Sexually ambiguous lyrics in Belle & Sebastian's music have prompted Murdoch to confirm his heterosexuality in the press, calling himself "straight to the point of boring myself". [17]
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from the 1965 television series Belle and Sebastian. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle and Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success.
If You're Feeling Sinister is the second album by the Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian. It was released in 1996 on Jeepster Records in the United Kingdom and in 1997 by Matador Records in the United States. It is often ranked among the best albums of the 1990s, including being ranked #14 in Pitchfork's list of Top 100 Albums of the 1990s.
The Life Pursuit is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. It was released in Europe on 6 February 2006 by Rough Trade Records and in North America on 7 February 2006 by Matador Records.
"Funny Little Frog" is the first single released from Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian's seventh studio album, The Life Pursuit (2006). The track was released in January 2006 on Rough Trade Records and was produced by Tony Hoffer. The single became the band's highest-charting single in the UK, reaching number 13. The artwork for the single features Julie Coyle and Marisa Privitera. A different version of "Funny Little Frog" appears on Stuart Murdoch's 2009 album God Help the Girl.
Stephen Thomas Jackson is a Scottish musician and songwriter. He plays lead guitar and sings in the Glasgow-based indie band Belle and Sebastian.
Sophia Mirza was a woman in the United Kingdom who died from complications of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. The inquest recorded the cause of death as "renal failure as a result of chronic fatigue syndrome”.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has a long history with an evolution in medical understanding, diagnoses and social perceptions.
Management of ME/CFS focuses on symptoms management, as no treatments that address the root cause of the illness are available. Pacing, or regulating one's activities to avoid triggering worse symptoms, is the most common management strategy for post-exertional malaise. Clinical management varies widely, with many patients receiving combinations of therapies.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is an illness with a history of controversy. Although it is classified as an organic disease by a majority of researchers, it was historically assumed to be psychosocial, an opinion still held among many physicians. The pathophysiology of ME/CFS remains unclear, there exist many competing diagnostic criteria, and some proposed treatments are controversial. There is a lack of education and accurate information about the condition among a significant number of medical practitioners, which has led to substantiated accusations of patient neglect and harm.
Clinical descriptions of ME/CFS vary. Different groups have produced sets of diagnostic criteria that share many similarities. The biggest differences between criteria are whether post-exertional malaise (PEM) is required, and the number of symptoms needed.
The Lightning Process (LP) is a three-day personal training programme developed and trademarked by British osteopath Phil Parker. It makes unsubstantiated claims to be beneficial for various conditions, including ME/CFS, depression and chronic pain.
Graded exercise therapy (GET) is a programme of physical activity that starts very slowly and gradually increases over time, intended as a treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Most public health bodies, including the CDC and NICE, consider it ineffective, and its safety is disputed. However, GET still enjoys support among a minority of clinicians and organizations.
God Help the Girl is a 2009 album by Stuart Murdoch of the band Belle and Sebastian with female vocalists such as Catherine Ireton. God Help the Girl is also the name of the band and the accompanying film released in 2014. The songs are about a Scottish girl who is hospitalized after a nervous breakdown. Two songs were taken from the repertory of Belle and Sebastian.
Daniel Peterson is an American physician in private practice in the state of Nevada, and has been described as a "pioneer" in the treatment of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, in 1976 and was an intern and resident at the University of Utah Medical Center from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, he became a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is president of Sierra Internal Medicine of Incline Village, established in 1981.
"Piazza, New York Catcher" is a song by Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, first appearing on their 2003 album Dear Catastrophe Waitress. The song details the band's lead singer Stuart Murdoch's romance of his future wife in San Francisco.
Belle and Sebastian Write about Love is the eighth studio album by indie pop group Belle and Sebastian, released on 11 October 2010. It was the second collaboration between the band and Tony Hoffer, who had produced their previous album, The Life Pursuit (2006).
Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory or concentration. The hallmark symptom is post-exertional malaise, a worsening of the illness which starts hours to days after minor physical or mental activity. This "crash" can last from hours or days to several months. Further common symptoms include dizziness, nausea and pain.
Post-exertional malaise (PEM), sometimes referred to as post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE) or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), is a worsening of symptoms that occurs after minimal exertion. It is the hallmark symptom of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and common in long COVID and fibromyalgia. PEM is often severe enough to be disabling, and is triggered by ordinary activities that healthy people tolerate. Typically, it begins 12–48 hours after the activity that triggers it, and lasts for days, but this is highly variable and may persist much longer. Management of PEM is symptom-based, and patients are recommended to pace their activities to avoid triggering PEM.
International May 12th Awareness Day, also known as International ME/CFS Awareness Day is held every year to raise awareness of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity, Gulf War syndrome and other chronic immunological and neurological diseases (CIND).
Andrew Melvin Ramsay (1901–1990) was a British physician, who is known for his research and advocacy on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a chronic disease causing muscle weakness and cognitive dysfunction. Ramsay worked as a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in London during a mysterious 1955 disease outbreak of what later became known as ME. He studied the disease and similar outbreaks elsewhere. Work by Ramsay showed that although ME seldom caused death, the disease could be highly disabling.
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