Stuart Murdoch | |
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 Murdoch performing in Los Angeles in 2003 | |
| 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(s) | 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'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. [2]
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". [3]
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?" [4]
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". [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 and does not drink. "I like a Scotch whisky but I'm allergic to alcohol, would you believe, which is a tragedy in itself", he has said. "It's only in the last couple of years. I got eczema and one of the things I had to do to get rid of it was give up alcohol".[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ]
Murdoch has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). [14]
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 name "Belle and Sebastian" comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1966 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry adapted from a television series of the same name. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle and Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success.
Jeepster Records is an English, London-based independent record label, founded in 1995, and specializing in British indie and alternative bands, particularly Glasgow-based acts. It is most notable for its signing of Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol.
Tigermilk is the 1996 debut album from Scottish pop group Belle and Sebastian. Originally given a limited release by Electric Honey, the album was subsequently re-released in 1999 by Jeepster Records.
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.
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant is the fourth album from the Scottish group Belle & Sebastian released in 2000.
Electric Honey was founded in 1992 and is Glasgow Kelvin College's in-house record label run by Ken McCluskey, Douglas MacIntyre and formerly Alan Rankine along with students from the HNC/D Music Business course. The label celebrated its 25th year in 2017 with many events including the release of the debut album "Any Joy" from Scottish six-piece indie rock band; "Pronto Mama."
The Boy with the Arab Strap is the third studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, released in 1998 through Jeepster Records.
Dog on Wheels is the debut EP by Belle & Sebastian, released in 1997 on Jeepster Records. The four recordings on the EP actually pre-date the band's début album Tigermilk, produced whilst bandmembers Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David were on the Beatbox music course at Stow College, Glasgow. Murdoch, David and Mick Cooke are the only long-term members to play on the songs, though Cooke only appears on the title track. The drums were supplied by David Campbell, whilst Brian Nugent played flute on "String Bean Jean", and Gerry Campbell, a tutor at Beatbox, provided keyboards on "The State I Am In" and "Belle & Sebastian" as well as lead guitar on "String Bean Jean". Other contributors to the E.P. include Mark McWhirter, Michael Angus and David Mackenzie, though their roles have not been confirmed.
Isobel Campbell is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Waves, and later under her own name. She later collaborated with singer Mark Lanegan on three albums. Her latest studio album, There Is No Other, was released in 2020.
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.
"I'm a Cuckoo" is the second single from Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian's sixth studio album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003). Produced by Trevor Horn, the track was released as a single on 16 February 2004. B-side "Stop, Look and Listen" merges into "Passion Fruit" at the end of a song—an instrumental piece which was performed live prior to its release. The front cover features Shantha Roberts.
Stephen Thomas Jackson is a Scottish musician and songwriter. He plays lead guitar and sings in the Glasgow-based indie band Belle and Sebastian.
Stuart David is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian and was a member from 1996 to 2000, and then went on to front Looper (1998–present). He has published five novels – Nalda Said, The Peacock Manifesto, Peacock's Tale, Jackdaw & the Randoms and Peacock's Alibi – and one volume of memoir, In The All-Night Cafe, chronicling the formation of Belle and Sebastian.
Fans Only is a rockumentary following the development of Belle & Sebastian during their time with Jeepster, from 'If You're Feeling Sinister’ to ‘Storytelling’. It features videos, live performances, interviews, out-takes, TV appearances, early documentary footage, exclusive material and behind the scenes insights into the evolution of the band. The front cover features band member Stuart Murdoch's wife, Marisa Privitera.
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.
"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).
God Help the Girl is a 2014 British musical romantic drama film written and directed by Stuart Murdoch of the band Belle and Sebastian. It follows three friends who form a band in Glasgow. The film was preceded by the album God Help the Girl in 2009.
Days of the Bagnold Summer is the tenth studio album by Scottish band Belle and Sebastian. Released on 13 September 2019 through Matador Records, it serves as a soundtrack for the 2020 film of the same name directed by Simon Bird.
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