Noel Murphy (musician)
Encyclopedia
Noel Murphy is an Irish
folk music
ian, actor
and entertainer. His family moved to Dublin when he was seven years old. At school he was a keen actor and played drums.
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. Johnston 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 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".
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. He retired in 2005 due to health reasons.
Outside of his work, he supports rugby
and Gaelic games, and plays 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.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and entertainer. His family moved to Dublin when he was seven years old. At school he was a keen actor and played drums.
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
Les Cousins (music club)
Les Cousins was a folk and blues club in the basement of a restaurant in Greek Street, in the Soho district of London. It had its heyday during the British folk music revival of the mid-1960s and was notable as a venue in which musicians of that period met and learnt from each other...
club. Here he compered
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
and performed alongside many celebrated acts including Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
, Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
, Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
and many other notable musicians. He busked
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
his way to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and back in 1965, his first recording being released the following year. In 1968 he was joined by young Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player Davey Johnstone
Davey Johnstone
Davey Johnstone , is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with Elton John.-Career:...
; they toured as Murf & Shaggis for two years until they added double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
player Ron Chesterman
Ron Chesterman
Ron Chesterman was an English musician and archivist. He is best known as the original double bass player with Strawbs...
(formerly of Strawbs) to the line-up and changed their name to Draught Porridge. Johnston moved on to play with Magna Carta
Magna Carta (band)
Magna Carta is a folk rock group originally formed in London in April 1969; their first concert was on 10 May 1969, by Chris Simpson , Lyell Tranter , and Glen Stuart ....
and later became guitarist with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's band, a position he still holds. He recorded on the Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, Village Thing
The Village Thing
The Village Thing was an independent record label in the United Kingdom which published folk music, blues and acoustic music between 1970 and 1973, under the tag of "The Alternative Folk Label".-History:...
, MFP
Music for Pleasure (record label)
Music for Pleasure was a record label that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music, although the latter were marketed under the Classics for Pleasure name...
, Plant Life, and RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
labels, He now runs his own Fine Hairy Rope Records label. In June 1987, Murphy made his only appearance in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, with the song, "Murphy and the Bricks".
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
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
for ITV and playing a navvy
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
in The Gathering Seed, on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. His one-man shows have appeared on Grampian
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
, Trinidad, Southern
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
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
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
hotel. He retired in 2005 due to health reasons.
Outside of his work, he supports rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and Gaelic games, and plays golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
; he played for both Surrey and Middlesex during the 1970s, and has partnered Ian Woosnam
Ian Woosnam
Ian Harold Woosnam OBE is a Welsh professional golfer.Nicknamed 'Woosie', 'Woosers', or the 'Wee Welshman', Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup...
on BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Pro-Celebrity Golf as well as taking part in many charity matches.
Selected discography
- A Session (1997) - Live recording at Twickenham Folk ClubTwickFolkTwickFolk is a folk club in Twickenham, south-west London. Established in January 1983,and now one of the best known and most highly respected folk clubs in the South East of England, it is run, not for profit, by a small group of volunteers.TwickFolk organises gigs on Sunday evenings at the...
with The Mahogany Gaspipes. - The Quality of Murphy (2005) - Forty track compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
covering his work from 1966 to 2002.