Murray Head
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Murray Head | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Murray Seafield St George Head |
Born | London, England | 5 March 1946
Genres | Rock, new wave, pop |
Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1966–present |
Labels | Island, A&M, Virgin, Mercury, Voiceprint |
Website | murrayhead.online |
Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946)
Early life and education
Head was born in London
Head was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and Hampton School[4] in Hampton, Middlesex. He attended Chiswick Polytechnic (A level college) in the early 1960s.[citation needed]
Career
Head began writing songs as a child, and by the mid-1960s he had a London-based recording contract. He briefly appeared as one of the hosts of the Bristol-based television pop show Now! alongside Michael Palin. He had limited success, until asked by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber to play Judas Iscariot on the original concept album version of Jesus Christ Superstar; at the time, he had been appearing in the West End production of the musical Hair. With the Trinidad Singers, the song "Superstar" peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1971.
He made his film debut in
In 1973, he appeared in a radio drama, The Fourth Tower of Inverness. In 1979, Head appeared in the miniseries Prince Regent and the final episode of the ITV program Return of the Saint.
Head reappeared in the spotlight in 1984 as the American on the
After that, Head had little recording success in the UK or the United States. This fact would later be underscored in a radio segment featured on The Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, in which the hosts would phone Head in the morning to find out "What's Up with Murray Head?" Fluent in French, he has released a number of albums in that language. A duet with Marie Carmen, "Une femme un homme", was released in 1993 and was a hit in French-speaking Canada.
In 1999, Head co-wrote the screenplay to
He has appeared on television in the UK on
Head's picture, from a still of The Family Way, appeared on the 1987 cover of the British band The Smiths single "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" and the album cover of the band's 1988 compilation album Stop Me.[5]
Personal life
Head married Susan Ellis Jones in 1972; they divorced in 1992. He has two daughters: Katherine and Sophie. Sophie sometimes sings with her father, for example on songs such as "Seras-tu là?" on the album Tête à tête and "Make It Easy" from the Emotions album.[3][2] Head married Lindy Ross (née Newton) on 14 February 2019.
Discography
- Nigel Lived (1972)
- Say It Ain't So (1976)
- Between Us (1979)
- Voices (1981)
- Shade (1982)
- Restless (1984)
- Sooner or Later (1986)
- Wave (1992)
- Pipe Dreams (1995)
- Tête à tête (2007)
- Rien n'est écrit (2008) - Also distributed as a double album, with new versions of classics such as Say It Ain't So, Never Even Thought, You Are, etc.
- My Back Pages (2012) - Performs songs by other artists, Bob Dylan, Kansas, Spencer Davis Group, The Who, Roxy Music, Dido, etc.
Selected filmography
- Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | The Family Way | Geoffrey Fitton | Sings "Someday Soon" |
1967 | Two Weeks in September | Dickinson's assistant. | |
1971 | Aphrousa | Nicholas | |
Sunday Bloody Sunday | Bob Elkin | ||
La Mandarine | Tony the Englishman | ||
1973 | Gawain and the Green Knight | Gawain | |
1975 | El poder del deseo | Javier | |
1977 | The Frenchwoman | David Evans | |
1987 | White Mischief | Lizzie | |
1989 | Un été d'orages | Jack | Also wrote the music |
La Barbare | Michael | ||
1996 | Beaumarchais | William, Lord Rochford | |
1999 | Le Grand Serpent du Monde | Tom | |
2002 | The Lovers of the Nile | The Colonel | |
2003 | I, Cesar | Charley Fitzpatrick | |
2009 | No pasaran | Peter Konchelski | |
2015 | Fever | Jim |
- Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | St Ives | Saladin | Two episodes |
1971 | Shirley's World | Ray King | |
1974 | The Fortunes of Nigel | Lord Dalgarno | |
Seven Faces of a Woman | Tom | ||
Intent for Murder | Larry | ||
Play for Today | Singer | Episode "Taking Leave" | |
1979 | Return of the Saint | Pierre de la Garde | Episode 24 "The Diplomat's Daughter" |
Prince Regent | George Canning | Three episodes | |
1989 | Boon | Rupert Cole | Series 4 Episode 3 "The Relief of Matty King" |
1998 | The New Adventures of Robin Hood | Ripley | |
1999 | The Knock | Mike Hewson | Two episodes |
2000 | Casualty | Billy Cooper | Series 15 Episode 6 "Choked: Part Two" |
North Square | Judge Martin Bould | Eight episodes | |
The Vice | Tommy Roker | Two episodes | |
2002 | Asbestos | Peter Bedford | |
Music-Hall | Clife Maisie | ||
2003 | Rosemary & Thyme | Nev Connolly | |
2004 | The Bill | Charles Mawdsley | |
2005-2007 | Heartbeat | Jack Rollins | Three episodes |
2007 | Judge John Deed | Judge Prévin | |
Holby City | Doug Finn | Three episodes | |
2009 | Relive | Steven Winterley | |
2010 | Doctors | Pete Perry | Episode "Birth of the Blues" |
2011 | Vera's Mysteries | Peter Calvert | |
2012 | Holby City | Steve Rurner | |
2013 | Doctors | Leo Treadwell | Episode "Difficulty" |
2014 | Holby City | Billy Tressler | Three episodes |
Horsehead | Jim | ||
2017 | Doctors | Ralphy Aspden | Two episodes |
2019 | War of the Worlds | Mikel |
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
- List of show business families
- List of sibling pairs
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f Ankeny, Jason. "Artist Biography". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c d e "Murray Head". NNDB.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "Murray Head Official Site". Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-85712-240-7.
External links
- Murray Head at IMDb
- Hugh Schofield, "Murray Head: 'Unsung at home, but a hero in France'", BBC News, 24 December 2021