Songs
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- country:Ireland
- style(s):Songwriter, Acoustic
- label:not signed
- type:Composer/Songwriter
- gender:male
- artist posted by:Brum
Links
Paul's songwriting career began with a cardboard guitar when he was still in shorts and listening to Elvis on the wireless. With a pocket-full of songs he subsequently left Belfast's Folk scene to pursue his interest in new Folk Artists. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old in 1966, Paul was taken under Van Morrison's wing - he introduced him to his first publishing deal with Southern Music and accompanied him to his first London gig at the Marquee Club. John Lee Hooker was there and praised Murph's performance and, as City Beat said at the time "high praise indeed" At this junction, the young Paul Murphy, determined that his songs should have the integrity of experience, shirked Tin Pan Alley and instead followed the example of Beat Poets, Guthrie and others - he opted for life on the road. Paul's passion and commitment has always been for, and remains with, the live performance - be this around a campfire or the Olympia in Dublin.
Living on the hoof, travelling, writing songs and performing regularly, Paul mixed with many of the seminal musicians and artists of the time: Lemmy of Motorhead recalls some of Paul's antics in his autobiography White Line Fever - a true story, merging Blackpool Tower, a Batman outfit and an incredulous Ticket vendor.
As a writer/performer he was able to develop his improvisation skills and to this day delights audiences with his ability to make up a song on the spot, weather solo or with a band. But his motivation for writing and love of words drove his music in other directions also and it was at this time that he wrote his 'folk-opera' "Tweedeleededeedee and Sir Rhubarb" which received its first performance at the Arts Lab in Drury Lane in 1968. The same show was later toured by a local Youth Theatre and won first prize in NI Youth Club's Drama Festival. The success of Tweedeleededeedee in combining music with drama spurred him also to write other musicals: the hard-hitting anti-racist drama "Rats" was performed by several companies and featured at the Handsworth Festival.
Paul's wealth of musicality means that his songs have a wide reach. All audiences from young to old can relate to his songs and talking blues and his great stage presence drove Ocean Colour Scene (who were then at the top of the Pop Charts) to invite Paul to tour as their solo support act including performances at the Olympia, Dublin.
And the interest continues....his ability to adapt to musical differences means he is now writing new material and re-working some of his songs, performing them with a 16-piece Eastern-European-style orchestra The Destroyers. Janice Long of Radio 2 commented on his performance with The Destroyers at Moseley Folk Festival, September 2006, "that was brilliant" This has led Paul and The Destroyers to perform many gigs on the UK festival circuit including Glastonbury and Bestival 2007.