finetune artist: Peter Murphy

b. 11 July 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. The former Bauhaus vocalist set out on his solo career after a brief period as half of Dali's Car, with former Japan member Mick Karn (one album: The Waking Hour). Murphy was already famous in his own right for appearing in a television advertisement for audio tapes. His first solo output was a cover version of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me", for the Beggars Banquet Records sampler album The State Of Things. This was also included on his debut album, which boasted a massive credit list including Daniel Ash, his former songwriting partner in Bauhaus, John McGeogh (who played on the original version of "The Light Pours Out Of Me") and Howard Hughes. The debut set a precedent for critical antipathy (in the UK at least; he enjoys cult popularity in the USA) which has accompanied all subsequent recordings. Love Hysteria included a cover version of Iggy Pop's "Fun Time", among other typically dramatic gestures. By the advent of his third collection a regular band had been formed (the 100 Men), consisting of Peter Bonas (guitar), Terl Bryant (drums), Eddie Branch (bass) and Paul Statham (keyboards, guitar). All four had played on the previous album, Branch and Bonas on the first as well. One of the better songs from Deep, "Cuts You Deep", won the Top Modern Rock Track category in the 1990 Billboard Year In Music Awards. However, following the world tour to promote Holy Smoke in 1992 Murphy elected to dissolve the 100 Men, and moved from England to Turkey; to all intents and purposes he had finished with the music business. However, within a year he was preparing new demos for what would become his fifth solo album, Cascade. This was co-written with Paul Statham and produced by EMF and Inspiral Carpets producer Pascal Gabriel, with guest guitar-playing by Michael Brook. The promotional single, "The Scarlet Thing In You" (a typically grandiose Murphy title), was inspired by thirteenth-century Turkish mystic Jeladdin Rumi, expanding the singer's already varied reference points. Murphy continued releasing solo albums into the new millennium in addition to working with Bauhaus on a sporadic basis.

Listen to Peter Murphy at Finetune.

(2005) Alive Justforlove
(2005) Dust
(1998) Recall
(1995) Cascade
(1990) Deep
(1988) Love Hysteria

Cuts You Up
A Strange Kind of Love
Indigo Eyes
All Night Long
I'll Fall With Your Knife