On this episode Simon K speaks to Irish singer/songwriter George Murphy
George Murphy is an Irish singer songwriter who hails from the Dublin suburb of Beaumount.
He exploded onto the Irish music scene after his memorable appearances on the Irish television show “You’re a Star”. Just out of secondary school at the age of 17 he very quickly took over the Irish music scene, signing to Sony Ireland for his debut album ‘Dreamed A Dream’ which went straight to No.1 in the Irish charts.
The album eventually went on to gain triple Platinum status. George had made a big impact with insiders on the Irish Music scene, Phil Coulter was quoted as saying that George “Is the most exciting vocal find in Ireland”, The late Ronnie Drew was quoted saying “A voice beyond his years”, Peggy Seeger was quoted saying “A very honest approach to the songs, kept them true to their Origin” and Hotpress magazine described him at the time as “A serious contender”.
George enjoyed a lot of success in the early part of his career playing a lot of top festivals and venues in Ireland. In 2006 George went on to release his 2nd album “So The story goes” and the title track got to No.7 in the Irish Singles Chart. That same year he played O2 in the Park and shared the stage with Brian McFadden who was making his debut as a solo artist after leaving Westlife.
He decided to embark on a small tour in America where he released his 3rd album “The Ballad of Archie Thompson”, featuring folk legends John Sheahan and Barney McKenna of the Dubliners.
For personal reasons George came back to Ireland in 2013, he had grown a little tired of the road and felt that he had lost some motivation. A dark time was to follow and as he said himself “It’s a tough life being on the road as an artist, it’s full of ups and downs, the highs are very high but the lows are very low”.
Fortunately, it didn’t take George too long to get back on his feet, he started taking writing his own material more seriously and began playing small pubs, clubs and small music venues trying out some of his new material.
In 2015 George signed a new management deal with 10 music Management and then went on to sign a new record deal with Trad Nua. When Finbar’s lad, Martin Furey, left the High Kings, they immediately turned to George Murphy to fill the void.
Now after 18 months of audience and critical acclaim, and still only 29, George has decided to return to his roots, and with his own band, The Rising Sons, and will tour extensively in 2019/2020.
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/georgemurphymusic/?hl=en
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/4QqYJChcAFcHbimTWMnf7g
Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/georgemurphyofficial
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeMurphyMusic
The Rising sons: https://www.facebook.com/therisingsonsirl