Peter Murphy

Peter John Joseph Murphy (born 11 July 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the vocalist for the post-punk goth rock band Bauhaus. After Bauhaus initially disbanded, Murphy formed Dali's Car with Japan's bassist Mick Karn and released one album, The Waking Hour (1984). He later went on to release a number of solo albums, including Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (1986) and Love Hysteria (1988). In 1990, he achieved commercial success with his single "Cuts You Up", which went in the top 60 of the US Billboard Hot 100 which is for the singles sales. His album Deep also reached No. 44 on the Billboard 200. In 1992, Murphy released Holy Smoke, which reached No. 108 on the Billboard 200 chart along: it featured lead single "The Sweetest Drop". In 2002, Murphy released Dust with Turkish-Canadian composer and producer Mercan Dede, which utilizes traditional Turkish instrumentation and songwriting, abandoning Murphy's previous pop and rock incarnations, and juxtaposing elements from progressive rock, trance, classical music, and Middle Eastern music, coupled with Dede's trademark atmospheric electronics. In 2014, he released Lion, produced by Killing Joke's Youth, which reached No. 173 on the Billboard 200. Thin with prominent cheekbones, a baritone voice, and a penchant for gloomy poetics, he is often called the "Godfather of Goth". Early life Peter John Joseph Murphy was born on 11 July 1957 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, the seventh child of a large rural working-class family. He has one elder brother, Daniel, and a twin brother, Christopher. Murphy is of Irish descent. He was raised in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, where he had a strict Catholic upbringing. He described having a happy childhood with a close family which had a "great emphasis on Catholicism in a very sincere, deep, profound way. Always aware of the mysteries of life, mortality, Heaven, Hell, angels, saints and purgatory: all these images. What is allowed and what is not allowed." Murphy's first interest in music was inspired by his mother, who would frequently hum songs. As a teenager, he was introverted, but became attracted to artistic pursuits. He was a school friend of Daniel Ash. Murphy described his association with Ash: "The first moment I saw him, literally, I really loved him. It was not sexual, I was attracted to him in a fateful sense. Something told me that this guy was important. I remember being enamoured by him. I felt very close to him.