Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film '' Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a musician, he is most recognised for his international hit songs " Superstar" (from the 1970 rock opera ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'') and "

One Night in Bangkok "One Night in Bangkok" is a song from the concept album and subsequent musical ''Chess (musical)#Original album, Chess'' by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus. British actor and singer Murray Head raps the verses, while the chorus i ...

" (the 1984 single from the musical '' Chess'', which topped the

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

in various countries), and for his 1975 album ''

Say It Ain't So "Say It Ain't So" is a song by the American rock band Weezer. It was released as the third and final single from the band's self-titled 1994 debut album. Written by frontman Rivers Cuomo, the song came to be after he had all the music finished ...

''. He has been involved in several projects since the 1960s and continues to record music, perform concerts, and make appearances on television either as himself or as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

Early life and education

Head was born in London to Seafield Laurence Stewart Murray Head (20 August 1919 – 22 March 2009) and Helen Shingler (29 August 1919 − 8 October 2019). Head's father was a documentary filmmaker for Verity Films. Head's mother played Mme Maigret alongside Rupert Davies in the BBC 1960s television adaptation of the '' Maigret'' novels written by Georges Simenon. Head's younger brother Anthony Head is also an actor, best known for playing Rupert Giles in the TV series ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''. Head was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and Hampton School in

Hampton, Middlesex Hampton is a suburban area on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, and historically in the County of Middlesex. which includes Hampton Court Palace. Hampton is served by two railway station ...

. He attended Chiswick Polytechnic (A level college) in the early 1960s.

Career

Head began writing songs as a child, and by the mid-1960s he had a London-based

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

. 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 Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

to play Judas Iscariot on the original concept album version of ''

''; at the time, he had been appearing in the West End production of the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. 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 '' The Family Way'' (1966), which featured

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...

, Hywel Bennett and John Mills in the leading roles. Head won a leading role in the Oscar-nominated film '' Sunday Bloody Sunday'' (1971), alongside

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

and Glenda Jackson. Despite these successes, he received little public attention in the next ten years (except for his single release, " Say It Ain't So, Joe" in 1975, which has been covered by The Who's lead vocalist, Roger Daltrey, among others, including The Hollies). "Never Even Thought" has been covered by both Colin Blunstone and Cliff Richard. 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 ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

program '' Return of the Saint''. Head reappeared in the spotlight in 1984 as the American on the

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

for the musical '' Chess''. The song "

" featured Head on lead vocals, affecting a New York accent. It became the last significant Broadway/West End number to be a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

on American and German radio until " No Matter What" by Boyzone in 1996. "One Night in Bangkok" was a success in both Europe and North America. Head performed the role of world chess champion Frederick "Freddie" Trumper in the London West End stage production of ''Chess'' that premiered on 14 May 1986. The show ran in London until 8 April 1989; during its run, Head departed with vocal strain. 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 KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

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 Marie Carmen is the stage name of Marie-Carmen Aubut (born August 24, 1959), a Canadian pop singer and musical theatre actress born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. Associated with the bands Accident, Blood et Marie and The Radio Rats in the early 1980s, ...

, "Une femme un homme", was released in 1993 and was a hit in French-speaking Canada. In 1999, Head co-wrote the screenplay to '' Les Enfants du Siècle''. He has appeared on television in the UK on '' The Bill'', '' Casualty'', '' North Square'' and ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court of Justice, High Court judge wh ...

''. He also played an artist, and love interest of Gina Ward, called Jack Hollins on

's ''

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

'' from 2005 to 2006. On 15 March 2010 he appeared in the BBC drama ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' playing a pop singer, Pete Perry, trying to make a comeback, in which Head sang Robert Johnson's "

Love in Vain "Love in Vain" (originally "Love in Vain Blues") is a blues song written by American musician Robert Johnson. Johnson's performancevocal accompanied by his finger-style acoustic guitar playinghas been described as "devastatingly bleak". He reco ...

". He appeared in ''Doctors'' again on 18 April 2019 as a different character, a drummer named Brian 'Sticky' Burns. In Canada, he was part of the cast of the 2002 television mini-series ''Music-Hall'', which played on the

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

network. In 2011 he appeared in the first episode of the series Vera (episode "Hidden Depths") as Peter Calvert. He played in series 4, episode 3 of the TV series Boon, shown in 1989. Head's picture appeared on the

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

of The Smiths' compilation album ''

Stop Me ''Stop Me'' is a compilation album by English band The Smiths. It compiles the band's then-latest (but not last) three singles and their B-sides in reverse-chronological order. ''Stop Me'' was released in January 1988 by their Japanese record ...

'', taken from a still of the film ''The Family Way''.

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. Head married Lindy Ross (née Newton) on 14 February 2019.

Discography

*''

Nigel Lived ''Nigel Lived'' is the first album by the British vocalist and actor Murray Head, released in 1973 on CBS Records. It is a concept album which tells the story of Nigel, a young singer who arrives in London seeking a career in the music busines ...

'' (1972) *''

'' (1976) *'' Between Us'' (1979) *''

Voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (19 ...

'' (1981) *'' Shade'' (1982) *''

Restless Restless may refer to: * Psychomotor agitation, restlessness experienced as a result of certain medications or conditions Music * Restless Records Albums * ''Restless'' (Sara Evans album) and its title track, 2003 * ''Restless'' (Murray H ...

'' (1984) *'' Sooner or Later'' (1986) *'' Wave'' (1992) *'' Pipe Dreams'' (1995) *''Tête à tête'' (2007) *''Rien n'est écrit'' (2008) *''My Back Pages'' (2012)

Selected filmography

* 1966: '' The Family Way'' - Geoffrey Fitton * 1967: ''

Two Weeks in September ''Two Weeks in September'' (French title: ''À coeur joie'') is a 1967 British-French drama film directed by Serge Bourguignon and starring Brigitte Bardot, Laurent Terzieff, Jean Rochefort and James Robertson Justice. Plot Model Cecile spends ...

(À cœur joie)'' - Dickinson's assistant * 1971: ''Aphrousa'' - Nicholas * 1971: '' Sunday Bloody Sunday'' - Bob Elkin * 1972: ' - Tony * 1973: '' Gawain and the Green Knight'' - Sir Gawain * 1975: ''El poder del deseo'' - Javier * 1977: ''

The French Woman ''The French Woman'' (french: Madame Claude) is a 1977 French drama film directed by Just Jaeckin and starring Françoise Fabian. The film is inspired by the life of French brothel madam Madame Claude. Cast * Françoise Fabian as Madame Claude ...

(Madame Claude)'' - David Evans * 1987: '' White Mischief (Sur la route de Nairobi)'' - Lizzie * 1996: '' Beaumarchais'' - Lord Rochford * 1999: ''

The Big Snake of the World ''The Big Snake of the World'' (french: Le Grand Serpent du monde) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Yves Dion and released in 1999. The film stars Murray Head as Tom Paradise, a night shift Société de transport de Montréal bus driver intera ...

(Le Grand Serpent du monde)'' - Tom * 2003: ''

I, Cesar ''I, Cesar'' (french: Moi César, 10 ans ½, 1m39) is a 2003 French comedy film directed by Richard Berry. Plot César is a young boy living in Montmartre, Paris, with his parents. Morgan, his friend, tries to find his father in London. César a ...

(Moi César, 10 ans 1/2, 1m39)'' - Mr. Fitzpatrick * 2014: ''Horsehead'' - Jim * 2017: ''

'' (2 episodes) – Ralphy Aspden

Notes

References

External links

*
Hugh Schofield, "Murray Head: 'Unsung at home, but a hero in France'"
''BBC News'', 24 December 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Murray 1946 births Living people Male actors from London English male musical theatre actors English male film actors English male singers Island Records artists A&M Records artists People educated at Hampton School People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle Singers from London 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English singers 21st-century English singers 20th-century British male singers 21st-century British male singers