- Murry the Hump
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Not to be confused with Al Capone's henchman Murray "The Hump" Humphreys.
Murry the Hump 
Background information Also known as The Keys Origin Aberystwyth, Wales Genres Indie rock, Urban Folk Years active 1999–present Labels Too Pure
See Monkey Do MonkeyWebsite www.murrythehump.co.uk Past members Matthew Evans
Gwion Rowlands
Bill Coyne
Siôn Glyn
Curig HuwsMurry the Hump were a Welsh indie rock and "urban folk" band. They were active from 1999 until 2001; Since then they have continued to write music under the name The Keys.
Contents
History
The band was formed in Aberystwyth in the late 1990s by singer Matthew Evans, guitarist Gwion Rowlands, bass guitarist Curig Huws, and drummer Bill Coyne,[1] taking their name from the gangster Llewellyn Morris "Murray The Hump" Humphreys.
Early on in the band's career, they competed in a Battle of the Bands contest against Muse. Garnering early interest by way of indie singles "Green Green Grass of Home" (an NME "Single of the Week", and a song about marijuana rather than a cover of the song made famous by Tom Jones)[1][2] (Blue Dog/V2) and "Thrown Like a Stone" (Shifty Disco) (which was voted number nine in John Peel's Festive Fifty in 1999),[3] they gained support from BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel, recording three sessions for the Peel,[4] and secured an appearance at industry showcase In The City. A publishing deal from Townhill Music (Sony) swiftly followed, and the band were heralded as the best new band in Wales, and by Alex James of Blur as the best new band in Britain.[1][5] In a 2000 review of the "Silver Suit" single in the NME, the band were described as "The Proper Indie; winsome, charmsome, delicate, funny and toe-tappin' Trebor fizz-pop Fab".[5]
In 2000 the band signed to Too Pure, whereupon they joined new label mates Hefner on a whistle-stop tour of the UK. The band then began work ontheir debut album, Songs of Ignorance, and performed some of the new material for Radio 1's One Live in Cardiff. Curig was replaced by new bassist Siôn Glyn.
The band's first release for Too Pure, "The House That Used to Be a Ship" (a split single with Hefner), was followed by Guardian Guide single of the Week "Cracking Up", gaining much support from Xfm with a John Kennedy Session and live slots for the station at Camden's Barfly.
A second single for the label, "Don't Slip Up" and the debut album Songs of Ignorance followed. The album was described by Andy Gill in The Independent as displaying "a warmth and charm to the group's jangly indie-pop that's entirely engaging",[6] while the NME's April Long said that it revealed "a canny aptitude not only for hook-laden guitar tricks but also story-telling", describing the band as "somewhere between the bucolic surrealism of Super Furry Animals and the cerebral pop of XTC."[7] The Sunday Times selected "Cracking Up" as one of the 'Tracks of the Year' at the end of 2001, describing it as "Joyous, mad, brief. 2001's perfect pop song, from a great Welsh band";[8] Their review of Songs of Ignorance from May that year also described the track as "so ripe - it has three different choruses - and so joyous, it makes you want to tear your clothes off and run for the hills."[9]
The band announced that they had split up in September 2001, although they played one final concert in October that year as part of the BBC Radio 2 Live in Cardiff festival.[10] Evans stated in 2003 "it stopped being fun and we found we had to promote things and that's when things started getting quite tense."[11] Evans, Rowlands, and Glyn re-remerged in 2002 as The Keys, after asking fans to choose a name for the new band, and were described as "Duane Eddy jamming with the Jesus and Mary Chain".[1][11][12] The band released a self-titled debut album in 2003, two EPs in 2009 and their second album as The Keys, Fire Inside, in 2010. A third album, Bitten by Wolves, was released in 2011.[13]
Facts
- May 26 Supported Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and a host of other Welsh acts in front of 25,000 people for the BBC Voice of a Nation Concert.
- Blue Dog single (V2) "The Green Green Grass of Home" sold 1000 copies.
- Murry the Hump have supported: The Stereophonics, The Levellers, Bonnie Tyler, Shed Seven, Björn Again, Mike Peters, Coloursound, The Crocketts, Cartoon, Topper, Big Leaves, Deacon Blue, etc.
Discography
Albums
- Songs of Ignorance (28 May 2001), Too Pure Records (Pure 116) - CD and LP
- as The Keys
- The Keys (2003), Too Pure
- Fire Inside (2010), See Monkey Do Monkey
- Bitten by Wolves (2011), See Monkey Do Monkey
Singles and EPs
- Don't Slip Up - Demo (not published)
- "Green Green Grass of Home" (1999), Blue Dog Records - 7" vinyl single, split with Gorgeous Fame and the Three Degrees
- "Thrown Like a Stone"/"Don't Slip Up" (27 September 1999), Shifty Disco Records - CD
- Colouring Book EP (November 1999), Malthouse Records - CD
- "Silver Suit"/"Booze and Cigarettes" (May 2000), Prim and Proper Records - 7" vinyl single
- "The House That Used to Be a Ship" (January 2001), Too Pure Records - 7” vinyl single, split with Hefner
- "Cracking Up" (26 March 2001), Too Pure (Pure 114) - CD and 7” vinyl single
- "Don't Slip Up" (21 May 2001), Too Pure (Pure 107) - CD and 7” white vinyl single
- as The Keys
- Le Mans EP (2009), See Monkey Do Monkey
- The Christmas EP (2009), See Monkey Do Monkey
References
- ^ a b c d Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 882
- ^ "NME Reviews: London Camden Falcon", NME, 8 October 1999
- ^ "Festive 50, 1999", Keeping it Peel, BBC
- ^ "Murry the Hump" Peel Sessions, Keeping it Peel, BBC
- ^ a b Patterson, Sylvia (2000) "Murry The Hump : Silver Suit/Booze And Cigarettes", NME, 12 February 2000
- ^ Gill, Andy (2001) "Albums: Murry the Hump - Songs of Ignorance, Toor Pure", The Independent, 24 May 2001
- ^ Long, April (2001) "Murry The Hump : Songs of Ignorance", NME, 22 May 2001
- ^ "Tracks of the year; Music", Sunday Times, 16 December 2001
- ^ Cairns, Dan (2001) "MURRY THE HUMP. Songs of Ignorance", Sunday Times, 27 May 2001, p. 22
- ^ Ansell, Rachelle (2001) "Murry The Hump have split", Drowned in Sound, 25 September 2001
- ^ a b Stokes, Alison (2003) "Friday Live: fun is the key to success", South Wales Echo, 4 July 2003, p. 38
- ^ Walton, Adam (2002) "Exit Murry - but what name next?", Liverpool Daily Post, 18 January 2002, p. 25
- ^ Warfield, Russell (2011) "[http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16173/reviews/4142542 The Keys Bitten By Wolves]", Drowned in Sound, 27 April 2011, retrieved 2011-10-02
External links
- Official website (no longer maintained)
- The Keys official website
- Murry The Hump biography from BBC Wales
Categories:- Welsh rock music groups
- Musical groups established in 1999
- Musical groups disestablished in 2001
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