Christopher Mark Murphy (9 November 1954 – 16 January 2021) was an Australian music and
multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...
entrepreneur. He was the
band manager
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...
for
INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
(late 1979 to June 1995, December 2008 to November 2012) and
Models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided int ...
(from late 1984 to mid-1987). He died on 16 January 2021, aged 66, after being diagnosed with
Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, comprising about 6% of cases. It is named for the mantle zone of the lymph nodes where it develops. The term 'mantle cell lymphoma' was first adopted by Raffe ...
.
Murphy was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...
Christopher Mark Murphy was born on 9 November 1954 and grew up in
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...
. His father, Mark Murphy, had run a theatrical booking agency, Mark Murphy & Associates, in
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
since 1960. A year after Mark died in 1969, Murphy, at the age of 16, joined his mother in running the agency but shifted its focus to rock music acts. Initially called Solo Management Agency, it became part of Murphy Media Academy (MMA) which eventually had offices in Australia and internationally.
Manager of INXS (1979–1995)
Murphy continued as a booking agent until late in 1979 when he met with Gary Morris, then-manager of Australian rock groups
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...
and
INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
. Morris wanted to focus on Midnight Oil and asked Murphy to look after INXS, Murphy recalled:
Nevertheless, by 1980 Murphy had "dissolved his rock agency and became manager of the band". He subsequently hired Gary Grant as the group's touring manager and by 1982 Grant was his business partner at MMA Management. In July that year Murphy had brokered a deal with
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...
for INXS after " ehad made numerous overseas trips setting up contacts". Grant declared that the "direct signing to a US label was one of the crucial elements in INXS's success". In 1983 MMA set up an office in New York and during the next three years either Murphy or Grant spent "10, 11 months of each year there".
In late 1984 Melbourne-based alternative rock group,
Models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided int ...
, were considering breaking up, their label
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival ...
tempted them with an offer of recording with US producer
Reggie Lucas
Reginald Grant Lucas (February 25, 1953 – May 19, 2018) INXS encouraged Murphy to sign the group to MMA: under his influence Models pursued a more commercial sound to a radio-friendly format. Models relocated to Sydney and long-term member, Andrew Duffield, was forced out of the group by Murphy under "controversial circumstances".
According to ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
'' Tony Sarno "in the industry rantand his partner urphyare seen as good operators". By April 1986 INXS were "selling records overseas. Lots of them. rantdelights in telling how INXS, no, MMA Management as well have calculated success in America. He talks quickly, with an authority bordering on aggression".Jenny Morris (ex- The Crocodiles, QED) told
Stuart Coupe
Stuart Coupe is an Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and music label founder. A renowned rock music writer, Coupe is best known for his work with Roadrunner (Australian music magazine), ''Roadrunner'', ''Rock ...
of ''The Canberra Times'' that back in 1985 Murphy "rang up and said, 'Why don't you come on the road with INXS for a couple of weeks and fill in a bit of time' ... I thought I might as well, and that turned into a two years thing that meant I did two world tours with the band". Morris had supplied backing vocals on their April 1984 album, '' The Swing'', she performed a duet with INXS' lead singer,
Michael Hutchence
Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead singer and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 ...
on their cover version of "
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
" (also in April on '' Dekadance''), and toured with them from 1985.
Under the management of Murphy and Grant, INXS went from a Sydney pub band to playing international venues including headlining a show at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in July 1991 with 74,000 in attendance. INXS sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Murphy also assisted in the commercial success of Models, which achieved two hits on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
Singles Chart in 1985, "
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
" (March, No. 2) and " Out of Mind, Out of Sight" (July, No. 1).
During October 1986 Murphy and Grant teamed with fellow managers Jeremy Fabinyi (
Mental as Anything
Mental As Anything was an Australian new wave and pop rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. Its most popular line-up (which lasted from 1977 to 1999, and recorded all of its charting singles and albums) was Martin Plaza (birth name Martin ...
), Mark Pope (
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...
,
Divinyls
Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school un ...
), and Ken West (
I'm Talking
I'm Talking were an Australian funk-pop music, pop rock band, which featured vocalists Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. They formed in 1983 in Melbourne and provided top ten hit singles "Trust Me (I'm Talking song), Trust Me", "Do You Wanna Be? ...
) to stage the Australian Made series of concerts. The tour performance order was Mental as Anything, I'm Talking, The Triffids, The Saints, Divinyls, Models, Barnes and INXS. It began in Hobart in December and visited all state capitals ending in Sydney in late January the following year. Although the tour had been announced with claims of Australian mateship and cooperation, arguments ensued between various band managers over the proposed concert series film. Some bands felt they had been coerced into unfavourable tour contracts. The tour ended in a fracas when Murphy and Fabinyi argued backstage in Sydney and came to blows.
In the 1980s Murphy invested in
digital broadcasting
Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital signals rather than analogue signals for broadcasting over radio frequency bands (radio broadcasting). Digital television broadcasting (especially satellite television) is widespread. Digital ...
and
music sales
Record sales or music sales are activities related to selling music recordings (albums, single (music), singles, or music video#Commercial release, music videos) through physical record shops or digital music stores. Record sales reached their pe ...
but also
organic farming
Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...
. He created a large-scale
free range
Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals can roam freely outdoors for at least part of the day, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day.
On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, th ...
/ organic chicken operation and ran a business for daily delivery of organic lamb to restaurants around the world. In 1987 Murphy was rated by '' BRW'' magazine as Australian Entrepreneur of the Year. In 1988 he established an independent record label,
rooART
rooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy, label owner Sebastian Chase and Murphy's former employee, Justin Van Stom. The label's roster included several well-known Australian ban ...
, with Sebastian Chase (of Chase Records) and Justin Van Stom (formerly of MMA). It was initially distributed by PolyGram.
Murphy signed Australian acts to rooArt including Crash Politics, The Hummingbirds,
Ratcat
Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney who formed in 1985. The band is fronted by mainstay vocalist and guitarist, Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop song writing and energetic Punk rock, punk-style guitar rock won them fan ...
and
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the ...
. In June 1991 Ratcat had simultaneous number-one single, "Don't Go Now", and album, ''Blind Love'', on the
ARIA charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
. In 1992 Murphy signed a deal with Time Warner Inc. for international distribution. In February 1995 You Am I had a number-one album with '' Hi Fi Way''. Later rooArt acts included
Wendy Matthews
Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models (band), Models and Absent Friends (band), Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in th ...
(ex-Models) and
The Screaming Jets
The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle, New South Wales from the band Aspect formed in high school by Grant, Dave, Frank Manitta and Grant Wiltshire (deceased) in 1984 which Paul Woseen was also a later member o ...
which also helped the label become more commercially popular in Australia. In the 1990s, he sold his publishing company, MMA Music, to PolyGram Music Publishing.
rooART and Petrol Records
By June 1995, Murphy resigned his position with INXS to spend more time with his children.
Ed Nimmervoll
Edward Charles Nimmervoll Eduard Nimmervoll (21 September 194710 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as ...
, a music journalist, observed that by the mid-1990s INXS' popularity had started to wane whereas "during NXS'rise urphyhad used strongarm tactics on the band's behalf, and now when the band needed moral support, maybe because of ispast efforts that support was less inclined to be offered. eand the band decided to part ways". Initially Murphy focussed on rooART, which was sold to BMG by October in the following year. He had purchased a 50% stake in ''Australian Style'' magazine and invested in Sydney radio station
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's.
2SM's prog ...
. Over the next four years, 2SM's earnings doubled and ''Australian Style'' magazine's increased by 40%. Murphy was attracted to digital technology and formed one of Australia's first digital music broadcasting companies, Digital One, in 1999.
Petrol Records Pty Ltd emerged in 2001. Murphy curated a number of
world music
"World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...
compilation albums under the banner of Seriously Good Music. The series sold in large numbers and produced over 500 Top 20 hits. This led to deals with Time Warner LIFE and
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, and receiving a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination. Each of the eleven albums in Petrol's ''Seriously Good Music'' series focused on a specific genre or subgenre, such as ''
Burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
''. Another of his ventures was the Not Lost in Translation series, accessing foreign language for youth culture
zeitgeist
In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...
s.
In 2008 Murphy rejoined forces with INXS signing them to Petrol Electric and after two years they issued an album, ''
Original Sin
Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...
'' (November 2010). The album has guest vocalists re-recording earlier material by the band.
In 2016, Murphy sold a 50% stake of Petrol to UMG (Universal Music Group), which went on to sign a number of new bands such as the self-styled Australian 'Hippie Country' trio The Buckleys (siblings Sarah, Lachlan and Molly Buckley)
Murphy Rights Management (2014–2021)
In April 2014, Murphy created Murphy Rights Management, a music entertainment company.
References
General
* Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality.
Specific