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Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958) is best known as the lead vocalist of the
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band Penetration, originally formed in 1976.


Early years

Pauline Murray was born on 8 March 1958 in
Waterhouses, County Durham Waterhouses is a village in Brandon and Byshottles civil parish, in County Durham, England. It is situated to the west of Durham, England, Durham, near Esh Winning, on the northern Bank of the River Deerness. History Joseph Pease, a Darlington Q ...
, England, and her parents later moved to
Ferryhill Ferryhill is a towns in England, town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially clo ...
. She left school at age sixteen, studied art at
Darlington College Darlington College is a further education college in Darlington, County Durham, England. The college campus is located at Central Park, Haughton Road. With support from Darlington Borough Council and Tees Valley Regeneration the college build ...
and then worked at odd jobs. In May 1976 the 18-year-old Murray saw the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
perform, and she and her Ferryhill comrades became Pistols devotees, earning for themselves the title of "Durham Contingent" (coined by the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'').


Penetration

In late 1976, Murray formed a band with friends Robert Blamire and Gary Smallman and named it after
the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...
' song "Penetration" from ''
Raw Power ''Raw Power'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on February 7, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two ...
'' (1973). They played their first gig in October 1976 at the
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
Rock Garden, and played their first gig in London at The Roxy in January 1977, supporting Gen X. The band debuted on
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
with the single "Don't Dictate", issued by
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
in November of the same year. The band went on to release two studio albums, '' Moving Targets'' (1978) and ''Coming Up for Air'' (1979), as well as an official bootleg, ''Race Against Time'' (1980). Later there would be a ''Best of Penetration''
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
. After a measure of success during 1978/79, including a headline show at the
Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmos ...
and a five-week American tour, they announced a split in October 1979. Penetration played a number of gigs around London in 2001–2002, leading to a band reunion. In 2015 the band announced they would release ''Resolution'', a new studio album.


Solo work

In 1980 Murray worked on her first solo studio album with record producer
Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...
's band
the Invisible Girls The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order produc ...
, which also included ex-Penetration member and co-writer Robert Blamire, as well as guesting
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
musicians such as
Vini Reilly Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He was known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its ...
, guitarist in the Durutti Column, and Steve Hopkins. John Maher from
Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
also drummed for the band. The resulting album, '' Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls'', reached Number 25 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
in October 1980 and spawned the singles "Dream Sequence" and "Mr. X". The album was well received by critics. A reviewer for ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' called it, "Unquestionably a musical highpoint of this year or any other. An exciting new area of electronic pop where
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
meets the modern world." Murray also provided lead vocals for
the Only Ones The Only Ones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry (musician), John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with pu ...
on their song "Fools" and backing vocals on "Me and My Shadow". In the early 1980s, Murray formed the band Pauline Murray and the Storm, with Robert Blamire (bass), Tim Johnston (drums) and Paul Harvey (guitar), releasing the singles "Holocaust" in 1984, a cover of
Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
/
Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...
and the self-penned "New Age" in 1986. In 1989 Murray released the EP ''This Thing Called Love'' and the studio album ''Storm Clouds'' under her own name. In 2011 Murray established Polestar Studios with Robert Blamire in
Byker Byker is a district in the east of the City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', By ...
where bands can rent out rehearsal and recording space. In 2013 she booked a number of solo acoustic dates around the North East in the UK. She said about the gigs, "This is the first time in my career that I’ve done a full solo set with just me and my guitar." During the tour, she played a number of older songs from her career and also played a number of new songs she had recently written. On 25 September 2021 Murray released a new solo studio album ''Elemental'', the 10 tracks of which had been recorded in 2016.


Personal life

Murray was married to Peter Lloyd, Penetration's road manager, but split with her husband after the release of ''Searching for Heaven'' in 1980. She and Robert Blamire then became a couple and moved together to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. She currently resides in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
. Murray has two children.


Discography

All UK releases except as noted.


Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls

* Dream Sequences (7", Illusive IVE-1, 11 July 1980) ** Dream Sequence I / Dream Sequence II ** also on 10" IVEX-1 * '' Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls'' (LP, Illusive/ RSO, 2394 277, 3 October 1980) ** Screaming in the Darkness (3:36) / Dream Sequence 1 (3:19) / European Eyes (3:20) / Shoot You Down (2:07) / Sympathy (2:47) / Time Slipping (4:04) // Drummer Boy (3:03) / Thundertunes (3:23) / When Will We Learn (3:35) / / Mr. X (4:27) / Judgement Day (4:25) ** 1993 CD extra tracks: The Visitor (3:44) / Animal Crazy (3:16) / Searching For Heaven (2:59) * Mr X (3:27) / Two Shots (4:03) (7", Illusive IVE-2, 24 October 1980) * Searching for Heaven / Animal Crazy (7", Illusive IVE-3, April 1981Official discography
(paulinemurrayofficial.com)
) * Searching for Heaven // Animal Crazy / The Visitor (10", Illusive IVEX-3, 1981)


Pauline Murray and the Storm

* New Age (3:42) / Body Music (2:54) (7", Polestar PSTR-003, November 1986) * New Age (5:35) // Archangel (4:17) / Body Music (2:54) (12", Polestar PSTR-12-003, November 1986)


Pauline Murray and the Saint

* Hong Kong (12", Polestar PSTR-12-002, February 1987) ** Close Watch / All I Want // Body Music / Holocaust


Pauline Murray

*
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
(2:20) / Don't Give Up (3:56) (7", Polestar PSTR-001, November 1984) * Holocaust // Don't Give Up / Aversion (12", Polestar PSTR-12-001, November 1984) * This Thing Called Love // Mr Money / Pressure Zone (12", Cat & Mouse Records ABBO-9T, May 1989) * Storm Clouds (LP, Cat And Mouse ABB-10, 1989) ** This Thing Called Love (3:34) /
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
(2:19) / Soul Power (3:10) / No One Like You (2:57) / Another World (3:03) / Don't Give Up (4:58) // Pressure Zone (4:23) / Close Watch (3:07) / Everybody's Talking (3:06) / New Age (3:51) / Time (4:52) * Halloween 2000 (CD, Polestar PSTR-CD-002, 2000) ** Stand for the Fire Demon (5:47) / Night of the Vampire (4:58) / Creature with the Atom Brain (4:25) * Elemental (LP, Polestar Records) 25 September 2021


References


External links


Murray's biography on Penetration's official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Pauline 1958 births Living people English women singers People from Durham, England English punk rock singers British women punk rock singers British women new wave singers Women in punk Musicians from County Durham