Phil Murray

Phil’s is an inspiring story about having the courage to change direction in life in order to fulfill a life-long dream.

Music has always affected Phil emotionally. One of his earliest memories is of being glued to the old family wireless as a small child, mesmerised by the sounds of artists he later discovered to include Johnny Mathis (Wonderful Wonderful) and The Platters (Smoke Gets In Your Eyes) … Phil has always been attracted to songs that touch the heart.

His family encouraged him to sing but had to goad him into performing at family gatherings. Phil was then, and remains today, a shy performer. At 8, he was swept up in rock ‘n’ roll and had his heart set on learning guitar. But family finances and geographic logistics made this impossible.

However at 10, Phil’s school offered lessons for students interested in joining the school band. Phil volunteered and was taught the basics of music theory and how to play the trumpet (which he continued throughout his school years, competing in local eisteddfods and playing solos at school concerts and speech nights).

After leaving school, Phil never played the trumpet again. Instead, at 17, he fulfilled his first desire and saved enough to buy his own guitar – the first musical instrument he’d ever owned.

Phil taught himself to play, then built a substantial repertoire of songs. At 18, he began writing for the first time and at 19, he joined a local pop band as a singer/songwriter and guitarist.

Phil’s musical tastes developed with the times. As with every 60s teenage muso., he was in awe of The Beatles, fascinated especially by McCartney’s ballads. He tried to emulate Paul’s songwriting style, along with those of later contemporaries like the Bee Gees, Bread’s David Gates, Carole King, Carley Simon and the silken, melodic tones of Don McLean. Always, the songs that most moved him were those dealing with human stories of life, love and loss.

As ‘adult life’ overtook the young musician, he established a career and combined that with part-time studies to complete a degree. Then came marriage and a young family and before he knew it, music had been forced onto the back burner as these other priorities drove his life.

In his mid-30s, Phil was invited to join a music group in his local parish Church. Reluctant at first, he finally relented, agreeing only to play guitar (as always, the shy performer). But before long, he was singing again and within a few months, his songwriting returned, this time with a religious focus. He was shocked when his songs were popular and had an emotional impact on people.

For many years, he continued to write, perform and record this style of song – initially hymns, then reflective spiritual songs, then others dealing with social issues that departed from a religious base. The music itself became more imaginative and sophisticated while he often received a common compliment relating to his lyrics… “Insightful with the ability to penetrate.”

Based mainly on his own experiences, Phil’s songs invited listeners to reflect both rationally and emotionally on issues he found important (e.g. the plight of refugees) rather than preach what he considered right or wrong, leading to many conversations that were mutually enriching.

The death of Phil’s mother in 2004 triggered a whole new phase, affecting his music in a number of ways. He wrote The Things You Meant to Me in her memory, an experience that inspired him to continue writing songs with meaningful themes about normal life experiences that had emotional overtones. That loss of one of the most important relationships in his life caused Phil to reflect upon the value of other relationships. This in turn became the genesis of many of the songs that now feature on Phil’s debut album, aptly titled Never Too Late.

His mum’s passing made Phil realise that life was running out and that if he was to finally follow his passion, he couldn’t leave it any longer. So he built a home studio, continued writing and entered songs in national and international contests. He was surprised with the results, achieving many short listings and honourable mentions, a nomination for a national award and all three songs he entered in the renowned UK Songwriting Contest progressed to the Semi-Finals. Phil realised it was not too late to pursue his dream.

The emergence of the Susan Boyle phenomenon in 2009 provided the final impetus. Although his strategy was well in place by then, Susan proved that dreams could be fulfilled later in life and this gave Phil heart, encouraging him to persist.

So late in 2009, he left his long-time job to concentrate on music. He engaged producer Peter Stevenson of Turn Around Music and proceeded to record his debut original album.

Never Too Late is living proof that it never is too late to pursue your dream. Allow these personal stories to touch your own heart and there’s no doubt the experience of listening to Phil Murray wi