In 2003, Pete Murray released his critically acclaimed album, Feeler. Twenty-two years later, he’s still just as affable, handsome and has a voice like honey! I chatted with him for the second time.
Your latest single I Am Fire is a great song. What inspired it?
I was watching the news, and it’s hard to avoid seeing what’s happening overseas right now. I kept seeing people putting themselves into the danger zone to save others. Over the years, I’ve seen how people stand up against regimes and make a stance for humanity. They’re the real heroes of the world. I decided to write a song about those people and the feeling that happens in those moments. Those moments where they’re challenging someone for the sake of the human race. They don’t have guns. They’re just brave. It can also relate to parents and people who look after their families. It’s a special song lyrically.
You’re on a 55-date Solo Acoustic Tour. What draws you to touring?
I like performing, and this one is different because I’m playing solo acoustics. I’ve done it overseas, but never in Australia. I’ve always played with a band, but when I play solo, there’s much more freedom. I get to talk to the crowd and play what I want. With a band, there’s a certain time to perform in and a set list to stick to, which can be difficult. The beauty of a solo tour is that I can do what I want. There’s been a good vibe about this tour.
Pete Murray
Gay clubs are known for electropop dance, house and disco. Does that music grab you?
I like listening to singer-songwriter stuff, because that’s what I do, but I like all types of music. Dance music is great. I guess it depends on where I am and the time of day. (Laughs). A good song is a good song, no matter what genre it is. Everyone likes different flavours.
Have you been out to gay bars?
I can’t remember any specifically, but I must have been to some in Sydney. My gay mates are great and so hilarious.
“For years after, I believed my dad went out with Kate Bush!”
So, what’s your irresistible dance floor song?
Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. It’s been a favourite for years. Back in my twenties, I had some mates over for a drink, and when Superstition came on, I was like, “We can’t just sit down, we gotta dance to this!” Stevie Wonder is amazing!
Maybe you could include Superstition in your set list?
I’ve never played it live. Maybe I could try. He’s got a killer voice, but he sings quite high, and I’d have to change key.
Pete Murray’s debut album Feeler
The last time we spoke, you said your diva singer would be Madonna. Is that still the case?
As a kid, I listened to Madonna, and all my female friends loved her. She was massive in the late Eighties. But Aretha Franklin has a killer voice, and so does Whitney Houston! I recently watched the Whitney documentary and was surprised at the flak she got from the black music community. She wasn’t appreciated for what she was doing.
Like Whitney, the singer Nick Drake also had a tragic life, and you sound like him! Were you influenced by him, or is it just a coincidence?
In 2002, Noel Mengel, a Brisbane journalist who wrote for the Courier Mail, somehow got an acoustic version of one of my demos and called me for an interview. I didn’t know who he was, but he loved my music. We did the interview, and he mentioned how I was similar to Nick Drake and Richie Havens. I’d never heard of either and had to check them out. Back then, you couldn’t simply stream music, so I had to go out and buy it. But that’s how I got into listening to Nick Drake, and I’ve found him quite special.
“My gay mates are great and so hilarious.”
Kate Bush had an amazing comeback through Stranger Things, with many discovering her for the first time. Are you a fan?
When I was a little kid and Kate Bush was big on the radio, my family and I would listen to her in the car. My dad once said, “She’s my old girlfriend”. For years after, I believed my dad went out with Kate Bush! I don’t know where he could possibly have met her, but I believed it. It’s funny what a parent can say as a joke that sticks in your head as a kid (Laughs). I’ve always been fairly close with Kate because I thought, well, she could have been my mum! (Laughs). It’s incredible what can happen to an artist’s career when they’re put in front of a whole new crowd, like what happened with Kate on Stranger Things. Running Up That Hill is a great song. Music can travel through the years and still find its place.
Vinyl has made such a huge comeback, and CDs are reemerging. How do you feel about that?
Well, I had no acoustic albums to sell, so I’ve recorded an acoustic album just for this tour, on both vinyl and CD. It’s called Acoustic Roots Volume One, and there’ll be more to follow. It’s just the physical product done the old school way, available at my shows. It was great to strip everything out and go back to that. I sometimes leave in some keys and a baseline, but it’s quite tastefully done.
Pete Murray on the cover of Australian Men’s Health magazine
What celebrity would you turn gay for?
George Clooney is a handsome fellow. I like somewhere in between the younger George and the silver fox George, where the greys are just coming through. Where he still has a bit of youth, but also a maturity about him.
What’s been your biggest career pinch yourself moment?
I always think of one show at the beginning of my career, where I played at Bar Broadway in Sydney. It was just after Feeler had been released. I remember going to do the gig, and there was a massive lineup right around the block. I thought there must have been another gig on somewhere. I wasn’t even big at that stage, but they were all trying to get into my gig. We had to turn away thousands. When I played, I started with Ten Ft Tall, the last song from the album, and the crowd sang it back, word for word. That moment was the first time I heard people singing my lyrics back. At the end of that show, I thought, “Wow! This could work!”
You’ve competed on SAS Australia and been on the cover of Men’s Health. What’s your workout regime?
My original background is sport, so I’ve always been fit and healthy. To get on the cover of Men’s Health, I trained with transformation coaches Chief and Emile Brabon. They got me onto a diet which I still stick to. I just take a lot of carbs and sugars out of my diet. I didn’t realise how much I’d been eating. When you work hard, you still don’t necessarily lose fat, so it’s about eating lean and keeping lean. I train for forty minutes maximum a day without much of a break in between sets. I do resistance work, reasonably heavy but not too heavy, at around twelve reps, and my minimum break is thirty seconds. Moving fast keeps the heart rate up. It’s about building muscle while burning calories at the same time.
Do you have a grooming tip? You have fantastic hair.
I don’t do much with it. I wake up in the morning, wet it a bit, and it sits where it is. I’m lucky that it’s quite thick. I’m going a bit grey at the back, but at the front I’m okay. I think seawater must be good for the hair. I try to get in the ocean as much as I can. It resets you!
What’s been your most memorable on-stage wardrobe malfunction?
When I realised my fly was down for a few songs. It wasn’t gaping open, but ever since it happened, it’s the first thing I check before I go on stage. In fact, I’ll double-check it and then triple-check it to make sure it’s up! You don’t want to be stuck like that.
You used to have underwear merch with ‘So Beautiful’ for the ladies and were thinking of doing ‘ Bigger than mighty Joe’ for the men. What happened to that?
Yeah, I had suggested that, but I think some people thought it was a bit too much. I thought it was cool. Maybe I should just go ahead and do it.
Please do! There’s a market in the gay community.
(Laughs) Sounds good!
Briefs, boxer briefs or free balling?
Briefs because they keep things tucked away and packaged up well. At nighttime, I sleep in boxers because I like to give it some freedom to breathe down there.
For more: petemurray.com
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