Having been an admirer of the band Blur and its front man Damon Albarn in the 90s I thought I would have a little search on the internet to see what he is up to these days. On a random click , something I do quite a bit in the hope of finding something different and unusual to the information one gets from the first sides of a google or yahoo search, I came across a band called “Away With The Fairys” who´s singer claims to have known and played alongside the great Damon Albarn.
He also claims to have trained at the same acting school , East 15 where he was asked by Damon Albarn to leave the school to form a band with him. The singer writer of Away with the fairys is “Murphy” Patrick Murphy from Liverpool.
Albarn and Murphy , Jagger and Lennon. Hmmm.
Intrigued I went to their website where my eyes where assaulted by a page with mp3 previews of Away with the fairys new cd which is called “We´ve been had” an anti war anti corruption cd if ive ever heard one.
Now im no music critic and I dont know much about the music scene at all , but I do know that over the last number of years I was wondering why there was a lack of musical protest songs in regards to what is happening on the world stage.
Well here was a band and a CD which was blatantly putting two fingers up to the establishment and telling it how it is , delivered in a grooving , popy , rocky , catchy kind of way so as to appeal to those who care not for lyrics , and an education for those who do.
The first track is called “You don´t need to vote no more” What an opener! Right in your face , Bush stole the election , catchy as hell .
I knew then why such songs are not given air play on national radio stations and are probably tiptoed past by the establishment , though I reckon they are tapping their feet as they did so.
The second track on the CD ” Flight 77 ” again is a shocker , spooky , menacing and cries out conspiracy and “inside job”
And so on.
In my opinion this CD is a CD of its time , not just a token protest song and move on, it is as Albarns friend says , a documentation of the beginning and present day troubles we are encountering by Psychopaths, there is a track called the psychopaths also on the CD.
Everything is delivered for every music taste one has. Covering many styles. Murphy is from Liverpool and you can tell. The CD is beatle esque , trippy , psychodelic , rocky. It has it all.
I have tried to contact murphy to ask for an interview , to ask why he did not join Damon Albarn , and to ask his thoughts on our present day situation. As yet I have had no reply , though I know he is about as he has just released a song which has a video to go with it called “Macbeth“
Unbelievably he has taken a few lines from act v sene v of macbeth and made one hell of a song.
Im sorry , but this guy who ever he may be is an artist in the truest sense , this is not just entertainment this is an education , refreshing , why the hell have we not heard of murphy and away with the fairys before. Oh thats right his subject matter seems to be truth!
Something many cant stomach , as to wake up and smell the burning would terrify one so much you´d have to do something because you could never go back to sleep.
There is also humour on this CD ” We´ve been had ” Space rocks keep falling on my head” is hilarious , and yet potent.
Don´t take my word for it, go and check it out and support an artist who is doing the work. Get a piece of history , support the truth , and spread the word.
Im just left with the feeling after hearing this CD that Damon Albarn and Patrick Murphy together may just have been a force too much to handle. Albarn does the marches , Murphy writes it straight.
We´ve Been Had by Away With The Fairys. True art from a true artist. Please reply to my emails mr Murphy.