Born March 5, 1946 to an actress mother and a director father, Murray Head was the first of two talented siblings (his brother, Anthony Stewart Head, is best known for his role as Giles on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.) He attended a French speaking elementary school as a child, lending him fluency in both English and French.

 Discovered as a talent while in his teens, the producer who signed him wisely balked at the idea of  voice lessons, wanting to preserve Murray's naturally soulful style.

 His career began as a mix of film, music and even a bit of insurance sales when times were dry. He had been recorded throughout the latter 60s, but his first real break was a starring role in a musical concept, Jesus Christ: Superstar, with the (then) unknown team of Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice. The song 'Superstar' did well in the USA, ending up somewhere on the top 20 charts.

 Shortly  thereafter, he starred in the film Sunday Bloody Sunday in 1971. The following year he released his brilliantly-creative freshman solo album Nigel Lived, which included a liner of fabricated diary entries and songs that coincided with events that took place in the fictional life of "Nigel." Unfortunately, it sold six copies.

 

Murray didn't release another album until 1975's Say It Ain't So. The title cut became something of a classic, covered by The Who's Roger Daltrey, a solo album from Procol Harem's Gary Brooker and many others.

 There was a four year gap between Joe and his next work, Between Us, and then until 1988 came out with a new album about every two years. Amidst his solo works, 1984 saw the release of the musical Chess which spawned Murray's biggest U.S. hit to date, 'One Night In Bangkok.'

 More recently his focus seems to be on acting, but he still managed to record a few albums in the 1990s with his last solo work, Pipe Dreams, released in 1996. In 2002, he recorded and appeared on stage in the French musical Cendrillon 2002, available as a CD and a Live DVD recording of the show.

 Today he continues to act and has been touring small venues in France - and recently Montreal - performing many of his classic songs. He has also been working on releasing material recorded for a scrapped musical Diminishing Perspective, that he and Superstar alumni Barry Dennen wrote about 30 years ago. The album of newly compiled songs was to be released in June 2005, but at the moment the project appears to be stalled.

Compilation albums that feature the occasional new single continue to be released, the latest being the album Emotions.

 
 

 

 
  - Born: March 5, 1946

- Parents: Seafield Head and Helen Shingler

- Has two daughters: Katherine and Sophie

- Is Anthony Stewart Head's elder brother

- Is divorced (married 1972 - 1992)

- Was considered for the role of Che Guevara in Webber's Evita, a role that ultimately went to Colm Wilkinson of now Les Miz fame.

- Was known for occasionally forgetting the words during performances of Chess

- His largest fan base consists of francophones.

- Was permanently banned from Thailand because of "One Night In Bangkok" -- the lyrics of which he didn't write.

- Owns a mummy, and prefers ones that have "tits."

 
   

  Sunday Bloody Sunday, starring Murray Head

Anthony Stewart Head, Official site of Murray's Buffy-training brother.

Jesus Christ Superstar, Official page of the show.