Murray Torkildsen

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Murray Torkildsen is a singer and songwriter based in the United Kingdom. He became famous as a member of John Otway's Big Band. During the 1990s, Murray played his own songs live while acting as a support act for John Otway. He grew a loyal fan base, most of whom were John Otway fans.

Murray released one solo album 'Sex Lies and Videogames' on which, using just one guitar and one microphone, he belts out a collection of his own poignant songs. His style has often been compared to Billy Bragg.

Having worked his way around North America, Britain and Ireland as a solo act, Murray Torkildsen spent summer 1995 working on new material. He formed a band called The Sweeney with two friends, Adam Batterbee (drums) and Sid (bass). The Sweeney was named after the popular ITV television serial of the same name.

The Sweeney's debut single 'Shut Up!' was released in November 1995 to a very positive reaction, drawing favourable comparisons with Elvis Costello, and Paul Weller. Their second single "Why?" earned a regular spot on John Peel's radio show in early 1996. Their third single "Fish Face" is widely thought to be about the British politician David Mellor.

The Sweeney's debut album was "Pop Gun". Since then, Murray, Sid and Adam furthered their reputation as one of the UK's hardest working live bands. The group have returned to the studio to record three further albums, "Bingo" "The Sweeney" ("I have always wanted to use the word eponymous" said Murray) and most recently "5".