John Murphy (musician)

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John Murphy (born 1959), sometimes credited as "Jonh Murphy", is an Australian drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumental session musician who has played in numerous Australian and British post-punk, ambient and industrial music groups.

He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia, where he played in the school orchestra as well as Scottish pipe bands. Murphy's first major band was NEWS the seminal Melbourne punk band in which he performed as "John Smith from the Suburbs". From the late 1970s until the mid 1980s he collaborated with vocalist Ollie Olsen in the post-punk bands Whirlywirld, Hugo Klang, Orchestra of Skin and Bone, NO, and Max Q.

He formed, joined, or collaborated with, the following acts: The Associates, Dumb And The Ugly, Sooterkin Flesh, The Slub, SPK, Lustmord, Whitehouse, Death In June, Sword Volcano Complex, Browning Mummery, Current 93, Kraang, Sleeping Pictures, Naevus and NON, in addition to playing on sessions for Nico, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel and Shriekback.

He composed the song "Spit" that was used as the theme in the 2002 Apple Switch ad campaign.

Today he records solo under the name Shining Vril, as part of industrial electronic trio Knifeladder, and as a member of folk-noise group Foresta Di Ferro with Marco Deplano and Ostara's Richard Leviathan. He splits his time between living in Australia and the UK.