The 4 of Us

The 4 Of Us
Origin Newry, Northern Ireland
Genres Rock
Years active 1988–
Members Brendan Murphy
Declan Murphy

The 4 Of Us are a rock band from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, best known outside Ireland for their output in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[1][2] Of the four founding members, only brothers Brendan and Declan Murphy have remained continuously part of the group; the occupants of the other positions have varied.

History

The 4 Of Us released their first album, Songs for the Tempted, with CBS Records in 1989, with the single "Mary", becoming one of the most played songs on Irish radio that year. Consequently, the album went double platinum in Ireland and won Best Album of the Year at the Irish Music Awards, defeating the internationally known act U2.

The album Man Alive followed on Sony/Columbia Records in 1992, and saw the group enter the UK charts for the first time, with the album entering the chart at #64, and the single, "She Hits Me" spending four weeks on the chart peaking at #35.[3]

The band then lost momentum scrapping the release of Amplifier, their proposed third long player but released 2 singles "Change (Amplifier Version)" and "Someone's Got To Lose" Video, in 1997.

They did not separate however, and eventually returned to recording albums, releasing the largely acoustic-based Classified Personal on the FUTURE INC. label in 1999.[2][4]

2000s

Off the Record, an album of re-recordings of the band's best known songs appeared on EMI in 2000 and included the previously unreleased songs "The Girl Next Door" and "She's So Real" MP3.

In 2003 the single "Sunlight"* Sunlight Live on The Dunphy Show , which would appear on the 2004 album Heaven and Earth, began to receive airplay and was voted fourth in a poll to find the 'best Irish single ever', conducted by the national radio station, Today FM.

In November 2006 the band released their most recent studio album, Fingerprints and followed this with a live album Live At Vicar Street in 2009.

Throughout 2010 / 2011 via their Facebook page, the band previewed exclusive content, including previously unreleased tracks "The Way The River Flows" MP3 and, "I Guess I Wasn't Made For These Times" MP3 which was made available as a free download single for a limited period.

All studio albums have reached the Top 20 in the Ireland.

On Friday 21 October 2011 Brendan confirmed, via the Gerry Anderson Show on BBC Radio Ulster, that a brand new band studio album is in progress and scheduled for release in 2012. He also mentioned the possibility of a 'Best Of...' compilation in the very near future.

Via Facebook Declan announced (on 5 December 2011) that the previously unavailable third long-player 'Amplifier' would be released as a free download through * The 4 Of Us Official website

On 14 August 2013 the first track "Seventy-Three" (a work in progress) from the new album Sugar Island was premiered on the band's The4OfUsMurphyMusic YouTube channel. This was followed up on 10 September with "Hell To Pay".

On 25 March 2015 "Birds Eye View" (a work in progress) was premiered before getting a its mastered radio release on 8 April.

Solo work

In 2010 Brendan Murphy released his first solo album 'Walk With Me'* Live video + short interview , with brother Declan playing on several tracks. Via Brendan's Facebook the non-album song 'She Comes At Night' Video , was made available as a limited FREE DOWNLOAD single in May 2011 and, due to popular demand, again in November 2011. Also via the * Brendan Murphy Facebook page 2 demos "Shadow On The Sun" MP3 , and "Raise The Dead Man" co-written with string arranger Kevin Malpass were previewed.

Recognition

Albums discography

Singles discography

References

  1. ↑ (24 January 2003). The 4 Of Us to play Dublin in March, RTÉ.ie
  2. 1 2 (5 April 2003). Just the Four Of Us, Billboard (magazine)
  3. ↑ (13 March 1993). Hits of the UK, Billboard (magazine) (listing "She Hits Me" debuting at #35 on UK chart)
  4. ↑ (9 October 2007). 'We can't wait to get back there', Derry Journal
  5. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 209. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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