Neil Murray (British musician)
Encyclopedia
Philip Neil Murray is a Scottish
bass
player, best known for his work in Whitesnake
and Black Sabbath
.
, Eric Clapton
and Jack Bruce
, and later by Motown legend James Jamerson
and Tim Bogert
of Vanilla Fudge
, Cactus
and Beck, Bogert & Appice
. Murray moved to bass shortly before studying graphic design at the London College of Printing.
During 1973, Neil briefly played in Gilgamesh
, a jazz-fusion band led by Alan Gowen
. After his departure from Gilgamesh, Murray toured the USA with Junior Hanson, following a recommendation from Jeff Beck’s bass player Clive Chaman
. Hanson later became a member of Bob Marley & The Wailers
under the name Junior Marvin. Neil spent early 1974 supporting the album he recorded with them, Magic Dragon.
Murray's next gig came again through a recommendation from Clive Chaman, touring with Cozy Powell's Hammer in 1974 and 1975. The line-up included Don Airey
and Bernie Marsden
.
After Cozy Powell
decided to fold Hammer, Murray and Airey joined a revamped version of the British jazz rock band Colosseum
, named Colosseum II
. The band's leader, drummer Jon Hiseman
, had evolved the band's sound by eliminating the saxophone in preference for a rockier sound courtesy of Gary Moore
's guitar.
The band lasted for one album only (Strange New Flesh, a title thought up by Murray). Strange New Flesh was a little less intellectual than most of the jazz rock coming out of the UK. It did not have the blackness of bands like Weather Report, but offered more accessible melodies and rock power than the more "intellectual" Canterbury fusion scene
presented at the time. Following months of touring Europe and the UK, Murray and vocalist Mike Starrs
were fired, due to pressure from the record label Bronze, who soon after dropped Colosseum II altogether.
After Colosseum II, in 1976 Neil teamed up again with ex-Gilgamesh keyboardist Alan Gowen in National Health
with whom he recorded a self-titled album in 1977. Prior to recording that album, the band played with drummer Bill Bruford
of Yes
/King Crimson
fame, who was followed by ex-Hatfield & the North drummer Pip Pyle
. Murray got the chance to work with Bruford again, playing on the rehearsals for Bruford's Feels Good To Me album, standing in for Jeff Berlin
who was the actual bassist with the band (the LP cover read 'Thanks to Neil Murray: A bass player when I needed one'). Murray also deputised for Berlin on Bruford's "Old Grey Whistle Test
" appearance in 1978. During this performance he sports a long sleeve T-Shirt saying 'More Bass', predating Saturday Night Live
's "More Cowbell
" by more than 20 years.
National Health's complex music and the lack of commercial success prompted Murray to investigate other musical avenues planted in the world of bands like Cream
, Jeff Beck
or John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
. After playing with Bernie Marsden in Cozy Powell's Hammer, Murray had played on a couple of tracks on Babe Ruth
's album Stealing Home, prior to Marsden joining two members of Deep Purple
in Paice, Ashton & Lord
.
singer David Coverdale
was auditioning drummers for his new band Whitesnake
, which featured guitarists Micky Moody
and Bernie Marsden
. Marsden invited Murray to help out with the process which led to him landing the gig together with drummer Dave Dowle
. Deep Purple
's Jon Lord joined in the summer of 1978 and, after recording Lovehunter
in 1979, Dowle was replaced by Ian Paice
.
From 1978 until late 1986, Murray helped make Whitesnake one of the most popular bands in Europe and Japan. He recorded 9 albums (Snakebite, Trouble, Love Hunter, Ready An' Willing, Live In The Heart of The City, Come An' Get It, Saints An' Sinners, Slide It In, and Whitesnake). Murray's melodic basslines, influenced by Jack Bruce
, Andy Fraser
and even Jaco Pastorius
, stand out from the rock bass-playing of the time.
He did numerous tours in the UK, Europe, Japan and played at Reading Festival in 1979 and 1980 and the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington in 1981. However, tours of the US opening for Jethro Tull
in 1980 and Judas Priest
in 1981 were not enough to match the band's success elsewhere.
In early 1982, after tense Saints An' Sinners recording sessions, Coverdale decided on a complete shake-up of the band, management, publishing and recording contracts. There was a period of uncertainty as to who would be in the 'new' Whitesnake, though Cozy Powell was definitely coming in to replace Ian Paice. Around this time, Paice and Murray had recorded Gary Moore
's Corridors Of Power album, and Paice had decided to join Moore. Murray followed suit, and was replaced by Colin Hodgkinson. Coverdale reshuffled the band as Bernie Marsden departed, replaced by Mel Galley
, but Micky Moody and Jon Lord returned to the fold after initial uncertainty.
Soon after his departure, Murray briefly formed an outfit called Badlands (not to be confused with the American band featuring Jake E. Lee
) behind Uriah Heep
's John Sloman
on vocals and future Thin Lizzy
's John Sykes
on guitars. The band recorded some demos, played London's Marquee Club
and shopped for a record deal, unfortunately to no avail. The band's music was hard rock and fitted the gap between a melodic band like Thin Lizzy, a blues influenced outfit like Whitesnake and a more straight-ahead AC/DC.
In 1982, Neil Murray and Ian Paice both joined Gary Moore for a very successful 2 years. Moore was about to become one of the most popular hard rock guitarist of the era. Murry and Paice recorded three albums with Moore: Corridors Of Power, Victims of The Future and Rocking Every Night - Live In Japan.
The period 1979–1982 also saw Murray participating in a number of solo albums from Bernie Marsden, Graham Bonnet
, Cozy Powell, Forcefield and Jon Lord
, sometimes playing with drummer Simon Phillips
, which led in 1981 to Murray playing with a trio of superstars – Jeff Beck, Sting and Eric Clapton – at two of the Secret Policeman's Other Ball series of four concerts at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. This event was filmed and recorded; Murray is to be heard on "Crossroads" with Beck, Clapton and Simon Phillips even though the album sleeve does not contain any individual credits.
In late 1983, Whitesnake went through one of its many line-ups changes. Micky Moody
and Colin Hodgkinson
were no longer part of the band. They already had recorded a new album Slide It In. At that time, Coverdale hooked up with A&R guru John Kalodner
and signed with the powerful major Geffen Records
. After failed attempts at hiring Adrian Vandenberg
and Mama's Boys' Pat McManus, Coverdale welcomed John Sykes
(Tygers of Pan Tang
, Thin Lizzy
) to the band. Sykes brought a lot of fresh ideas, technical ability and an appropriate image to project the band on MTV. Murray was asked back and he and Sykes re-recorded a lot of the guitar and all of the bass parts for Slide It In, resulting in two available vinyl versions: one for Europe featuring Moody and Hodgkinson and a US remix version with Sykes and Murray. The US version was remixed by Keith Olsen
(Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Sammy Hagar, Pat Benatar) to give it a more radio friendly sound.
1984 was occupied with touring, headlining in the UK and Europe; however Mel Galley semi-permanently injured his arm resulting in him having to leave the band and John Sykes taking care of all guitar duties on the road after a couple of months. In the summer, Jon Lord left the band for the Deep Purple reunion thus making Whitesnake a four-piece outfit (Coverdale, Murray, Sykes, Powell) with off-stage keyboard player Richard Bailey (ex-Magnum). Support slots in the USA with Dio
then Quiet Riot
(at the height of their brief success) helped to bring Whitesnake to a much wider audience.
The album and tour, culminating with an appearance at the 1985 Rock In Rio
Festival in front of 500,000 people, marked the end of an era for the band. Disagreements over financial matters led to Cozy Powell leaving the band for Emerson, Lake & Powell
. Aynsley Dunbar
(Journey
, Jefferson Starship
) was in place for the recording of what was to be Whitesnake's most successful album.
The making of Whitesnake 1987 was fraught with delays, illness and difficulties. Murray's status as an official member of Whitesnake was unclear and although Coverdale had given all members permission to get involved in other projects, there was not enough money to keep Murray and Dunbar on a retainer until the album was completed.
Murray continued doing sessions for several artists (Phenomena
amongst others) and recorded with a band project put together by music impressario Jonathan King
called Gogmagog, featuring former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno
, future Iron Maiden guitar player Janick Gers
(ex-Ian Gillan), ex-Def Leppard's Pete Willis and another ex-Iron Maiden member Clive Burr
on drums. The band released an EP I Will Be There to general apathy.
Whilst still waiting for things to move in the Whitesnake camp, Murray teamed up with his friend Marsden and Galley in the short-lived MGM. The band did some live dates (including the Reading Festival in 1987), but never really took off. A year after recording the backing tracks for 1987, with work proceeding at a very slow and expensive pace on the album, Murray took the opportunity to redo some of the bass parts, but disagreements over leadership led to John Sykes quitting the band 16 months after recording had begun.
In early 1987, Coverdale put together a completely new version of the band in Los Angeles, and Murray was no longer part of the band. Murray had to hire lawyers to get his financial due from the huge success of 1987. The album that went on to sell well over 10 million copies worldwide. To this day, Murray remains the individual who has played on the second most Whitesnake albums, behind only David Coverdale himself.
, who had recently relocated to England
. He recorded four albums with the band between 1987 and 1989, and toured the UK, Europe, and Japan. He also lived in Tokyo for a few months in 1988. The bands vocalist wanted to remain in Japan, so the group recorded their last album titled Helter Skelter, which was produced by Tony Taverner, who has previously engineered for Black Sabbath
.
's refusal to join the latest Black Sabbath
line-up, Murray was asked by Cozy Powell to try out. He joined soon after the release of Headless Cross
and toured with the band in support of the album. Murray stayed with the band until late 1990, recording the Tyr
album and once again touring. Live, Murray was able to showcase various bass styles that had not been able to flourish in Whitesnake, ranging from Jack Bruce-type improvising to heavy metal soloing to delicate false harmonics.
After Black Sabbath reformed their "Mob Rules" lineup in 1991 with Dio, Butler and Appice for Dehumanizer, Powell and Murray started a band project and recorded songs with singer John West
(Artension, Royal Hunt
). Nothing came out of it until 1998 when those songs resurfaced on a tribute album released after Powell's death in April 1998.
In 1992, Murray played with Powell and Black Sabbath's Tony Martin
, in a new version of Cozy Powell's Hammer that was short lived. Murray had earlier recorded most of Martin's first solo album Back Where I Belong
and later played at a series of concerts at Expo' 92 in Seville
, Spain backing Steve Vai
, Joe Satriani
and Brian May
. He also reunited with his ex-Whitesnake pals, guitarists Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, for some dates in the UK with their Moody Marsden Band.
In 1992, Queen's Brian May
was ready to go on the road for the first time as a solo artist. Murray and Powell had done sessions for May's solo album “Back To The Light” and they were a natural choice for the touring band. For two years, the band toured the world, notably supporting Guns N' Roses and releasing Live At Brixton Academy in 1993.
The core of the Brian May Band (Neil, Cozy, Spike Edney
and Jamie Moses) became the basis of the SAS Band (Spike's All Stars), which continues to this day, playing sporadic live gigs with many famous guest vocalists, including Paul Rodgers
, Brian May, Roger Taylor
, Chaka Khan
, Arthur Brown
, Lionel Richie
, Bob Geldof
and many others. After the first year, Steve Stroud became their main bassist, but Neil returns to play with the band every couple of years.
In late 1994, Powell and Murray returned to Black Sabbath. They recorded Forbidden and toured the US & Canada in 1995, although the tour of the UK, Europe and the Far East saw the return of Bobby Rondinelli
on drums when Powell departed.
1996 and 1997 saw Murray and Powell helping to kickstart the return of the legendary Peter Green
(John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) in his Splinter Group. Murray recorded three albums with Green and toured the UK with occasional European dates.
In 1998, Brian May released his third solo album, Another World, which Murray and Powell had once again played on, but Powell's death meant a tour with Eric Singer
(KISS, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Black Sabbath) instead. 1998 also saw the posthumous release of Cozy Powell's "Especially For You" featuring vocal phenom John West (Royal Hunt, Artension, Badlands, Lynch Mob, Ten Man Push), and Michael Casswell (Brian May Band), and Lonnie Park (John West, Wrathchild America, Ten Man Push).
In 1999, Murray started working again with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, who had been working with Norwegian Whitesnake tribute band The Snakes. When Marsden and Moody eventually parted ways with their Norwegian colleagues, they changed the band name to Company of Snakes
with the vocalist Robert Hart
(The Jones Gang, Bad Company, The Distance, solo artist/songwriter) joined them, together with Don Airey on keyboards.
After of few years of gigging mainly in the UK and Europe, Hart decided to leave to concentrate on his solo/songwriting career. The only available recording of this line-up (with Don Airey on keys and John Lingwood
on drums) is on Micky Moody's solo album I Eat Them For Breakfast. In 2001 Swedish singer Stefan Berggren was recruited and COS released two albums: Here We Go Again Live (the gig was recorded in Germany with temporary ex-MSG singer Gary Barden, but his vocals were erased and Berggren overdubbed) and Burst The Bubble, which featured songs written by most of the band.
Despite success on the touring front, COS called it a day in early 2002, with the band being transformed into M3 Classic Whitesnake, dropping recent original material in favour of a purely Whitesnake set. Ex-Sabbath frontman Tony Martin was their singer initially, before being replaced by Berggren. The band has released one live album (with Tony Martin on vocals) and one live DVD (with Berggren and Rainbow/Yngwie Malmsteen/Cornerstone singer Doogie White
) featuring songs from the classic Whitesnake era 1978–1982. Murray is also a member of German heavy rock band Empire with whom he has recorded three albums. The band is the brain child of guitarist Rolf Munkes and featured Tony Martin on the Trading Souls and The Raven Ride albums.
Since April 2002, Murray has been in the band of the highly successful London musical "We Will Rock You (musical)
". He also performed at 2007's 'Classics In Rock' concert in Rotterdam and the first London Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
.
, which was released on 11 May 2008.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player, best known for his work in Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
.
Early days
Originally a drummer, Murray formed his first band with school friends in 1967 (Slap Happy and the Dum-Dums) and his musical tastes were heavily influenced by the mid-1960s 'blues boom' bands and musicians, especially Jeff BeckJeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
, and later by Motown legend James Jamerson
James Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...
and Tim Bogert
Tim Bogert
John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III is an American musician. He graduated from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown in 1963...
of Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band. The band's original lineup – vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice – recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970...
, Cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
and Beck, Bogert & Appice
Beck, Bogert & Appice
Beck, Bogert & Appice was a hard rock supergroup and power trio formed by guitarist Jeff Beck and evolving from The Jeff Beck Group. the line up included bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice who were both previously in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus....
. Murray moved to bass shortly before studying graphic design at the London College of Printing.
During 1973, Neil briefly played in Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (band)
Gilgamesh were a British jazz fusion band in the 1970s led by keyboardist Alan Gowen, part of the Canterbury scene.-History:...
, a jazz-fusion band led by Alan Gowen
Alan Gowen
Alan Gowen was a fusion/progressive rock keyboardist, best known for his work in Gilgamesh and National Health.-History:...
. After his departure from Gilgamesh, Murray toured the USA with Junior Hanson, following a recommendation from Jeff Beck’s bass player Clive Chaman
Clive Chaman
Clive Chaman was born in Trinidad and is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician.After appearing on Ram John Holder's 1969 London Blues album, Chaman became a member of the second Jeff Beck Group in 1971 until they disbanded in 1973 when he joined Cozy Powell's band Hammer...
. Hanson later became a member of Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae, ska and rocksteady band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963. Additional members were Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Cherry Smith and Aston and Carlton Barrett...
under the name Junior Marvin. Neil spent early 1974 supporting the album he recorded with them, Magic Dragon.
Murray's next gig came again through a recommendation from Clive Chaman, touring with Cozy Powell's Hammer in 1974 and 1975. The line-up included Don Airey
Don Airey
Donald Airey has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, succeeding Jon Lord...
and Bernie Marsden
Bernie Marsden
-External links:*...
.
After Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell
Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...
decided to fold Hammer, Murray and Airey joined a revamped version of the British jazz rock band Colosseum
Colosseum (band)
Colosseum is a pioneering British progressive jazz-rock band, mixing progressive rock and jazz-based improvisation.-History 1968 - 1971:The band was formed in September 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman, tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith and bass player Tony Reeves, who had previously worked together...
, named Colosseum II
Colosseum II
Colosseum II was a British band formed in 1975 by the former Colosseum drummer and leader, Jon Hiseman, following the 1974 demise of his band Tempest. Hiseman announced his plan to form the band eventually named Colosseum II in November 1974, but only Gary Moore was named. Rehearsals were due to...
. The band's leader, drummer Jon Hiseman
Jon Hiseman
Jon Hiseman is an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher.-Career:...
, had evolved the band's sound by eliminating the saxophone in preference for a rockier sound courtesy of Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
's guitar.
The band lasted for one album only (Strange New Flesh, a title thought up by Murray). Strange New Flesh was a little less intellectual than most of the jazz rock coming out of the UK. It did not have the blackness of bands like Weather Report, but offered more accessible melodies and rock power than the more "intellectual" Canterbury fusion scene
Canterbury Scene
The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
presented at the time. Following months of touring Europe and the UK, Murray and vocalist Mike Starrs
Mike Starrs
Mike Starrs is a vocalist of Scottish origin. He left Scotland in the 1970s to work with Rick Wakeman on various projects. Starrs was signed by the record producer Tony Atkins for Marquee Productions and released several singles. He joined Colosseum II in 1975 and featured on their first album,...
were fired, due to pressure from the record label Bronze, who soon after dropped Colosseum II altogether.
After Colosseum II, in 1976 Neil teamed up again with ex-Gilgamesh keyboardist Alan Gowen in National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
with whom he recorded a self-titled album in 1977. Prior to recording that album, the band played with drummer Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford
William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
/King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
fame, who was followed by ex-Hatfield & the North drummer Pip Pyle
Pip Pyle
Phillip "Pip" Pyle was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France...
. Murray got the chance to work with Bruford again, playing on the rehearsals for Bruford's Feels Good To Me album, standing in for Jeff Berlin
Jeff Berlin
Jeff Berlin is an American jazz, jazz fusion and progressive rock electric bass player.Jeff Berlin's bass playing is somewhat similar to that of Jaco Pastorius, though Berlin plays a fretted bass and has stated his distaste for Jaco imitators.-Early life:Jeff Berlin was born to parents who were...
who was the actual bassist with the band (the LP cover read 'Thanks to Neil Murray: A bass player when I needed one'). Murray also deputised for Berlin on Bruford's "Old Grey Whistle Test
Old Grey Whistle Test
The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
" appearance in 1978. During this performance he sports a long sleeve T-Shirt saying 'More Bass', predating Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
's "More Cowbell
More Cowbell
"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch which fictionalized the recording of the song " The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult...
" by more than 20 years.
National Health's complex music and the lack of commercial success prompted Murray to investigate other musical avenues planted in the world of bands like Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
or John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...
. After playing with Bernie Marsden in Cozy Powell's Hammer, Murray had played on a couple of tracks on Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth (band)
Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...
's album Stealing Home, prior to Marsden joining two members of Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
in Paice, Ashton & Lord
Paice, Ashton & Lord
Paice, Ashton and Lord was a British rhythm and blues, funk-soul, rock band founded in 1977, after the break-up of the British band Deep Purple in 1976...
.
Whitesnake
In late 1977, ex-Deep PurpleDeep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
singer David Coverdale
David Coverdale
David 'Jack' Coverdale is an English rock singer, most famous for his work with the his own hard rock band Whitesnake which achieved massive commercial success.-Early life:...
was auditioning drummers for his new band Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
, which featured guitarists Micky Moody
Micky Moody
Michael Joseph "Micky" Moody is an English guitarist, and a former member of the rock bands Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake. He was also a founder-member of Snafu. Together with his former Whitesnake colleague Bernie Marsden he founded the Moody Marsden Band, and later, The Snakes...
and Bernie Marsden
Bernie Marsden
-External links:*...
. Marsden invited Murray to help out with the process which led to him landing the gig together with drummer Dave Dowle
Dave Dowle
David 'Duck' Dowle is an English drummer who has played with the bands Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Streetwalkers, Whitesnake, Runner, Midnight Flyer, Bernie Marsden.-Biography:...
. Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
's Jon Lord joined in the summer of 1978 and, after recording Lovehunter
Lovehunter
Lovehunter is the second studio album by the British band Whitesnake, released in 1979. The album charted at #29 on the UK Albums Chart."Long Way from Home", the leading track on the album, was the band's first single but only reached #55 on the UK charts.-Cover art:Lovehunters cover art featuring...
in 1979, Dowle was replaced by Ian Paice
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...
.
From 1978 until late 1986, Murray helped make Whitesnake one of the most popular bands in Europe and Japan. He recorded 9 albums (Snakebite, Trouble, Love Hunter, Ready An' Willing, Live In The Heart of The City, Come An' Get It, Saints An' Sinners, Slide It In, and Whitesnake). Murray's melodic basslines, influenced by Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
, Andy Fraser
Andy Fraser
Andy Fraser is an English songwriter and bass guitarist whose career has lasted over forty years and includes a notable period as one of the founding members, in 1968, at age 15, of the rock band Free.-Peak years :...
and even Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, stand out from the rock bass-playing of the time.
He did numerous tours in the UK, Europe, Japan and played at Reading Festival in 1979 and 1980 and the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington in 1981. However, tours of the US opening for Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
in 1980 and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
in 1981 were not enough to match the band's success elsewhere.
In early 1982, after tense Saints An' Sinners recording sessions, Coverdale decided on a complete shake-up of the band, management, publishing and recording contracts. There was a period of uncertainty as to who would be in the 'new' Whitesnake, though Cozy Powell was definitely coming in to replace Ian Paice. Around this time, Paice and Murray had recorded Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
's Corridors Of Power album, and Paice had decided to join Moore. Murray followed suit, and was replaced by Colin Hodgkinson. Coverdale reshuffled the band as Bernie Marsden departed, replaced by Mel Galley
Mel Galley
Mel Galley was an English guitarist and a former member of the Hard rock bands Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. He was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England...
, but Micky Moody and Jon Lord returned to the fold after initial uncertainty.
Soon after his departure, Murray briefly formed an outfit called Badlands (not to be confused with the American band featuring Jake E. Lee
Jake E. Lee
Jakey Lou Williams , commonly known as Jake E. Lee, is an American guitarist best known for playing with Ozzy Osbourne in the mid-1980s and later in his own band Badlands.- Musical education :...
) behind Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
's John Sloman
John Sloman
John Sloman was born as John Anthony David Sloman in Cardiff , 26 April 1957 as the eldest of six children. He is a former member of Trapper, Pulsar, Lone Star, and Uriah Heep...
on vocals and future Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
's John Sykes
John Sykes
John James Sykes , is an English rock guitarist, who has played with Streetfighter, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder, in addition to having a notable solo career....
on guitars. The band recorded some demos, played London's Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
and shopped for a record deal, unfortunately to no avail. The band's music was hard rock and fitted the gap between a melodic band like Thin Lizzy, a blues influenced outfit like Whitesnake and a more straight-ahead AC/DC.
In 1982, Neil Murray and Ian Paice both joined Gary Moore for a very successful 2 years. Moore was about to become one of the most popular hard rock guitarist of the era. Murry and Paice recorded three albums with Moore: Corridors Of Power, Victims of The Future and Rocking Every Night - Live In Japan.
The period 1979–1982 also saw Murray participating in a number of solo albums from Bernie Marsden, Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet is an English rock vocalist, and songwriter. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist, and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, the Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri.-Early days:Bonnet was born in Skegness in 1947...
, Cozy Powell, Forcefield and Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
, sometimes playing with drummer Simon Phillips
Simon Phillips
Simon Phillips is an English jazz, pop and rock drummer.-Career:Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar...
, which led in 1981 to Murray playing with a trio of superstars – Jeff Beck, Sting and Eric Clapton – at two of the Secret Policeman's Other Ball series of four concerts at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. This event was filmed and recorded; Murray is to be heard on "Crossroads" with Beck, Clapton and Simon Phillips even though the album sleeve does not contain any individual credits.
In late 1983, Whitesnake went through one of its many line-ups changes. Micky Moody
Micky Moody
Michael Joseph "Micky" Moody is an English guitarist, and a former member of the rock bands Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake. He was also a founder-member of Snafu. Together with his former Whitesnake colleague Bernie Marsden he founded the Moody Marsden Band, and later, The Snakes...
and Colin Hodgkinson
Colin Hodgkinson
Colin Hodgkinson is a British rock, jazz and blues bassist, who has been active since the 1960s.-Career:...
were no longer part of the band. They already had recorded a new album Slide It In. At that time, Coverdale hooked up with A&R guru John Kalodner
John Kalodner
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R executive. His achievements included signing Foreigner, AC/DC, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins to Atlantic Records in the seventies....
and signed with the powerful major Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. After failed attempts at hiring Adrian Vandenberg
Adrian Vandenberg
Adrian van den Berg is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure as one of the guitarists in Whitesnake during their successful late 1980s period.-Early years:...
and Mama's Boys' Pat McManus, Coverdale welcomed John Sykes
John Sykes
John James Sykes , is an English rock guitarist, who has played with Streetfighter, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder, in addition to having a notable solo career....
(Tygers of Pan Tang
Tygers Of Pan Tang
Tygers of Pan Tang are a heavy metal band, formed in 1978 and originating from Whitley Bay, England. They are a notable band of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement...
, Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
) to the band. Sykes brought a lot of fresh ideas, technical ability and an appropriate image to project the band on MTV. Murray was asked back and he and Sykes re-recorded a lot of the guitar and all of the bass parts for Slide It In, resulting in two available vinyl versions: one for Europe featuring Moody and Hodgkinson and a US remix version with Sykes and Murray. The US version was remixed by Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen is one of the most prolific and successful music producers in the industry.-Career:With over 120 albums produced netting a 1 in 4 Gold or better ratio, of which more than 24 are Platinum or better, and more than 14 are multi-Platinum, sales from Keith Olsen’s work exceeds 110 million...
(Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Sammy Hagar, Pat Benatar) to give it a more radio friendly sound.
1984 was occupied with touring, headlining in the UK and Europe; however Mel Galley semi-permanently injured his arm resulting in him having to leave the band and John Sykes taking care of all guitar duties on the road after a couple of months. In the summer, Jon Lord left the band for the Deep Purple reunion thus making Whitesnake a four-piece outfit (Coverdale, Murray, Sykes, Powell) with off-stage keyboard player Richard Bailey (ex-Magnum). Support slots in the USA with Dio
Dio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
then Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
(at the height of their brief success) helped to bring Whitesnake to a much wider audience.
The album and tour, culminating with an appearance at the 1985 Rock In Rio
Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio is a series of music festivals held in three cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Lisbon in Portugal and Madrid in Spain.Four incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001 and 2011, four in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and two in Madrid in 2008 and 2010....
Festival in front of 500,000 people, marked the end of an era for the band. Disagreements over financial matters led to Cozy Powell leaving the band for Emerson, Lake & Powell
Emerson, Lake & Powell
Emerson, Lake & Powell, sometimes abbreviated as ELPowell, were an English rock band, an offshoot or variant lineup of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that released one official studio album in 1986....
. Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
(Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The group is a spin-off from the iconic 1960s psychedelic/folk group Jefferson Airplane. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name...
) was in place for the recording of what was to be Whitesnake's most successful album.
The making of Whitesnake 1987 was fraught with delays, illness and difficulties. Murray's status as an official member of Whitesnake was unclear and although Coverdale had given all members permission to get involved in other projects, there was not enough money to keep Murray and Dunbar on a retainer until the album was completed.
Murray continued doing sessions for several artists (Phenomena
Phenomena (band)
Phenomena is a rock concept around a supergroup formed by record producer Tom Galley, Metalhammer magazine founder Wilfried Rimensberger and Tom's brother, Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley. Contributors were leading rock musicians such as Glenn Hughes, Brian May, Tony Martin and John Wetton amongst...
amongst others) and recorded with a band project put together by music impressario Jonathan King
Jonathan King
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...
called Gogmagog, featuring former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno
Paul Di'Anno
Paul Andrews , better known as Paul Di'Anno, is an English singer best known as the first vocalist to record with the iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 1978 to 1981....
, future Iron Maiden guitar player Janick Gers
Janick Gers
Janick Robert Gers is an English musician, best known for being one of the three current guitarists in Iron Maiden, along with Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, as well as his earlier work with Gillan and White Spirit.-Career and Personal Life:...
(ex-Ian Gillan), ex-Def Leppard's Pete Willis and another ex-Iron Maiden member Clive Burr
Clive Burr
Clive Burr is a British drummer, best known as a member of Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.-Career:Previously a member of Samson, Burr joined Iron Maiden in 1979...
on drums. The band released an EP I Will Be There to general apathy.
Whilst still waiting for things to move in the Whitesnake camp, Murray teamed up with his friend Marsden and Galley in the short-lived MGM. The band did some live dates (including the Reading Festival in 1987), but never really took off. A year after recording the backing tracks for 1987, with work proceeding at a very slow and expensive pace on the album, Murray took the opportunity to redo some of the bass parts, but disagreements over leadership led to John Sykes quitting the band 16 months after recording had begun.
In early 1987, Coverdale put together a completely new version of the band in Los Angeles, and Murray was no longer part of the band. Murray had to hire lawyers to get his financial due from the huge success of 1987. The album that went on to sell well over 10 million copies worldwide. To this day, Murray remains the individual who has played on the second most Whitesnake albums, behind only David Coverdale himself.
Vow Wow
In 1987, Murray joined Japanese hard-rock band Vow WowVow Wow
is an influential hard rock band formed in 1975 in Japan.- 1975–1983: Bow Wow :Formed by guitarist and vocalist Kyoji Yamamoto in 1975, with guitarist Mitsuhiro Saito, bassist Kenji Sano and drummer Toshihiro Niimi, Bow Wow soon signed to Victor and released their self-titled debut a year later. In...
, who had recently relocated to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He recorded four albums with the band between 1987 and 1989, and toured the UK, Europe, and Japan. He also lived in Tokyo for a few months in 1988. The bands vocalist wanted to remain in Japan, so the group recorded their last album titled Helter Skelter, which was produced by Tony Taverner, who has previously engineered for Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
.
Black Sabbath
By 1989, with Geezer ButlerGeezer Butler
Geezer Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.-Career:Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of...
's refusal to join the latest Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
line-up, Murray was asked by Cozy Powell to try out. He joined soon after the release of Headless Cross
Headless Cross
Headless Cross is the fourteenth album by heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in April 1989.This is the band's second album to feature singer Tony Martin and the first to feature drummer Cozy Powell.-Album information:...
and toured with the band in support of the album. Murray stayed with the band until late 1990, recording the Tyr
Tyr (album)
TYR is the fifteenth studio album by heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in August 1990 by I.R.S. Records.The album title and several song titles are taken from Norse mythology, which led many to call TYR a concept album, although bassist Neil Murray dispelled that in 2005, stating that while...
album and once again touring. Live, Murray was able to showcase various bass styles that had not been able to flourish in Whitesnake, ranging from Jack Bruce-type improvising to heavy metal soloing to delicate false harmonics.
After Black Sabbath reformed their "Mob Rules" lineup in 1991 with Dio, Butler and Appice for Dehumanizer, Powell and Murray started a band project and recorded songs with singer John West
John West
The Rev. John West emigrated from England to Van Diemen's Land in 1838 as a Colonial missionary, and became pastor of an Independent Chapel in Launceston's St. John's Square in 1839. His contribution to Launceston and Australian life was great and varied promoting private and charitable...
(Artension, Royal Hunt
Royal Hunt
Royal Hunt is a progressive metal band based in Denmark, founded in 1989 by keyboardist Andre Andersen. The band is known for creating melodic music with a progressive and symphonic flair. They made a huge success during mid-90s with their classic albums Moving Target and Paradox mainly in Japan...
). Nothing came out of it until 1998 when those songs resurfaced on a tribute album released after Powell's death in April 1998.
In 1992, Murray played with Powell and Black Sabbath's Tony Martin
Tony Martin (rock singer)
Anthony Martin Harford , better known by his stage name Tony Martin, is a heavy metal vocalist best known for his work with Black Sabbath from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1993 to 1997. Martin was the band's second longest serving vocalist after Ozzy Osbourne...
, in a new version of Cozy Powell's Hammer that was short lived. Murray had earlier recorded most of Martin's first solo album Back Where I Belong
Back Where I Belong
Back Where I Belong is former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin's first solo album. It was recorded after Martin was briefly replaced in Black Sabbath by Ronnie James Dio in the early nineties. It was released in 1992. Martin played all the instruments himself when recording demos for the album, but...
and later played at a series of concerts at Expo' 92 in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain backing Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
and Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
. He also reunited with his ex-Whitesnake pals, guitarists Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, for some dates in the UK with their Moody Marsden Band.
In 1992, Queen's Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
was ready to go on the road for the first time as a solo artist. Murray and Powell had done sessions for May's solo album “Back To The Light” and they were a natural choice for the touring band. For two years, the band toured the world, notably supporting Guns N' Roses and releasing Live At Brixton Academy in 1993.
The core of the Brian May Band (Neil, Cozy, Spike Edney
Spike Edney
Philip 'Spike' Edney is a British musician who, since early 1970s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably, Queen, where his participation, starting in 1984, has been so extensive that some writers have described him as the "fifth member of Queen". In the earlier phase of his career,...
and Jamie Moses) became the basis of the SAS Band (Spike's All Stars), which continues to this day, playing sporadic live gigs with many famous guest vocalists, including Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
, Brian May, Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and many others. After the first year, Steve Stroud became their main bassist, but Neil returns to play with the band every couple of years.
In late 1994, Powell and Murray returned to Black Sabbath. They recorded Forbidden and toured the US & Canada in 1995, although the tour of the UK, Europe and the Far East saw the return of Bobby Rondinelli
Bobby Rondinelli
Bobby Rondinelli is a rock drummer best known for his work with the hard rock/heavy metal bands like Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, The Lizards, and Rondinelli.-Background:...
on drums when Powell departed.
1996 and 1997 saw Murray and Powell helping to kickstart the return of the legendary Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
(John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) in his Splinter Group. Murray recorded three albums with Green and toured the UK with occasional European dates.
In 1998, Brian May released his third solo album, Another World, which Murray and Powell had once again played on, but Powell's death meant a tour with Eric Singer
Eric Singer
Eric Doyle Mensinger , better known as Eric Singer, is a hard rock and heavy metal drummer for the rock band Kiss and formerly for singer Alice Cooper...
(KISS, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Black Sabbath) instead. 1998 also saw the posthumous release of Cozy Powell's "Especially For You" featuring vocal phenom John West (Royal Hunt, Artension, Badlands, Lynch Mob, Ten Man Push), and Michael Casswell (Brian May Band), and Lonnie Park (John West, Wrathchild America, Ten Man Push).
In 1999, Murray started working again with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, who had been working with Norwegian Whitesnake tribute band The Snakes. When Marsden and Moody eventually parted ways with their Norwegian colleagues, they changed the band name to Company of Snakes
Company of Snakes
The Company of Snakes were an English rock band formed in 1998, by former members of the English rock band Whitesnake who were also members of The Snakes. They released two albums before morphing into M3 during 2004.- History:...
with the vocalist Robert Hart
Robert Hart
Robert Hart, Bob Hart, or Bobby Hart may refer to:* Bob Hart , a.k.a. Al Trace, American musician* Bob Hart , American bass player* Bobby Hart , American songwriter...
(The Jones Gang, Bad Company, The Distance, solo artist/songwriter) joined them, together with Don Airey on keyboards.
After of few years of gigging mainly in the UK and Europe, Hart decided to leave to concentrate on his solo/songwriting career. The only available recording of this line-up (with Don Airey on keys and John Lingwood
John Lingwood
John Lingwood is an English drummer.John has played with many top people over the years Stomo Yamashta, Leo Sayer, Roger Chapman , Maddy Prior, Elkie Brooks...
on drums) is on Micky Moody's solo album I Eat Them For Breakfast. In 2001 Swedish singer Stefan Berggren was recruited and COS released two albums: Here We Go Again Live (the gig was recorded in Germany with temporary ex-MSG singer Gary Barden, but his vocals were erased and Berggren overdubbed) and Burst The Bubble, which featured songs written by most of the band.
Despite success on the touring front, COS called it a day in early 2002, with the band being transformed into M3 Classic Whitesnake, dropping recent original material in favour of a purely Whitesnake set. Ex-Sabbath frontman Tony Martin was their singer initially, before being replaced by Berggren. The band has released one live album (with Tony Martin on vocals) and one live DVD (with Berggren and Rainbow/Yngwie Malmsteen/Cornerstone singer Doogie White
Doogie White
Doogie White , is a Scottish rock vocalist, who has sung for Midnight Blue, Rainbow, Cornerstone, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Rata Blanca...
) featuring songs from the classic Whitesnake era 1978–1982. Murray is also a member of German heavy rock band Empire with whom he has recorded three albums. The band is the brain child of guitarist Rolf Munkes and featured Tony Martin on the Trading Souls and The Raven Ride albums.
Since April 2002, Murray has been in the band of the highly successful London musical "We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor...
". He also performed at 2007's 'Classics In Rock' concert in Rotterdam and the first London Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp is an interactive musical event that takes place in various cities throughout the United States, London, England, and the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The events range from 3 to 6 days. Attendees play, write and record music in a recording studio alongside famous...
.
Michael Schenker Group
Neil Murray is playing on the Michael Schenker Group album In the Midst of BeautyIn the Midst of Beauty
In the Midst of Beauty is the tenth studio album by the Michael Schenker Group . The album was released on 13 May, 2008 and marked the comeback of the original MSG singer, Gary Barden, so the MSG name is added with Schenker - Barden on the album's cover.By Schenker's own notes to the CD, "This...
, which was released on 11 May 2008.
With Whitesnake
- Live At HammersmithLive at Hammersmith (Whitesnake album)Live at Hammersmith is a live album released by hard rock band Whitesnake. It was released in Japan only, although these recordings would become sides 3 and 4 of the international double-vinyl release, Live...In the Heart of the City, which was released in 1980.-Track listing:# "Come on" - 4:06#...
(1978) - SnakebiteSnakebite (album)Snakebite is an Extended Play and the first official release by Whitesnake in June of 1978. This EP unto itself would not be released in the U.S. The EP initially featured four tracks but was then re-released in September of 1978 as a Double Extended Play containing four extra studio tracks from...
(1978) - TroubleTrouble (Whitesnake album)Trouble is the first studio album from British rock band Whitesnake, led by former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale. It reached #50 on the U.K. Chart when it was released in October 1978...
(1978) - LovehunterLovehunterLovehunter is the second studio album by the British band Whitesnake, released in 1979. The album charted at #29 on the UK Albums Chart."Long Way from Home", the leading track on the album, was the band's first single but only reached #55 on the UK charts.-Cover art:Lovehunters cover art featuring...
(1979) - Ready an' WillingReady an' WillingReady an' Willing was Whitesnake's third studio album, released in 1980 and peaked at #6 on the UK Albums Chart, it was also the band's first to chart outside of the UK reaching #32 in Norway and #90 in the US...
(1980) - Live...In the Heart of the CityLive...In the Heart of the CityLive...in the Heart Of The City is a 1980 live album by Whitesnake. Originally released as a double-vinyl album, and double-play cassette, it utilises recordings made in 1978 and 1980...
(1980) - Come an' Get ItCome an' Get It- Personnel :* David Coverdale – vocals* Micky Moody – guitar, backing vocals* Bernie Marsden – guitar, backing vocals* Jon Lord – keyboards* Neil Murray – bass guitar* Ian Paice – drums- Album :Billboard...
(1981) - Saints & SinnersSaints & Sinners (Whitesnake album)-Personnel:* David Coverdale – Lead Vocals* Micky Moody - Guitars* Bernie Marsden – Guitars, Backing vocals* Jon Lord - Keyboards* Neil Murray – Bass* Ian Paice – Drums* Mel Galley – Backing vocals-Production notes:...
(1982) - Slide It InSlide It InSlide It In is the sixth studio album by British hard rock band Whitesnake, released in 1984.It was the first Whitesnake album to be released by Geffen Records in the United States, but was remixed for the release there. Because of this, two different editions of the album exist, each with its own...
(US release) (1984) - WhitesnakeWhitesnake (album)Tracks 12-15 taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues-20th Anniversary Edition DVD:-Singles:*"Here I Go Again" *"Is This Love"*"Still of the Night"*"Crying in the Rain" *"Give Me All Your Love"-Personnel:...
(1987) - The Early YearsThe Early Years (Whitesnake album)The Early Years is a compilation album by Whitesnake, released in 2004. The albums track listing was compiled by David Coverdale spanning from 1978's Trouble to 1982's Saints & Sinners.-Track listing:# "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" - 4:19...
(2004)
With Vow Wow
- V (1987)
- Shock Waves (1987)
- Revive (1987)
- Helter Skelter (1989)
With Black Sabbath
- TyrTyr (album)TYR is the fifteenth studio album by heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in August 1990 by I.R.S. Records.The album title and several song titles are taken from Norse mythology, which led many to call TYR a concept album, although bassist Neil Murray dispelled that in 2005, stating that while...
(1990) - Forbidden (1995)
With The Brian May Band
- Live At Brixton AcademyLive at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album)Live at the Brixton Academy is a recording of The Brian May Band's first show in London on June 15 1993. The album was released on CD, LP and VHS in 1994, and remains the group's only release as a collective....
(1993) - Another WorldAnother World (Brian May album)Another World is the second full studio album delivered by Queen guitarist, Brian May. Recorded at his home studio after the completion of the last Queen album, Made in Heaven, the album was released in the UK on 1 June 1998 and on 15 September of that year in the US. The album itself started life...
(Brian May solo album) (1998) - Neil also took part in the Another World Tour
With Peter Green Splinter Group
- Peter Green Splinter GroupPeter Green Splinter Group (album)Peter Green Splinter Group is an album by the British blues band of the same name, led by Peter Green. Released in 1997, this was their first album, and essentially the comeback album for Green, who had been out of the music business for around 10 years...
(1997) - The Robert Johnson SongbookThe Robert Johnson Songbook (album)The Robert Johnson Songbook is an album by the British blues band the Peter Green Splinter Group, led by Peter Green. Released in 1998, this was their second album...
(1998)
With The Company of Snakes
- Here They Go AgainHere They Go AgainHere They Go Again is the first album released by the English rock band The Company of Snakes. It is compiled of live recordings from concerts at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany and in the Norwegian city of Trondheim...
(2001) - Burst the BubbleBurst the BubbleBurst the Bubble is the only studio album released by the English rock band The Company of Snakes. Of this album, "Kinda Wish You Would" is the only song that had already been released on the band's previous record, the live album Here They Go Again .-Track listing:# "Ayresome Park" - 0:59#...
(2002)
With Empire
- Hypnotica (2001)
- Trading Souls (2003)
- The Raven Ride (2006)
- Chasing Shadows (2007)
With Cozy Powell
- TiltTilt (Cozy Powell album)Tilt is the second solo album by English drummer Cozy Powell, released in 1981.-Side one:# "The Right Side" - 3:50# "Jekyll & Hyde" - 4:38...
(1981) - The Drums Are Back (1992)
- Especially for You (1998)
With Gary Moore
- Corridors of Power (1982)
- Victims of the FutureVictims of the FutureVictims of the Future is an album by Northern Irish blues-rock guitarist, Gary Moore, released in 1984. Continuing his path in the hard rock genre, Victims of the Future was a collection of straight-out rock 'n' roll anthems , a mournful love ballad , a...
(1983) - Rockin' Every Night – Live in Japan (1986)
With Queen + Paul Rodgers
- The Cosmos Rocks Tour, Cardiff (2008)
- The Cosmos Rocks Tour, Birmingham NIA (2008)
Michael Schenker Group
- In the Midst of BeautyIn the Midst of BeautyIn the Midst of Beauty is the tenth studio album by the Michael Schenker Group . The album was released on 13 May, 2008 and marked the comeback of the original MSG singer, Gary Barden, so the MSG name is added with Schenker - Barden on the album's cover.By Schenker's own notes to the CD, "This...
(2008) - The 30th Anniversary Concert – Live in Tokyo (2010)
Other appearances
- Deep Purple Rock Review 1969-1972 (DVD, 2004, interviewee)
- Heavy Metal - Louder Than Life (Feature, 2006, interviewee)