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The Murphy Boys
Genre: Rock, Metal
Region: Melbourne, VIC
Members: Deviant Murphy - guitar K.K. Raoul "The Wrathchild" Murphy - guitar & vox G.G. Jefferson "Jimmy Drinker" Murphy - drumz G.T. Pervert Murphy - bass
Sounds Like: Metallica, Slayer, Judas Priest
Influences: Metallica, Slayer, judas priest

Unearthed Artists We Like: VAHRZAW


The philosophy of a Murphy is simply "Beer, Metal, Sluts, Frost, Spikes and Leather". Without this finely defined concoction of all six elements, you will never be Murphy. The Murphy Boys, have been studying these six elements for hundreds of years, to master the ultimate level of Metal...."Murphana". Not to be mistaken for Nirvana, because "Murphana", solely focuses on the external being and not the inner being. This ultimate state of Murphana, allows one to deliver Satanic Rock n' Roll when asked, and to not give a fuck about no posing wankers, who think they are metal, when we all know they're not.
Murphana is often mistaken as egocentic, or up yourself, but this is a misconception created from the non-Metal Metallion members of the popular pussy culture.
Remember that Murphy is not just a band, but a way of life that all should endulge in, so go forth and proceed to spread the word of MURPHY!!!!

The murphy boys have maintained a core lineup and devoloped an elite cult following, helped by the realeases of "metal for the road" -6 track demo and "nightclubber"-2 track live ep recorded live in K.K's bedroom '02.

The murphy boys are putting the finishing touches on the lastest installment which is also another live cut. Realease date is TBA, but it will be out soon.
As per the new realease-murphandise-including t-shirts,hats and "murphy metal militia" memberships- will become available. Not forgetting further live audible assaults too! Dates and venues TBA, we'll keep you posted, but be sure to get there early as we like to play ASAP-so we can get drunk earlier- anything else you hear is a filthy lie.

A Breif History...

The Murphy Boys formed on the grand ship "The Endeavour" 1787, en route from England to the then new found land of "Terra Australis", now called Australia. We were just three lower class brothers (K.K. was adopted) working as deck hands who used to get drunk at nights below deck and thrash around on pots and pans. K.K. would play the banjo, which was a new phenomenon back then, and Deviant would do rhythm on an old skool lute that he picked up back at a flea market in York back in '23 (1723) for his previous band: "Rap it or I'll ravage your wench ya wee wicked beaste". During one particularly uneventful stretch of ocean, just before hitting the "Roaring 40's" (an longitudinal area in the southern Indian Ocean where the wind blows fierce and our fleet can pick up speed), Captain Cook asked us to play a show in his chambers, as he had heard from several prison guards that our music soothed the scurvy ridden convicts, and prevented many mutinies. It was then we had to form a band name and "Sons of Scurvy" was born, with Jefferson "Rum Drinker" Murphy on Pots n' Pans, K.K. Raoul "The Orphanchild" Murphy on banjo and Walter "I Ravaged yer Wench" Murphy on lute. Our maritime classics like "Saturday Night Scurvy Fever" and "It's a long way to the (London) dock if ya wanna row ya boat" proved a success amongst the crew, and, unbeknownst to us, hinted at a promising musical career to come.

After landing, the Sons of Scurvy played live shows for convicts and civilians alike around Botany Bay and Sydney for the next 48 years, until 1835 when they were asked to go down to a recently settled town called Melbourne, to help raise the pioneers' morale. It was here that they felt at home, and being the only band in the town, they were quick to form a loyal fanbase. They were even reported in a clergyman's diary to have had "every harlot and whore our new town had to offerthese unruly lads are definitely headed straight for Hell." To aid their quest to be rock stars, and to identify themselves with the locals, Sons of Scurvy quickly changed their name to "Hillbilly Junction" before their first gig. With the change of name, the band was adopted as Melbourne's own, and has since become a staple in Melbourne folklore with such classics as "Gonna (Mel)burn in Hell" and "Cruisin' down the highway on my 1 horse power horse".

In 1852, the Gold Rush fever hit Victoria and Hillbilly Junction reaped the rewards. They took a year off to try their luck panning for gold, but as usual they had none. "That year I only found an ounce of fool's gold that was worth nothing. I still managed to trade it for a night with the hottest floozy in town though I guess the fool's gold fooled her!" reminisced Deviant Murphy. With no luck in the gold prospecting business, Hillbilly Junction turned back to what they knew best Satanic Rock n' Roll - and embarked on a tour around the goldfields of Victoria entitled the "You ain't nothin' but a gold digger, you dirty hoe" tour.

The Junction came back with a hell bent vengeance, and in defining a rebellious image for themselves, they were often portrayed as flying the flag of hate, and frequently seen playing at many protests in the newly forming country, making them the hero band for all Aussie battlers. One such protest gig was scheduled for Sunday December 3rd 1854, on the final leg of the tour, to be held just outside the Victorian city of Ballarat at a gold mining campsite infamously called the Eureka Stockade. "At the time, we heard that indignation about gold licensing fees, a desire for political reform, and the general disorder at Ballarat ran rife amongst the gold diggers, and it was the perfect place for us to end the tour", recalled G.G. In support of the protest, Hillbilly Junction were scheduled to play a gig to support and fire up the diggers, but on the day of the show, the Junction arrived to a scene of total carnage, where the cops slaughtered their fellow men just for the crime of sticking up for their rights. "People whinge about The Hells Angels killing a few hippies at Woodstock, but that was nothing compared to the slaughter on that morning of 1854 at the Eureka Stockadethat was a real low point in our career. From that day on I swore the band would always be Satanic Rock n' Roll outlaws".

Soon after that sad day at Eureka, the band were told by local prospectors that they had overheard talk at the local cop shop that Hillbilly Junction were singled out by police as disruptors of the peace and where therefore on summons for the count of inciting violence. Taking wind of the news, Hillbilly Junction planned a self-imposed exile to deep in alpine highlands of Victoria. Under the cover of darkness, the courageous Metal Warriors escaped on horseback to their secret location along the shores of what is now called Lake Tali Karng (still supposedly undiscovered by white-man at the time), and for the next 20 years they battled the elements, living in a makeshift hut, and sustaining on sauté wombat and koala stew. "During the winter months, K.K. would toboggan on his guitar case whilst standing up, thus becoming the first ever snowboarder", revealed Deviant, "it's a fact unknown to even the most hardcore modern day boarder".

After a 20-year exile, Hillbilly Junction finally emerged from the forest, with a renewed sense of hate for authority and respect for the Dark Master. "We had lived on shit-house koalas for and hadn't played a live gig for 20 years and we were pissed off. I hadn't had a beer the whole time and G.G. was beginning to fancy the fucken rock wallabies that stole our damper", reported Deviant. Despite this, Hillbilly Junction was still on Australia's most wanted list, and needed a plan to rebuild their tattered rock stardom, yet still remain under the radar. Their plan was to change their names and change the band name. They emerged from the woods as "The Murphy Boys" - a new era in Satanic Rock n' Roll had begun

The Murphy Boys drew on their watered-down Irish heritage to create their name, and for G.G., his personal name had the same influence. Jefferson Added "G.G." to the pre-fix of his name, which stood for "Garden Gnome Murphy", a tribute to his Leprechaun heritage. K.K. Raoul changed his nom de plume to "the Wrathchild", signifying his renewed desire to destroy. Walter, fancying himself as a wannabe insane world conqueror and warrior of Genghis Kahn renamed himself World War Walter or W.W. Walter "Infamous Butcher" Murphy. Several years later however, after much soul searching, he came to terms with his true desires and renamed himself Deviant Murphy. Back in Melbourne, the Murphy Boys worked extremely hard to re-invent themselves and were just rewarded. Drawing on the rumours that The Murphy Boys were in-fact the undead ghosts of Hillbilly Junction, they were quick to gain a massive following and all that came with it, with one exception

Although Melbourneites adored The Murphy Boys, and the fan base was in the thousands, they could not get a record deal anywhere (principally due to the fact recording devices had not yet been invented). It wasn't until 1877 that the phonograph was invented, and it was in 1878 that The Murphy Boys released their first recorded "cylinder" (as flat disc records had not yet been invented either) entitled "You're not as metal as this cylinder". "We sold 200 cylinders that yearnot bad seeing that was the year after the phonograph was invented and no-one could afford to even buy a phonograph" said K.K., reflecting on that groundbreaking year." It was a significant year in musical history, and a proud year for satanic rock n' roll". To this day, you can still see an original Murphy Boys cylinder at the Melbourne Museum where it is now used as a doorstop to the entrance of the dunnies.

Soon after their first release, and in that same year, two police were murdered in October 1878 at Stringybark Creek provoking public outrage and a bounty of £2000 was offered. It soon became apparent that the members of the Kelly Gang were responsible for the murders. After hiding out in the hills for a couple of months the Kelly gang rode into Euroa and stuck up the bank taking £2000, this time without killing.

"The Kelly gang and us were initially rivals" remarked Deviant. "They thought they were more heavy metal than us because they used to go around wearing these bloody great suits of armour, but we soon formed a friendship through our mutual hate for authority. That coupled with the fact we played at the Eureka Stockade made Ned a big fan.

Early in 1879 the Kelly gang held up the Jerilderie Police Station, Hotel and Bank where Ned handed the accountant his 'Jerilderie' letter full of impassioned reproach for past injustices. "After reading that letter in the newspaper, we became Kelly gang sympathizers", recalled G.G. "They basically had the same attitude toward authority as us and they dug our music, so to us, they were cool". Despite huge rewards, planting of spies and intimidation of 'sympathisers' the police were unable to find the gang. "We had a few hideouts we used a few years earlier and we managed to help them out a few times" continued G.G. "I even taught Ned how to make 'Crème de la Dingo'- my bush tucker specialty".

Meanwhile the Kelly gang lay low and planned a showdown at Glenrowan, which began on 26 June 1880 when one of the members shot an informer dead. The gang took a pub and its occupant's hostage, sang Murphy Boys anthems and talked to the sixty-two hostages all day while they waited for the arrival of a trainload of Melbourne police. The police surrounded the hotel in the small hours of the morning. At dawn there was a shoot out; started by Ned in his famous suit of armourthe rest is history.

to be continued...



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Hellhammered at Hosie's Tavern Mature Content
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Let's Get Drunk & Figure It Out Mature Content
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reviews

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Hellhammered at Hosie's Tavern
rating:  4/5
Yeah, not bad, keeping it real in the same style.




Let's Get Drunk & Figure It Out
rating:  5/5
One of the toughest opening riffs I've ever heard. The sound is spot on! Best band in melbourne!




Let's Get Drunk & Figure It Out
rating:  3/5
Makes me wanna spit on the bogan i just bottled at hosies. Good shit guys.




Hellhammered at Hosie's Tavern
rating:  4/5
Makes me wanna bottle some bogans face. Yeah, good stuff.
more reviews



This project is supported by the Australia Council, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, through its Music Board Section.