At just 18 years of age, George Murphy has had quite a year. He first came to the nation's attention via his show stealing performance on "You're A Star" where he broke so many talent show rules by just being himself. In a world of boyband wannabe's and kareoke diva's he stood out, he was simply more Billy Elliot than Billie Barry, and the public loved him for it.

But doing well on a TV talent show is one thing, turning that platform into a career is something else entirely. It's always hard to deliver on the hype that TV can't resist throwing at you. So what george did next was going to be crucial.

On the night he was finally voted off, after having to sing a Eurovision song, George got into his car and drove to Carlow to do a gig. It's a move that kinda sums him up, when the chips are down he just drags himself up. No point in hanging around a dressing room in RTE feeling sorry for yourself. No, much better to get back in the saddle and do a gig, and what a gig it was. The Carlow crowd gave George a real lift and helped him to realise he had an audience who weren't too bothered if he didn't win the TV series, an audience who wanted to hear George Murphy do what he does best, sing great songs.

Next he had to sign a record deal and record an album. Sony Ireland really seemed to get what he was all about and so shortly after signing on the dotted line with them, he headed up to Amberville Studios in Antrim to record his debut album with Phil Coulter. From the very first moment he heard George sing, Phil said he would make an album with him, and in Amberville he did just that, recording the 12 tracks that became "Dreamed a Dream". From the Irish tracks such as "Raglan Road" and "Dublin In the Rare Auld Times" to "Working Class Hero" and "Joe Hill" George put his unique vocal on some classic folk songs. He also tackled some new material written by John Spillane as well as recording "Jack" a deeply personal song he wrote himself.

So with the album finished it was time to see if people liked it. First up was the release of the single "The Moon Going Home" and given the fact that it went to No.2 in the charts (only 15 units behind some young one called Brittany) the signs were good. Then in it's second week it not only held it's own, but managed to knock Michael Stipes and his mates off the No.1 spot. Now with the album heading towards multi-platinum status, it appears that not only do the public approve of the album, they actually love it.

So you can see it's been quite a year for George, and we didn't even mention him meeting Bill Clinton, playing with The Dubliners, Paddy Casey and Aslan or singing in Lansdown Road for both the rugby and soccer teams. But has all this success changed him? Well put it this way - on the day the album went to No.1 he celebrated with a game of football at home with his mates.

George Murphy, he dreamed a dream and so far it's coming true. Some days the good guys do win.

Instruments played: Vocals

Official Web Site

www.georgemurphy.net

E-mail Address

info@georgemurphy.net

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