Pete Murray

Growing up in Queensland Pete Murray wouldn't have imagined he would become a musician and write songs which would strike a very personal and special chord with his audiences on stage and on record.

He was born in Miles and grew up in Chinchilla, where like the rest of his friends he developed his initial passion, sport. He liked singing, but no-one, let alone Pete Murray himself, took that talent seriously. Yet. As a boarder at Nudgee College in Brisbane, he excelled as a swimmer, on the running track and on the rugby field. When he was 18 his father died of a heart attack, while Pete was competing in the athletics nationals. It was tough having to run the 400m final the next day.

After school he concentrated on his rugby. In 1993 he was picked for the Queensland Sevens side, but a serious knew injury banished him to the sidelines. He worked his way to recovery, only to snap the anterior cruciate making his comeback. His rugby days were behind him.

Pete hadn't completely put music aside. Sitting around campfires, and watching some friends pull out guitars to sing and play had interested him, and with time on his hands because of his knee problems Murray took one guitar lesson. It was enough to get him started. That competitive spirit natural to the sportsman took over. He worked hard on getting better and better until the day ultimately came when he surprised his friends by turning up at a barbecue in Brisbane with his guitar. When the invitation came he sang and played a Neil Young song, possible also something by Crowded House. Everybody was suitably impressed, but Pete Murray still wasn't looking to music for his future. He was studying sports medicine, and wanted to travel.

Overseas Murray met a lot of musicians, and started to challenge himself. Enough people were telling him he was good at singing and playing to start wanting to explore the possibilities. He also to write songs, and that's where things fell into place quickly. Several of those very first songs - 'My Time' and 'So Beautiful' - appear on Pete Murray's 2003 chart album 'Feeler'

But first came 'The Game', an independent album Murray recorded and released in Brisbane in 2002. By then Pete had established a strong following in his home town, and the album was well received. But Pete realized that to go further he would have to throw himself in at the deep end. He moved to Melbourne and started from scratch, on a music career. It took a while. The going was tough. While his mates went off to work he sat at home, practiced, wrote songs and questioned whether he had the talent required. He formed a band. Eventually the buzz on 'The Game' brought Pete Murray's music to the attention of major label Sony.

Pete wanted to move on. He had new songs. But a lot of people convinced him that some of the songs on 'The Game' had more potential, that they'd missed the mark. On 'The Game' Murray was still searching for his style. By the time he recorded 'The Feeler' he'd found it - a voice full of hurt and soul, story-telling songs with catchy choruses, backed by jangling guitars.

Spurred by the song sensitive ballad 'So Beautiful' 'The Feeler' album slowly worked its way to No.1 nationally and went on to sell six times platinum. Touring the album on its way to the top Pete formed his own band, who he took with him into the studio to record the follow-up, naming them the Stonemasons. He also felt that 'The Feeler' still made him sound too sugary and turned to Ben Harper producer Eric Safarine to produce 'See The Sun', which also reached No.1 nationally, this time on release in October 2005.

He married his long-time sweetheart Amanda Coutts on October 7, 2006 in a low-key ceremony near Byron Bay. The ceremony took place in the tiny hinterland village of Eureka with the couple leaving the church hippie-style in an old-fashioned kombi van. The van made a cameo appearance on the cover of Murray breakthrough album, 'Feeler'. Guests reported that the Elvis classic 'I Can't Help Falling In Love With You' serenaded the couple as they left the Eureka Uniting Church, with hymns during the 45-minute ceremony including 'Morning Has Broken' and 'Glory, Glory Hallelujah'. The couple were parents to a two-year old son, Charlie. Another child followed.

Pete Murray decided he finally needed to take a breather from his busy career schedule to enjoy his family. He felt that 'See The Sun' had been too rushed and wanted to take his time writing the songs for the next album. The songs for 'Summer At Eureka' (the title defining the album's creation) were written and demoed in Pete's home studio, and only when he was happy did he bring in long-time band members Ben McCarthy (keys), Andy Sylvio (drums) and bassist Jonathan Zion. Along the way Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton had also expressed an interest in contributing. Pete Murray wanted to stay true to the spirit of his demos. Some of the demos ended up the basis for the finished tracks on 'Summer At Eureka'.

'Summer At Eureka' is the first album produced by Pete Murray himself.