David Michael Murray (born 23 December 1956) is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Along with the groups bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris, Murray has appeared on all of the bands releases. Growing up in various areas of London, Murray became a member of a skinhead gang before he took an interest in rock music at 15 and formed his own band, Stone Free, with childhood friend Adrian Smith. After leaving school at 15, he regularly answered advertisements which appeared in Melody Maker before auditioning for Iron Maiden in 1976. A short while later, Murray was sacked following an argument with the groups lead vocalist, Dennis Wilcock, and spent six months in Smiths band, Urchin. In Spring 1978, Murray was asked to rejoin Iron Maiden following Wilcocks departure, in which he has remained to this day. Murrays solo guitar style throughout his career has been mainly based on the legato technique, such as on The Trooper, which he claims evolved naturally. Id heard Jimi Hendrix using legato when I was growing up, and I liked that style of playing. He has also written songs for the band, though he is less prolific than other band members, usually forgoing lyric writing and concentrating on the musical elements of songwriting. He mainly co-writes songs with another member of Iron Maiden, Charlotte the Harlot (from 1980s Iron Maiden) being to date the only composition to which he is solely credited. Murray and Harris are the only members of Iron Maiden to have appeared on every one of the bands releases.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:01:39 +0000
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