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The three Murphy brothers formed the band Murphy's Lore in 1991, enlisting
their cousin Jae Rowbotham on bass and guitarist Brad Harding, the band began
performing their own material around the South West WA region. Winning
popularity within the school music program and after successful tours with the
school concert band, Murphy's Lore began working regularly at functions, fairs,
open days and then in hotels. The band won the 1993 School Music Awards for the
song 'Wait For Me', a feat which garnered much attention from local media.
At this stage, Courtney, the youngest member, was still only thirteen.
Harding decided to leave the group at the end of the year to pursue a career in
the navy. The band then approached local musician/actor Clayton Bolger to
replace him, as they had noticed Clayton was talented, popular and stealing the
local limelight.
In 1995, the group began work on their first album 'People In Grass Houses',
12 original tracks written over the course of 2-3 years. Still only aged between
15-19, the album was well received and scored some minor airplay in France. The
album, now long out of print, often changes hands between collectors for
ridiculous amounts of money, but you may also be lucky enough to find one in a
second hand shop.
Spurred by this new success, the group moved to Perth mid-1996 where they
consolidated their reputation as one of WA's best up and coming acts.
After over four years of constant gigging, Jae decided to quit the group in July
1998 when he was struck by illness. The remaining four found his replacement in
seasoned Perth musician Shaun Street, slightly older and weirder than the band.
He fit in perfectly.
It had been over four years since 'People In Grass Houses' and the growth of
musicianship and songwriting within the band led them to record the follow up.
Recorded over three months in 1999 with Tim Jewell, 'Best Laid Plans' is an
eclectic mix of modern mainstream pop influenced by The Beatles, Ben Folds Five,
Jellyfish, Crowded House and The Badloves. Released in February 2000, the
album brought the group to the attention of producers of Channel 9's Star
Struck, flying the boys across to Melbourne to compete in August, with the show
airing nationally in July 2001.
Having been played on US college radio and reviewed in fanzines across the
world, the band have an international reputation unequalled in Perth, selling
copies of their albums in Poland, Japan, the UK and US. When the dust settled
from the aftermath of 'Best Laid Plans', the band eagerly set about recording
the follow-up album in September 2002. Armed with a variety of song styles,
tight performances and new producer Mark Donohoe, the new album 'The Universe
Conspires' was a bold change in direction, and the band followed the release
with their first overseas tours. Around this time long serving member Clayton
Bolger left the group, opting out of the band's tours to Singapore and a hard
life on the road. Stunned by Clayton's absence, the band refused to replace him
for over 18 months carrying on as a four piece until Jason Smith, who kept
turning up to gigs with his guitar, could no longer be ignored.
The Rhymes launched 'The Universe Conspires' at The Ruby Room Burswood late in 2002 and made new recordings and continued performing steadily when in 2004, Courtney made the decision to enter the second season of Australian Idol. Courtney became a national celebrity almost overnight, the show rated even higher than the first season and when he finally left the competition a respectable third, his future seemed guaranteed.
During this time the band was put on hiatus as Chris toured the UK and Ireland but by the beginning of 2005, the band was active again with Clayton replacing Courtney for live dates while he toured Idol and then Grease: The Arena Spectacular. The rest of 2005 was spent with gigs in Adelaide, Sydney and some high profile shows in WA in between Courtneys TV appearances and the bands regular gigs.
In 2006, Chris decided it was his turn to take on the Idol juggernaut and managed to make a strong impact on Australian audiences with his rocking performances ad quickly followed this up with the release of his own solo album. A solo album is also on tap for Courtney in 2007 but the boys still regularly perform together and are looking forward to larger scale tours in the not too distant future.
"The Universe Conspires" Available Now From:
CD Baby
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