Róisín Murphy

Róisín Marie Murphy ( roh-SHEEN, Irish Gaelic: [ɾˠoːˈʃiːnʲ]; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter and record producer who first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside the English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, Murphy embarked on a solo career and released her debut solo album Ruby Blue (2005), which she wrote and produced with the experimental musician Matthew Herbert, to critical praise. Her second solo album Overpowered was released in 2007.

In 2015, after an eight-year hiatus that was sporadically interrupted by non-album singles, side projects and guest appearances on other artists' records, Murphy released her third solo album Hairless Toys, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and Ireland's Choice Music Prize. The following year, she released her fourth album Take Her Up to Monto. In 2018, she released four 12-inch singles in collaboration with producer Maurice Fulton. Murphy released her fifth and sixth solo albums Róisín Machine and Hit Parade, which received critical acclaim, in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

Early life

Róisín Marie Murphy was born in Arklow, County Wicklow, in the Republic of Ireland, on 5 July 1973. When she was 12 years old, Murphy and her family moved to Manchester, England. She embraced 1960s fashion, going with her mother, who was an antiques dealer, to car boot sales and charity shops. When she was 15, her parents divorced and both of them moved back to Ireland. Murphy chose to remain in England by herself because she thought her mother did not have the strength to continue taking care of her. She lived with her best friend for a year until she could receive Housing Benefit and move into a nearby flat.