Murray Torkildsen is a singer and songwriter based in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, who was a member of The Sweeney and also guitarist in John Otway

John Otway

John Otway, is an English singer-songwriter, who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.-Biography:...

's band.

Biography

During the 1980s Murray was a founding member of numerous bands in the Harlow area of Essex, including the popular underground group Real by Real. The band changed line up along the way with Murray always remaining as the core member, until they morphed at the beginning of the 90s into The Sweeney. Torkildsen also played guitar in John Otway

John Otway

John Otway, is an English singer-songwriter, who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.-Biography:...

's band.

The Sweeney

Having worked his way around North America, Britain and Ireland as a solo act, Murray Torkildsen spent summer 1995 working on new material. He formed a band called The Sweeney with two friends, Adam Batterbee (drums) and Sid (bass). The Sweeney was named after the popular ITV television serial

The Sweeney

The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...

 of the same name.

Group Albums

The Sweeney's debut single 'Shut Up!' was released in November 1995. Their second single "Why?" earned a regular spot on John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's radio show in early 1996, and was voted into number nine on that year's Festive Fifty

Festive Fifty

The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...

.

The Sweeney's debut album was "Pop Gun". The group returned to the studio to record three further albums, "Bingo", "The Sweeney" and most recently "5".

Discography

Solo:

Albums:

• Sex Lies and Videogames (1996)

Tracks:

1: Bedrock:

2: Handsome is as handsome does:

3: Trudy tuesday:

4: Anything at all:

5: Falling in love:

6: Ignorance is bliss:

7: Choose Lorena:

8: Religion:

9: Beverly Hills 90210:

10: One of our dinosaurs is missing:

11: The paper that supports our boys:

12: Whatever happened to Baby Jane:

13: Stop talking football:

14: My party

With the Sweeney:

Albums:

• Pop Gun! - 1996

Tracks:

1: Shut Up!:

2: This & that:

3: England:

4: Ticket void if scratched:

5: Big red:

6: You belong to me:

7: Why?:

8: Easy:

9: On stilts with feathers in you hair:

10: Venus in fake furs:

11: Husbands & wives:

12: Honey forever

• Bingo - 1997

Tracks:
1: The Cummings family outing:

2: Wannabe:

3: Fish face:

4: The zoo keeper:

5: Compos mentis:

6: Nostalgia rise:

7: Rock!:

8: The kazoo song:

9: Batman and Robin:

10: Mrs Symonds' daughter:

11: Twinkle toes:

12: Outside

• The Sweeney - 2000

Tracks:

1: Chocolate and Flowers:

2: Heavy Metal Tattoo:

3: White Trash:

4: Belinda:

5: Weight of Experience:

6: Billy the Human Bomb:

7: Anthony:

8: On and On and On:

9: Salford Quays:

10: Your Dog:

11: The King of Harlow:

12: My Invisible Friend

• 5 - 2005

Singles:

• Shut Up - 1995
• Why? - 1996
• Fish Face - 1997
• The Kazoo Song - 1997

External links

• The Sweeney web site