Stuart Murdoch (musician)
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Stuart Murdoch, born August 25, 1968, is the lead singer and songwriter for Scottish indie rock septet Belle & Sebastian. As well as singing in the band, he sings most Sundays in his local choir.
According to his band's official biography, apart from early musical activities at high school, Murdoch first became involved in music as a radio DJ for Subcity at the University of Glasgow. Before graduating university he became ill with chronic fatigue syndrome and was unable to work for seven years. In a 2006 interview with NPR's Terry Gross, Murdoch said that the isolation of these years is what led to his becoming a songwriter. In early 1996 he began to emerge from his illness and formed Belle and Sebastian. This was also when he began living above a church hall and working as its caretaker, a position he maintained until 2003.
In 2004 he told the Guardian, "I'm not actually a Christian with a capital C. I'm still asking questions. But I had this time when I found myself singing all these old hymns in my kitchen and I couldn't work out why I was doing it. Then one Sunday morning I got up, looked at my watch, and thought, 'I wonder if I could make it to a church service?' It was so welcoming. It just felt like you were coming home. Twelve years later, I've never left."
Murdoch's interest in faith has been perceptible in his lyrics over the term of the band. Belle and Sebastian's first album included lines about "reading the Gospel to yourself," and the second cynically lamented "the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever." Religious references became more confident and direct on later albums, including "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," on Dear Catastrophe Waitress and the two-part "Act of the Apostle" on The Life Pursuit. Regarding "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," Murdoch told Gross, "At the time I was writing it I thought, well, should I be so overt? Because I've often couched any religious overtones within characters in the past, but this is a bit more out there. And then I just thought, come on, you've been doing this for years, why not? Why not just be a bit more straightforward?”
Sexually ambiguous lyrics in Belle & Sebastian's music may have prompted Murdoch to confirm his heterosexuality in the press, calling himself "straight to the point of boring." Murdoch has also voiced support for gay marriage [1].
Murdoch is forced to abstain from drinking alcohol as a result of the skin condition eczema [2]
Murdoch maintains a blog at Belle and Sebastian's website.
