Murray Head

Best known for his 1984 smash "One Night in Bangkok", actor/singer Murray Head was born March 6, 1946 in England to Seafield Head (a documentary filmmaker) and Helen Shingler (an actress). He appeared in his father's documentaries at the age of 7, and began his performing career at age 12 with appearances in a series of radio plays. He began writing songs a year later and, at 16, ran away from home to seek out a recording career in London, cutting his earliest singles under the supervision of famed producer Norrie Paramor. In 1966, Head made his film debut in The Family Way (1966); the picture also featured his third single "Some Day Soon", produced by Tim Rice. Still, Murray's career failed to take off and he was eventually dropped from his recording contract, spending a few years selling insurance, before Rice and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber contacted him to sing the role of "Judas" on the soundtrack to their musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Concurrently, he also appeared in the film Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971). The success of both projects launched Head to mainstream attention and, in 1972, he recorded his debut solo album "Nigel Lived". Tree years later, he resurfaced with "Say It Ain't So", scoring an enduring cult hit with the single "Say It Ain't So, Joe". Apart from a starring role in 1977's Madame Claude (1977), he spent the remainder of the decade out of the spotlight, finally returning in 1980 with "Between Us"; two more albums, "Voices" and "How Many Ways", followed a year later. In 1984, Murray was tapped to star in the musical "Chess"; his soundtrack performance of "One Night in Bangkok" was released as a single and became a major pop hit on both sides of the Atlantic, although his subsequent recordings were largely unheard outside of his core audience. He speaks fluent French and continues to act in Britain, France and French-speaking Canada. In 1999, he co-wrote the screenplay to Les enfants du siècle (1999). He returned to the stage in 2003 in the musical "Cindy" in Paris and performs his own music at venues in France and England. His younger brother is Anthony Head.