Photos by Michael Spencer.

Sat in the centre of the stage at London's The Borderline, a harmonica slung about his neck, it's hard to imagine Pete Murray anywhere but here, however, Murray tried his hand at music only after an injury halted his rugby career. Perhaps it is this that endears him to his legion of loyal fans, never having dreamt of super stardom, Murray exudes a comfortable and genuine energy as he converses and interacts with his audience. There is no rehearsed dialogue; there is not even a set list, with the show taking form from crowd prompts, of which there are plenty. Murray introduces Saving Grace, explaining it's "...all about being in a great place in your life, which is right here, right now".

The biggest applause of the night comes after Opportunity, his faux-finale, invoking a sing-along on a magnitude usually reserved for nights around a campfire, even the lads raising their beer filled plastic cups to join in on the chorus. In what was the evening's only show of popstar behaviour, Murray exits the stage at the end of the song. The crowd stays put and continue cheering, having yet to perform his first hit single So Beautiful, they know he'll be back.

A few minutes pass before Murray again takes to the stage to play his encore. As the crowd draws silent, a request from the dark is heard, gently mocking the fangirls that have dictated the evenings set list, the male voice suggests Summer of '69. Murray thanks his audience for their support of him as an independent artist in these parts and tells them he'll be sticking around to sign autographs before closing his set with Please and So Beautiful.


Article originally written for and published by Australian Times.