‘You’re a Star’ is Ireland’s  equivalent of American Idol. George Murphy became a rising star of that show which paved the way for his latest release. It is an album filled with Irish humor and it is so irresistible you want the whole family to listen near the fireplace-now that holiday’s getting nearer!

This is some press that was released that year.

“George is the most exciting vocal find in Ireland…”
Phil Coulter

“George has a voice beyond his years.”
Ronnie Drew

In 2004 George Murphy was just out of secondary school when he burst onto the Irish music scene after his show stealing performances on the Irish equivalent to American Idol, ‘You’re a Star’.  He landed a record deal and a number one triple platinum album followed, leading to extensive tours of the country and collaborations with the greats of Irish music including The Dubliners, Phil Coulter, The Furey’s, Aslan and Paddy Casey.

George Murphy, who hails from the north Dublin suburb of Beaumont, had never performed as a singer before his audition and subsequent rise to fame. His voice has been described as a cross between Luke Kelly and Bruce Springsteen and has a maturity that attracts fans of all ages.  The Irish music magazine Hot Press summed it up:  “For a 17 year-old to possess such a wildly evocative Dublin howl is extraordinary to the point of being unbelievable.”

George is releasing his first CD here in the US called ‘The Ballads of Archie Thompson’. The boy from Beaumont, still young at 24, has created a new collection of songs, some new, some old, but all with a fresh perspective. Tracks on the new album include ‘The Foggy Dew’ featuring John Sheahan and Barney McKenna of the Dubliners, a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sara’ featuring Christy Dignam of Aslan and the renowned ‘Auld Triangle’.

To explain the title and song selection on the album George says, “Archie Thompson is a fictional character, a well bearded big bellied man who exists in almost every Irish bar…his stories and songs would consist of his experiences as a young man and how he lived his life…these stories are his legacy.” The album is a collaboration with the musicians known as The Black Donnelly’s, named after immigrant Irish gang in Hells Kitchen New York, the band has played and toured with many renowned performers and were the backing band for Ronnie Drew and Terry Woods of the Pogues.