Murray Lachlan Young
Murray Lachlan Young is known for his punchy wit, brooding subtext and occasional attacks of unaccompanied erotic folk song. Murray made his name as a writer performer in the rock clubs and underground cabaret venues of London in the mid 1990s. His unique blend of dark satirical stand-up verse and prose shot to fame in 1996 when, signing to EMI, he became the first ever poet and spoken word performer to be given a £1 million record deal.
After the release of his album, Vice and Verse, his success continued through deals with Transworld Books, MTV and Virgin Atlantic. After a spell in Italy translating Vice and Verse, he went to Paris to take a lead role with Gerard Depardieu, Tim Roth and Uma Thurman in the Roland Joffi adaptation of the French Gastro legend Vatel.
With hilarious, hard-hitting and fast-moving verses from his famous ‘Simply Everyone’s Taking Cocaine’ to surreal images of men in thongs with bufons playing ping pong, Murray’s genius wordplay, mesmerising alliteration and dynamic delivery captivates audiences from the moment he takes to the stage. “Cutting through themes as diverse as Boris Johnston running for Mayor of London to a poetic plea to people to bag up their dog shit and a cautionary tale of befriending racist bigots in the form of ‘Big Ron’s Big Night Out’, his poems change pace, mood and emotion – but always raise a smile.” (NOTBBC.co.uk)
Murray now lives in Cornwall, where he’s working on various projects including Modern Cautionary Tales For Children, a new poetry cycle for children and a live touring show.
www.murraylachlanyoung.com
“It’s not difficult to see why they invested in him; each word that spills from his mouth feels like it has been individually rounded, polished and sent off to do its stuff – it’s as good poetry should be.”
Marissa Burgess, Edinburgh Fringe Review
Links:
- BBC Entertainment interview with Murray Lachlan Young
- Murray Lachlan Young comedy review in Time Out
- Murray Lachlan Young review in the Evening Standard
Video:
Listen to Murray Lachlan Young perform ‘Simply Everyone’s Taking Cocaine’:
Listen to Murray Lachlan Young’s ‘The Thong’:
