Former Harris Academy pupil Murray Chalmers left Dundee in 1978 for a new life in London, which meant living in a squat and performing menial tasks at his first job.
Now 52, the former head of PR at EMI with responsibility for the likes of Grace Jones, Dusty Springfield, Morrissey, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Coldplay and Radiohead, has been awarded a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to music press.
Murray, who still retains a home in Newport, won the Outstanding Contribution to PR Award at the Record Of The Day (ROTD) Awards in London, which was presented to him by his own client, Paloma Faith.
It was one of three lifetime achievement awards given that night, the other two going to iconic music journalist and author Nick Kent and photographer Gered Mankowitz.
Also this week, industry bible PR Week has profiled Murray on the front page, describing his company as ”key players” in music PR, while he was recently named among the London Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners ironic given he is not actually from the capital.
Murray told The Courier he was ”honoured” to receive the award.
”I think it’s great, especially winning it the same year as Nick Kent, who is one of my favourite writers, and Gered Mankowitz, who is an incredible photographer.
”Out of the three of us I’m the least deserving but mine is for PR and it’s great that it comes from within your own industry.
”We don’t really publicise our company but all the artists have come to us so although we don’t make a song and dance about it, I’m quite proud of our achievements.”
The award caps a memorable year for Murray, coming hot on the heels of 2011’s biggest musical announcement: that of the ”resurrection” of The Stone Roses, who he was asked to work with.
In contrast to his normally quiet, shun-the-limelight manner, the quietly spoken Murray’s voice was heard around the world at the press conference to announce that the Mancunians will be reforming for special reunion shows next year.
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That came about after he was approached by Simon Mann, their manager, who surprised Murray ten minutes into a meeting by asking him to handle the PR for the reunion announcement.
”I thought he was going to ask me to take on a new band. He kept it a secret until he said it was The Stone Roses. Four days later I went to meet them and we got on well and it all went on from there until the press conference.
”It was weird because we did have to keep it a big secret even just before the conference journalists were asking me what we were going to announce, was it The Smiths because I had worked with them. I just told them they would find out in five minutes. There was a lot of subterfuge. We had to keep it quiet, for obvious reasons.”
This year alone Murray has helped launch huge hit albums by Coldplay, Noel Gallagher and Kate Bush.
”It’s a massive thrill to work with Kate Bush. I’ve been a huge admirer of Kate’s since she started and she’s a lovely person to work with.”
Murray, whose parents are Dundonian, was born in Dunkeld but moved to Dundee at the age of five, where he attended the now-defunct Liff Road Primary and then Harris Academy. He moved to London in 1978 and lived in a squat before finding work with a small PR company, with one of his first jobs seeing him try to persuade Mick Jagger to take part in a TV show.
He was then offered a job with EMI and within a few years was appointed head of press, a role which he performed for 24 years before leaving to form his own company, Murray Chalmers PR, three and a half years ago, after EMI was taken over by Terra Firma.
”It was just the right thing to do,” he said. ”Most of the bands came with me because they wanted to work with artist-friendly people. It’s the best thing I’ve done.
“I was there for a long time and most of the time I enjoyed it, but the last few years I didn’t enjoy it. The thought of going in every day to meetings with people who music didn’t matter all that much to filled me with horror.
”I had thought of going independent for a while and eventually I did and it’s worked out well so far.”