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Ricky Murray

I wrote this song in response to condescending media and I didn’t start playing guitar until January 2002. I wasn’t into
commentators’ having a go atnyone that wants to change things Alanis Morissette and don’t own any of her records to this day,
for the better of themselves and society. The term they used to but it was a song video of hers, ‘Hands Clean’ where she’s sitting
batter them with was ‘bleeding hearts’, which was going to be on her sofa with an acoustic guitar that made me ask my dad –
the title of this song until ‘who cares if we lose’ came out of my who plays guitar – how to play it. He had chord books of songs,
mouth. And that turn of phrase came about through me told me what the diagrams meant and that was me on my way.
thinking that I didn’t care if we couldn’t get the things we
needed and wanted straight away as long as we tried. Basically, I would then jam with a friend of mine called Stuart and we
who cares if we lose the battle as long as we win the war. Not eventually started a band two years later with two brothers who
that I like war! The chorus about them ‘killing everyone to claim were the sons of a bassist who had played in my dad’s band.
their piece of stone’ was about wars like the invasion of Iraq With them on bass and drums, and me and Stuart on guitars,
as in if we don’t try a different approach we’re just gonna end up we played a few gigs as The Stags until Stuart left to
with the same results of fear, hate and another place we can’t call concentrate on university. We got another guitarist called
home. Saying this, though, the first verse was more about myself Lindon in to replace him in the spring of 2005, recorded seven
and my position in it all. ‘‘Unborn from this shell’’ means that I songs, played a few gigs until December of that year when we
haven’t fulfilled my potential. encountered differences with at least one of the brothers, which
led to us parting ways. Me and Lindon got in other members,
Verse 2 and the middle part before the instrumental and last named ourselves Red Route, recorded one song, played a few
chorus was about potential day to day violence in England, but gigs for a year until I left due to them trying to turn us into a
what related to the bigger picture too. ‘‘I’m not a defeatist, but Metal band.
I don’t care for pride,’’ so if I’m in a confrontation where I’m
hopelessly outnumbered, I’m not gonna worry about my ‘pride’, I started jamming again with Stuart in the summer of 2007 and
I’m gonna get OUTTA THERE! As I say in that middle bit, ‘‘an we then a bass player in the form of someone we would see
ego bruised at home is better than abody bruised in a coma out now and again called Richard, who had no experience of
with nothing to do.’’ The ego thing can mean, again, the bigger playing bass. We played open mics and gigs as a threesome for
picture. Keep going. Don’t settle for anything less than the best a couple of years, recorded four songs, got a drummer called
or what’s right, even if it takes years or even after your death to Gurdip in, played a gig, but we then stopped when life’s
achieve, and don’t worry about the losses on the way. commitments got in the way for some members.

MUSIC BIO. After a few years of going university, recording a few songs and
The precise moment I got properly into music was Saturday playing some open mics here and there, I started
September 29th 2001. I was in a music shop called Our Price (a recording music for the purpose of making albums and
chain of record stores that no longer function) with my dad, I offloading all the songs I had accumulated over the years. I
picked up What’s the Story (Morning Glory) by Oasis, looked released a 14 track album in 2017, a four song EP in 2018 and
at the tracklisting and said ‘‘there’s a lot of good songs on here,’’ then a 13 song album on March 30th 2020, which has ‘Who
and with my dad being a bit of a fan himself of them, bought it. Cares if We Lose’ as the opening track. I have two songs lined
Later that night was the first time I ever put on music myself. up for release in September of this year and am ready to head to
So surprising was this that my mum asked me what I was doing! a studio when this whole coronavirus thing blows over.

Music was one of, if not my best subject at school, but there was
nothing going for me that made me want to play or listen to
music myself. It was mainly keyboard and percussion in school

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