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Murray Lachlan Young

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Murray Lachlan Young
Murray Lachlan Young, Glastonbury Festival, 2019
Murray Lachlan Young, Glastonbury Festival, 2019
Born (1969-03-14) 14 March 1969 (age 56)
United States
OccupationPoet
NationalityBritish
Website
www.murraylachlanyoung.co.uk

Murray Lachlan Young (born 14 March 1969) is British poet, playwright, author and screenwriter.  He came to prominence in the mid-1990s with his unique performances, more aligned to popular culture than traditional poetry, which led to him to a recording contract with EMI, making him the first, and only poet to secure a deal worth £1million.[1]

Personal life

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Young graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Media Performance[2]. In 1998, he married singer Zoë Pollock and moved to Cornwall with their two children[3]. He has since returned to live and work in London.

Careers

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Since his early UK shows supporting music and cabaret acts such as the Pretenders, Julian Cope and Dita von Teese, Murray has used the language and rhythm of poetry in his writing and performance, using popular culture platforms to present his work to a wider audience.

Encompassing everything from live performances at music and arts festivals, including the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival in 1996, to MTV USA, EMI records and 6 Music Radio as well as television programmes such as Newsnight and The Wright Stuff, introducing poetry and verse into non-traditional situations has been key to his career.

He is the author of five published books, ten produced stage productions and two full length feature films, with a number of projects – stage, books and film – currently in development.

Murray has also written for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Idler Magazine and The Erotic Review amongst others and has acted in films including Plunkett & MacLeane (1999), Vatel (2000) and About A Boy (2002).

He co-founded The Crap Surfer movement in 2004, in 2012 Mick Jagger presented Keith Richards with a CD of Murray's poem that marked the anniversary of Keith falling out of a coconut tree and in 2017 The Cornishman newspaper voted him the 34th Sexiest Person in Cornwall.

Solo Live Performance Highlights

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Glastonbury Festival 1996 - Present
MTV Music Awards, USA 1997
The Union Club, London - Poet in residence 1997 - Present
T in the Park Festival 1998 - 2001
Port Elliot Festival 2005 - 2020
Latitude Festival 2006 - 2015
Goodlife Festival 2013 - 2015
UK Headline Tour 2014
The Wilderness Festival 2014
Brighton Festival 2014
6 Music Festival 2014 - Present
Festival No 6 2015 - 2019
The Arts Club, London - Poet in residence 2014 - 2016
UK Headline Tour 2016

Authored Books

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Vice & Verse[4] 1997 EMI Books
Casual Sex and Other Verse[5] 1997 Bantam Books
The Nine Dead Williams[6] 2014 Switched On Publishing
How Freakin' Zeitgeist Are You?[7] 2017 Unbound Books
The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps[8] 2018 Scotland Street Press

Stage Playwright * and Playwright & Performer **

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A Captive Audience * 1992 Salford University
The Fabulous Twister Brothers * 1993 Salford University
Modern Cautionary Tales for Children[9] ** 2007 UK Tour
Enjoy Your Stay * 2010 CScape Dance Theatre UK Tour
The Incomers[10] * 2013 Phoenix Theatre, Exeter (Extended Run)
Taste[11] * 2015 CScape Dance Theatre UK Tour
The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps[12] ** 2019 UK Tour - Theatre Royal Bath & Various
Rehab The Musical[13] * 2022 Playground Theatre, London (Extended Run)
The Chronicles of Atom & Luna[14] * 2022 UK Tour - Funnelwick Limb Productions
Modern Cautionary Tales for Children[15] ** 2024 UK Tour - Various
Rehab The Musical[16] * 2024 Neon 194, London (Extended Run)
The Chronicles of Atom & Luna[17] * 2024 UK Tour - Funnelwick Limb Productions

Film Screenplays

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Plunkett and McClean - gallows poem scene[18] 1999 Working Title Films
Annie McClue[19] Short 2011 The Queen
Under Milk Wood - adapted by[20] 2015 fFatti fFilms (BAFTA entry to foreign language Oscars)
Lycra Dad[21] Short 2018 Dadbod Films
The Apple Tree 2025 IN.2 Films

Audio Releases

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Live at Ronnie Scotts 1995 Almo Sounds
Simply Everyone’s Taking Cocaine[22] 1997 Almo Sounds
Vice & Verse[23] 2015 EMI Records
Casual Sex Short 2018 Self Release
Murray Lachlan Young - Live 2011 Self Release
The Alien Balladeer[24] 2013 Self Release
The Mystery of the Raddlesham-mumps[25] 2020 Funnelwick Limb
Tales From The Forest (with Paul Hartnol)[26] 2020 Funnelwick Limb
The Edge of reason - Blabbermouth vs Lachlan Young[27] 2020 Bandcamp
The Virus Diaries - with Paul Hartnell (Orbital)[28][29][30][31] 2022 Hartnell & Young Records

Broadcast Performance Highlights

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The Breakfast Show - Poet in residence 1996 LBC
Murray Lachlan Young - Television Series[32] 1996 MTV USA
Vice & Verse - Television Special 1997 BBC Two TV
6 Music - Poet in Residence[33][34] 2011 - 2022 BBC Radio 6 Music
Saturday Live - Poet in Residence[35] 2006 - 2014 BBC Radio 4
Loose Ends - Regular Contributor[36] 1995 - present BBC Radio 4
Kaleidescope - Regular Contributor[37] 1995 BBC Radio 4
Newsnight[38] 2014 BBC Two TV
The Arts Show - Regular Contributor[39] 2014 - present BBC Radio 2
Radio 5 Live - Regular Specials 2012–2015 BBC Radio 5 Live
Scotland meet MLY - Radio Special[40] 2013 BBC Radio 4
Alien Balladeer - Series[41] 2014 BBC Radio 4
The Symphony of Medinah - Narrator[42] 2014 BBC R5 Live
The Wright Stuff - Regular Contributor 2014 – present Channel 5 TV
Cern - Radio Special[43] 2018 BBC World Service
Peak Hype[44] 2019 BBC Radio 4
The Virus Diaries - Series with Paul Hartnell[45] 2020 BBC 6 Music
Lyrics By - Series Host[46] 2023 BBC 6 Music

References

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  1. ^ "An Evening with Murray Lachlan Young | LASALLE College of the Arts". web.archive.org. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  2. ^ Walters, Sarah (7 September 2016). "Murray Lachlan Young on giving two fingers to the zeitgeist". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Life after million pound poetry". 13 January 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  4. ^ Murray Lachlan Young - Vice & Verse, 1997, retrieved 1 May 2025
  5. ^ Young, Murray Lachlan (1997). Casual sex and other verse. Internet Archive. Toronto ; London : Bantam. ISBN 978-0-553-50693-8.
  6. ^ "Murray Lachlan Young's Nine Dead Williams – with adults!!!". Matthew Linley's Blog. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  7. ^ Murray Lachlan Young: How Freakin' Zeitgeist Are You?, 27 April 2017, retrieved 1 May 2025
  8. ^ "Scotland Street Press | Bookstore | Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps". www.scotlandstreetpress.com. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Modern Cautionary Tales for Children: Murray Lachlan Young". Ropetackle Arts Centre. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Murray Lachlan Young". Exeter Phoenix. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Cscape to perform Taste in west Dorset this week". Bridport and Lyme Regis News. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  12. ^ Web, UK Theatre. "Archive for The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps at Theatre Royal, Bath. 2019. [BATH]". UK Theatre Web. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  13. ^ Admin. "Rehab: The Musical – Playground Theatre | Musical Theatre Review". Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  14. ^ "The Chronicles of Atom and Luna". Z-arts. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Modern Cautionary Tales for Children". The List. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  16. ^ "Review of Rehab the Musical". A Young(ish) Perspective. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  17. ^ "The Chronicles of Atom and Luna". Z-arts. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Poem at Gallows | MovieChat". moviechat.org. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  19. ^ "In conversation with: Murray Lachlan Young on writing for young people | LASALLE College of the Arts". www.lasalle.edu.sg. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  20. ^ Allen, Kevin (30 October 2015), Under Milk Wood (Drama), Rhys Ifans, Bradley Freegard, Charlotte Church, Sianel 4 Cymru (S4C), retrieved 2 May 2025
  21. ^ "BBC Poet Murray Lachlan Young and Gray Hughes Celebrate Lycra Dads | LBBOnline". lbbonline.com. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  22. ^ ANR (23 September 2010). "Have a giggle with Murray Lachlan Young or Steve Poltz – Arsenal News Review". Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Review of Edinburgh Fringe shows: Grace/Jump To Cow Heaven/Elsa Edgar/". www.cix.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Radio review: The Alien Balladeer - The naked truth about poetry and". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Scotland Street Press | Bookstore | Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps". www.scotlandstreetpress.com. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Review of the year…". Funnelwick Limb. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  27. ^ Newall, Phil (19 September 2020). "Blabbermouth Vs Lachlan Young: The Edge of Reason - album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  28. ^ Fischer, Bob (4 October 2021). "Paul Hartnoll, Murray Lachlan Young, Orbital and The Virus Diaries". The Haunted Generation. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Orbital's PAUL HARTNOLL and controversial poet and performance artist MURRAY LACHLAN YOUNG announce lockdown inspired album 'The Virus Diaries' | XS Noize | Online Music Magazine". www.xsnoize.com.
  30. ^ "Hartnoll & Young - The Virus Diaries - OUT NOW - News". 27 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Murray Lachlan Young". www.murraylachlanyoung.co.uk.
  32. ^ GlastonburyFestivalPoetry (2 June 2019). "Introducing: Murray Lachlan Young". Poetry&Words at Glastonbury Festival. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  33. ^ "Murray Lachlan Young – Bedford Square Voices". Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  34. ^ "Radio review: The Alien Balladeer - The naked truth about poetry and". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  35. ^ "Radio review: The Alien Balladeer - The naked truth about poetry and". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  36. ^ "BBC - Radio 4 Bespoken Word - Murray Lachlan Young". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  37. ^ Page, Richard. "Presenting fantastic one-off events since 2005 - Wild Hare Club". wildhareclub.com. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  38. ^ "BBC - Newsnight: From the web team: Credit crunch - from bad to verse". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  39. ^ "Interview: Murray Lachlan Young, 'The real secret is adding joy and gratitude' - The Arts Dispatch". 19 June 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  40. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Scotland Meet Murray Lachlan Young". BBC. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  41. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Alien Balladeer". BBC. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  42. ^ "BBC Philharmonic Presents: The Symphony Of Medinah". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  43. ^ "A gothic journey into the mind of Murray Lachlan Young". Gazette. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  44. ^ "Programme Information". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  45. ^ "INTERVIEW: Paul Hartnoll & Murray Lachlan Young Discuss 'Virus Diaries' - "An Electro, Cabaret Pop, Zeitgeist Journey Into The Trauma Of Lockdown 1"". www.xsnoize.com. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  46. ^ "Murray Lachlan Young | The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
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