Back in the early '90s, the teenage Cillian Murphy was the frontman of Sons of Mr Green Genes, a Cork-based acid jazz group who took their name from an obscure Frank Zappa instrumental inspired by a character played by 'Lumpy' Brannum in the long-running US kids' TV show Captain Kangaroo.
Despite some interest from DJ and producer Gilles Peterson' Acid Jazz label, the quintet's activities gradually fizzled out as Murphy's acting career blossomed.
The 48-year-old Irish actor, arguably best known for his role as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders has remained a passionate and extremely knowledgable music fan however, as he has displayed while hosting his own acclaimed Limited Edition radio show series on BBC Radio 6.
In 2022, Murphy took a deep dive into the soundtracks for Peaky Blinders with Rolling Stone UK, and singled out Radiohead as a band he'd love to hear more often on the show.
“Radiohead are very special to me,” he said. “They’re probably my favourite band in the world. I’d like to see a deeper collaboration there.”
In a separate interview with the BBC, Murphy singled out one Radiohead song in particular that he adores.
“When Radiohead released Daydreaming [ as the second single from their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool], I listened to it five times in a row. I think it’s a remarkable piece of music.”
“The piano seems to me to be the grandaddy of instruments. In terms of virtuosity, composition, mood and atmosphere. I listen to a lot of piano music, solo piano music is perhaps the music I return to most, when I need to put myself in a meditative frame of mind."
Winning an Oscar in 2023 for his starring role in Oppenheimer doubtless eased any lingering regrets Murphy may have harboured over quitting the music business.
