You’ll know Pete Murray’s hits, but what about the man behind the music? In this raw interview, host Amelia Phillips discovers the inspiration for his deep, vulnerable lyrics, how parenting has changed his musical career, and why it’s so important to continue our passions even in our busy lives!
Below is an unedited transcript of the podcast episode:
There’s nothing quite like music to instantly shift your mood and trigger strong emotion. Every time I listen to the song, Please by Pete Murray, I am taken straight back to my early twenties in my dsu charade, rattling down the highway windows down, because I couldn’t afford acon singing along full pelt with tears streaming down my face as I’d just broken up with my boyfriend.
To this day, that song and many others of Pete’s evoke such rich emotions that it’s a pleasure to be taken on that journey. Time I play his music.
This is Healthy Her with Amelia Phillips. You know when a voice and lyrics just reached through and grab onto your soul? Well, this has been the case with Pete Murray’s music ever since He burst onto the scene in 2003 with his first album filler and then followed by See the. His music got me through all my hookups.
My breakups and to this day are on rotation with my most played songs. But Pete Murray is not just a musician. He’s had a really fascinating life, starting out with a promising career in swimming, athletics, and rugby before going on to be a music sensation with three albums reaching number one on the Aria chart, and being nominated for 17 Aria.
Now he’s a dad of three living in beautiful Byron Bay. I wanna find out his inspiration for such deep vulnerable lyrics, how parenting breakups and moves has changed his musical career, and how important it is to continue our passions like music, art, or maybe sport as we get older and have kids. Pete, thanks so much for joining me today.
Thank you. And that was a great introduction. I was relating to your car. You know, I used to have an old val. Ute and there was no air code in the Ute and it was a vinyl seat that you were sitting in in summer, in Brisbane was so hot and sweaty that you would get out in your back and your butt in the back of your legs were always drenched.
You know, it was, you take me back then to my back of my days with the old Valiant Yte, don’t you remember? And the windows down, and usually you’d be a bit sunburnt. So when you got off those seats, if you weren’t drenched in sweat, you’d be like ripping the top layer of your sunburn off as well. , exactly.
Now I’m really curious about how parenting changes a person’s career. And for you, it’s interesting, like talk me through what stage of your music career you were at when you had your first child, Charlie. Yeah. Well, Charlie was on his way when I had, I started to record the, um, the filler album. He was born in New Year’s Eve 2000.
And, uh, so the music had taken off before he was born. But before that I was kind of pretty nervous because I didn’t have much, uh, finances and, uh, things were pretty tough. I got the deal from Sony. I had to record this album knowing that a child was on the way, someone that I had to look after. Wow. Yeah.
And even I was struggling to look after myself to get myself lunch was a, was a some days a real effort. Um, so then knowing that there was a child on the way, I was like, Wow, that was. It’s pretty concerning. So I’ve always been fairly determined to be successful with whatever I do, but I think that made me even more determined to be successful.
What I find really fascinating about you is that you’ve come from this sporting background, rugby, swimming, athletics, very blokey. You went to an all boys boarding school for your last few years of school. How does. Someone that’s come from that very masculine blow key sporting background, then suddenly leap into this extremely vulnerable music career.
Yeah. Like I was always involved in sports sport was my, was my main thing. Uh, swimming, athletics and rugby were the, were the things that I played when I grew up in a small country town called Chi Chiller. And I think, you know, you talk about, um, what makes you as a person. I think growing up in a small town, I had great parents.
That just really taught me a lot about respect. You know, it was a great place to grow up. Had a, a really good bunch of friends. You were very grounded, so, and, Uh, fairly successful with my sporting career back and at school days and ran at the national titles and swam at the state titles and it was, Yeah, I read you were almost gonna make it in the rugby sevens as well, like, I mean, you had a really.
Promising career as a sports person. Like what’s going on, , why? That’s funny story with that. Sevens, We’ll come back to that in a sec, but, Okay. I think, you know, having that determination with sport, I took that into music and, and, um, it was, for me it was the same concept that you had, you know, if you wanna be successful, then you’ve gotta be really determined to make it, and you’ve gotta really try hard and put a lot of effort.
To, to make it work. So you mentioned lyrics before. I think that really comes down to what music I was listen, listening to at the time. Um, what I got into, What were you listening to at the time? Neil Young. I really started listening to a lot of Neil Young when I was 19. I never heard of Neil before that.
And I remember going to a party and, and one of his songs that I’m saying to someone, Who’s this guy? It was like Neil Young. And from that moment it was like, Wow, I just got all these music and, and listened to it. And Neil stuff is, A motive, you know, it’s, um, it’s deep, it’s dark, it’s sad, you know, it’s, uh, it’s got a lot of emotion to, in his music, both the lyrics and the music.
Yeah, that’s right. So it had a lot of emotion. So I think I was really inspired by that. So maybe that sort of set me along the way that I was. But I also, I think I also used, um, a lot of things in my own life. And when I wrote lyrics, I really sort. I sometimes put myself in someone else’s shoes to write from their experience what they went through or, um, but, you know, look, I lost my dad when I was 18.
He was, he was 47 when he had had a heart attack and died. That was a big thing for me. I can imagine. Yeah. A really tough thing for me to get through. So I’ve struggled for, um, five years or so, my early twenties, a really. Kind of a difficult time. I probably suffered a little bit of depression, uh, that I didn’t realize I had, but I think later in life I kind look back and it went well.
Yeah, I had some depression with that. Just I think a lot of sadness, you know, that I wasn’t coping with. How was that playing out in you? You talk about depression, was it also some anger and confusion, or was it more like a apathy and kind of lack of motivation? I was angry at first. I think when, when he was taken I, I.
18. I would just started to get to know. As a friend and not a father. And I remember going out on my birthday and I had my first drink with him, and we started to talk as mates and then two months later, yeah, he, um, he had a heart attack outta the blue and was taken. So I was, I was angry for a while because, um, of what had happened and think, think that’s, that’s an emotion you go through when you suffer a loss like that.
Yeah. Uh, and then I think the, the sadness kicked in and, you know, that, um, struggling to really know what I wanted to do with my life at that stage. And now I. I kept going with athletics for a while and ran at the Commonwealth Games trials and Wow. Had trained really hard, but then got a, um, a flu before that, uh, went down back in the day when flights were quite expensive and I couldn’t afford them.
I caught a bus from Brisbane to Sydney to compete at the, the trials. Oh God. I think I traveled Thursday night and arrived on the Friday morning early, and then they said, Oh, you’re running tonight. So I was completely exhausted. Bombed out. Oh no. Yeah. Went back and played rugby again for a while, then came back to athletics for a little bit.
So I was this kind of a little bit lost in not knowing what I wanted to do, and eventually kind. Got into studying natural medicine, which I really, that was kind of stable for me and I loved it. And you know, I wanted to work with sports men and women when I was finished with my career. So that was really where I was.
I kind of found some stability with that. Yeah, sounds like a good, clear direction. Sounds like something you know, mum and dad be proud of and a smart move. It was good until I met a friend of mine, Charlie Clark, who. We were both, um, studying together and Charlie just came into my room one day and said, You know what?
I’m gonna learn the guitar. I’ve always wanted to do it, and I’m gonna go get some lessons and, and that’s what I’m going to do. And I thought, Gee, that sounds cool. I’ve never thought about doing music, but that sounds really great. So maybe I might do the same. So as it turns out, I actually got a couple lessons and, and he, he never did, but he’s the reason that I got started and two years later, Charlie had an aneurysm that passed away too.
So are you joking? You know, in, in the space of, um, what was it, four or five years? I’d lost two really important people in my life. And, um, I named my first boy Charlie after, after him. But I, I believe in fate and I believe that, you know, I was meant, Meet Charlie and, uh, and he was meant to get me playing guitar, and, and that’s how it happened, you know, so it’s a, it’s an interesting thing, but that was probably, you know, our destiny to meet each other and, and here I am today.
Isn’t that incredible that these two tragedies in your life are probably what unlocked such raw emotion? Because your lyrics like, They really are so special and that’s what I was excited to chat to you about today cuz I kept thinking in my head, How can a, a sporting, you know, guy suddenly be able to pour these lyrics out?
I mean, if I walked into a pub after a rugby match tonight and pulled some of the blokes aside and said, Okay, come on, write me a poem. About your emotions, Sarah. Write some, some nice emotive lyrics for me. Yeah. You might not get, you might not get the result you’re looking for. How long did it take, you say, that first album I, I spoke about, but there’s lots of incredible songs on there that have beautiful lyrics.
How did you get those out of your brain? I spent a couple years getting the hang of riding. A song first and well, I did an independent album called The Game, so I kind of had two bites at this, which was a nice way of doing it. Okay. I had an independent, um, album called The Game. Yep. Which I did in, um, 2000 I think it was.
And then based off the strength of that album, I got some interest from Sony and, um, some other things that happened in the industry where I won a competition and other. Just started to sort of roll forward. Okay. And then when Sony signed me, they said, Look, we love the game, but we’d like to rerecord it and, and rerecord some of these songs and try and improve them.
And so it was a good opportunity for me to take that, you know, with both hands and go, Well look, I know these guys, they’re a massive company and, and they will actually take me as far as I can. So it was a. It’s a scary step from being an independent artist to then go and sign to a major label and you hear lots of stories.
Yeah. Suddenly the pressure goes up. Yeah. So for me, I felt the pressure of trying to do something good, but we, look, we, we, we had another go at a couple of these songs, uh, songs like So Beautiful and, um, you know, that song. Became a really big hit, you know, and um, I think having a go the first time of doing an album, then having another chance of doing it again with some of those songs, I dunno whether made it easy, but it just gave me a second chance of having a go and try and improve those.
But I really spent a lot of time. Really focusing on lyrical, lyrical content. I think lyrics are, are the thing that, that people really connect to in a song. And it can really take you back in time, as you said before, it takes you back to your, to your old shitty little car. You know? So that’s the beauty of having a song that means something to someone.
And I think lyrically, I, I really tried to write songs that were. There were a little different, uh, to what was around at the time and, and that that worked. You know, songs that like so beautiful for example was, it’s a beautiful song, but it’s, there’s, there’s a fair bit of negativity in that. So I tried to write something that was, had this really kind of, um, in your face who you are.
And what you mean and all these different things, but in a really beautiful way. Yeah. So it doesn’t sound too bad, you know? Oh, that just would’ve been such an amazing rocket ship to be on and such a journey. How old were your children at this point? So Charlie was still a bubba at this point, and Pedro probably hadn’t come along yet.
Uh, Pedro wasn’t around at that stage. So Pedro was born in 2007. So, but Charlie, he was little. He traveled the world. We went to. America, Russia. Japan all through Europe, and he came on most of those trips as a little baby, obviously can’t remember a lot of it. Right. So the three of you went around, your wife, him, you, and you traveled and toured together.
Yeah. What was that like in those early parenting years? I mean, your wife at the time would’ve probably been doing the lion share of all the parenting. Yeah. Well, look, we, we had, um, had some support from, from family and, um, we had some nannies that we could get. So, I mean, The, the nice thing about, you know, when you have little bit success, you can actually have a bit of money to, to spend on and nanny.
Yeah. And some help. And we needed it because, you know, that that stage there was, everyone wanted a piece of me and it was, and you are pulled in every direction, you know, and you’re playing so many shows. And I think it took us a while just to get the hang of what was happening because it was. It happened so quickly.
We did four shows at a, at a pub in Balmain, where I think it was like 300 people. That’s where I grew up. I was definitely at one of those shows. Yeah, I was a Balmain girl, so I was in the crowd. That was the first one that was kind of, they all just sold out, and then the next tour we did was just, Went crazy and they just, the guys, they just kept adding shows on and shows on the shows and it was like, it just, you know, we, we started off doing 20 shows, ended up, ended up being 40 on that tour.
So it was just so many kept getting added in. Wow. It was massive. I think I lost my voice three times on the tour, so it was, Oh my goodness. It was tough and it was very exciting at the same time. And so how has raising a family. Impacted the way you write and record and perform. Um, family always comes first.
So we, you know, I try to work around family as much as I can. And was that a clear decision? Like was that something like you had this crazy rocket ship with these albums, Was there a point where you went, Right, okay, something’s gotta change here. This is not Yeah. On, on the third album, I really. Back things off a little bit.
You know, I wasn’t kind of looking for the commercial success that we’d had on the first two albums. I was kind of happy not to have it and just to sort of back things off because it was so crazy. And you know, from 2003 to 2009, there was a six year period or something that was like, just super busy and then kind of backed things off a little bit.
Um, and then the, uh, you know, I did the, the fourth album, Blue Sky Blue was done in la and then after that I took six years. Before the next album. I did a few, few tours, but no new music in that time. It was just really six years off to to spend time, had a marriage break up and just needed to spend time with my boys.
They were the main priority for me at that stage. So I still toured around when I had them and when I didn’t have them. And that was the best thing because I mean, look, you know, family comes first and I heard stories of, you know, like, I think I heard somewhere Lion or Richie, It might have been. He was just, The whole time and you know, only talked to his kids once Skype came in.
We talk to them on Skype, we’d never see them. And I’m thinking, that’s crazy. Like why, why would you miss that? You know, for me, I think when people are on the deathbed, especially men on the deathbed, they, their greatest regret is not spending enough or more time with their family and their kids. Yeah. And so I’m lucky as I’ve done that, and I especially cuz dad died, for me that was a real, real wake up call for me to go make sure.
That you spend time and, you know, dad was working on probably that generation where they worked a lot and they didn’t spend a lot of time with the kids. So, you know, I kind of missed a lot of that. And, uh, so this time around I didn’t, I didn’t, well, you know, my time, I didn’t wanna miss on that with the, with the boys.
And so, I mean, you have been through a roller coaster. When you look at the last 20, 30 years, divorce, remarrying having another child during that, what would you say some of your toughest periods were? Uh, well, it’s lots of tough periods in there, really . Um, it’s hard to really 0.1 out, but I think. The main thing that I’ve tried to do is to always remain positive.
Yep. And, um, never become cynical or negative or, um, you know, everything I, that I look at, I try to really just keep it in a very. positive tone the whole time. You mentioned the Arias before. I’ve had 17 nominations for the Arias. I’ve never won an aria, so I’ve gone, I could look at that in two different ways and I could go, Oh wow, that’s so bad.
You know, No one’s ever voted for me to win or that, No, I haven’t got enough votes to win. Or I could go, Hang on a second. Is that the most votes never to win? Is that a record? That’s a record. There you go. So I’m looking at, there’s a winner right there, right? There’s positive. So, you know, in a way I’m kind of going, I don’t think I’ll ever win one.
So I’m kind of going, doesn’t matter cuz that’s still the best that’s that anyone’s ever done. So I’m probably, you could say I’m the biggest loser of the, in the Ari’s history, which is, I still a positive you, but I’m just making that as an example. You know what I mean? You can, you can sort of let that get you down or you can go, well this is what it is.
Everything that you do in life is, is, you know, life does go on. You have to keep your attitude, attitude’s, everything. And tell me about your attitude towards parenting. Tell me what kind of a dad you are. Are you, It sounds like you’re very hands on the fact that you took six years off. Are you the disciplinarian?
Are you the absolute pushover? Give us a snapshot. Ah, I’m a little bit of pushover, but I, but I’m also kind of got my. You know, my boundary, where I, where I won’t go beyond, you know, it definitely hands on dad. And um, you know, right through primary school when the boys were there, I had the headmaster come up to me and say, Mate, you’re the best out I’ve ever seen.
You are so hands on from that. I’ve never seen anyone do it. I used to come into school in the morning and I would play handball with the boys and their mates every morning. I would do that and I talk to my boys now and they’ve got really great memories of that. You know, I, I, I’m firm on, on the kids, but I kind of let them have a bit of fun too, you know what I mean?
Like, you, you don’t wanna be Yeah. Getting stuck into free range kids all the time for any little mistake that they make. It’s cuz kids make mistakes. and how has it been having a daughter, Satie, who’s now three after raising two boys? You’ve, you’ve, you’ve gone again. Here I go. I’m putting my hands through my hair right now going, My God.
Got that boys. Oh my God. Girls are, Yeah. She’s, um, she’s a bit of a teenager. She’s, she’s very determined. Anything we say or do or if we ro on her, she just doesn’t. She is not scared of us at all. Yeah. We’re a bit scared of her. I thinks what, what the problem is. But, uh, look, she’s great. She’s a really beautiful little girl and she’s very caring.
I just, I think it’s different because boys were easy. You know, I could relate to boys being a dad and you, you’re kicking the footy or you’re playing army man or whatever you’re doing, and it’s just, you’re used to doing that with a girl. It’s very different the way they play. And you know what, what her interest.
Dresses. I have to get Yeah. A dress and put a dress on her and pick a dress and help her pick a dress. And so, you know, it’s like, it’s, it’s a very different thing, but it’s really, it’s beautiful having one of each for. Wait till she makes you paint your nails or she’ll paint your nails for you. She’ll wanna do your, your makeup and then she’ll make you wanna leave the house in it and you’ll do it because that’s just what, That’s
That’s right. Don’t wanna let her down and see the disappointment on the face. Let’s just hope she doesn’t do that before a show. Hey, I think all the, all the people, all the parents in the audience would melt and go, Yep. We know exactly what’s happened before the show. You big bloody pushover. Exactly. How has having kids helped unlock some of that creativity for you?
Because I look at it in two ways. Not being musical myself, part of me thinks, oh, you know, having children because there’s just so much immense love and deep emotion flowing. Surely that would be great for writing music. But then the other part of me thinks, Oh my God, like you. Ted, your elbows deep in nappies and whatnot.
The last thing you wanna do is like, put pen to paper. How do you find the, the writing with the kids and, and unlocking your creativity with a busy family? I find, um, having the kids and being creatives have been very limiting, especially. Three kids now, it’s, it’s, um, it’s not getting any easier. I’ve got a studio that I can go and get myself into and get things done, but I tend to try and write things quickly in a short period of time, have a break, and then I might jump into the studio and demo them up and then write some more and demo up again.
So it’s kind of like a. I do it in really small chunks, uh, where before kids, I had all the time in the world. Yeah, okay. You’d come home whenever it was and you’d just pick up the guitar, play right through the night. Um, get up in the morning, do the same thing, and you’d spend all day just trying to write songs.
That’s impossible. For me to do that now. Yeah. So it really is a matter of having a chat to my wife and go, Look, I’ve gotta go to the studio, I’ve gotta do this. I’ve gotta try and write some songs. I need to spend this to fix this up, or whatever I need to do. And we’ve just gotta schedule it in so I can get away.
The best time is probably around Sachi sleep time, so I can scoot off. Um, I’ll give Mary hand in the morning with her and, and then I’ll, I’ll duck off and do some things. But I mean, look, I can go, It’s no real hassle of I don’t have to stay, but it’s, I think it’s the choice you make to. Yeah, to stay and, and spend time with the kids.
I think it’s really fascinating hearing how disciplined you are. And for a lot of us who aren’t in that creative industry, you kind of have this concept of, Oh, someone’s just insanely talented, or they’re not, and those insanely talented people that just all pause out. But hearing you speak today, it. Hard, bloody yakka, just like any other job out there.
And it’s a craft that you have to hone. And I think for all the mums listening, if you’ve got kids that are getting into music, I’m thinking about, one of my sons is so musical and um, I’m like, Wow, you know, there is such a dedication to that and a discipline that your sporting career probably set you up with that resilience and determination to do that.
Yeah. Oh look. It definitely did for sure. Having the sporting background was definitely gave me the determination, but I think I was born with determination anyway. You know, I’m still determined today to keep the success going and, you know, I mean, I feel, uh, very lucky and you know, that, that I’m still, um, have a great career here in, in, in this country.
You, it’s, um, Australia’s a small country, so it’s very difficult to try and, you know, keep a career going for a long time. I’ve worked hard at that. I’ve got a great management team that’s worked hard at that too. My booking agent’s been with me from day one, so there’s lots of, um, factors. Not just me, but there’s other people in my team that really, um, help me try and achieve this because it is, it’s difficult to be there and to keep that level, you know, where you’re at.
Well, talk me through your latest single, If we never dance again, tell me about the inspiration behind that. Tell me It’s not covid if we never dance again. , it feels very covid related. No, it’s definitely could be related to Covid. No, it was written before that I went to LA and Nashville and I went to do some writing for co-writing for the first time.
Cause I, I’ve always written my own songs, so I wanted to experience working with some. Songwriters, uh, from overseas. So this particular song was the second session that I did over there. And, um, basically, uh, Morgan was his name, Morgan. He, he had this part of the chorus, which was the lyrics, you know, And if we never see my face again, no, I’m still a friend that you can call and if you never hold my hand again, if we never dance again, will you fall?
He basically had the first line of that and when he did it, it was like, wow, that’s, it’s a really great start to a chorus. This is a massive course and we’ve gotta make it huge. And the chorus is really big. Not that I’ve done any justice to it today, but sounded really good to me. Well, that was kind of a little mellow version, but it’s a big chorus.
You know, when we, when he played that first little part, I was like, Wow, that was, It was really exciting. And then we kind of went in and did the verse. So this is really all about, it’s obvious. A split between someone and people that still love each other a lot, but for whatever reason you can’t be together.
But you know, when you listen to it, you could, It could be because of a death. And that’s the really sad part about it. You know, if that’s what that is. Yeah. But when we did it, it was basically just about that. You can’t be together anymore. And it, and it’s, and unfortunate as it is, um, with the love you have for each other, it’s just, it’s impossible to be together for whatever reason.
Yeah. And so the songs, you know, it’s, um, played it to a few friends in, in the industry and they, they love it. It’s really a powerful song and something that I couldn’t get outta my head for a long time when I wrote that in, in LA as well. I remember playing it, you know, every day there. I was over there for, uh, two weeks and I played it every day.
And even coming home, I was going, Well, it’s. Powerful song. So if you like the song, please. Yeah. I, I think you like this one. If we never dance again, I am putting that straight on my repeat. Do you know what I do actually? Because I really mourn the loss of CDs. Yeah. I’m sounding so old right now, but what I loved about CDs was that you were forced to repeat a whole album, and so it would get ingrained in you.
So t for everyone out there, what I’ve been doing. 2017 is I do at the start of every year, on the 1st of January, I create a playlist for that year. So like last year was 20, 20 decade drops, and then this year I’ve put down, uh, 2021. Gonna have some fun. And what I do is when I hear a song I like on the radio or on Spotify, I save it to that playlist and I build this playlist up throughout the year.
And what’s amazing is when you hear songs and repeat, you just fall in love with them. Even if the first couple of times you listen to them, they didn’t grab you. Now I’ll go back to my 2017 playlist and straight away it takes me back to studying. When I was finishing my masters and I had the songs, So mom’s listening, all the songs we’ve been talking about today, please go and add them to your playlist for the year, and I promise you, you won’t regret it.
You’ll, you’ll be like me and you’ll become an absolute Pete. Diehard fan . It is true, isn’t it? With Spotify just definitely has changed the way we listen to music. You know, I think people do tend to listen to more, Well, kids probably listen to more singles and they don’t even listen to the full song either anymore.
They keep skipping through the whole thing. I know. Or it’s, It’s either that or it’s just the chill out playlist, which you don’t really kind of take in. It’s just like a mood thing that’s in the background. As I mentioned earlier, songs can be so emotive, and I love the fact that I can play one of your songs and just instantly, even if I’ve got screaming kids in the background or I’ve just come out from a horrible situation in the house, I can put that song on and I get this visceral reaction of like, Oh, thank you Pete.
Ah, thank you for just taking me away from that shit storm at home. That’s good. I get that quite a bit too actually. I think, you know, Um, Do you, Yeah. Lots of people say, Look, your, your songs have helped me through a lot of hard times. That must be such a great feeling. Yeah. Well look, one song in particular, um, Song called Better Days.
There’s been a lot, lots of people that listen to that, you know, in better days. I love that song. When I was in Rock Campton, I played a show and a few and myself on the band. We went out for a few drinks, and the next minute I had this. Big hand on my shoulder and I turned around and was a security guard and I was thinking, Oh geez, like someone you’re in trouble.
Well, someone in the band’s done something stupid. I thought so. Oh, it’s, you’re the responsible one. Normally it’s who is the irresponsible band member? The drum or the guitarist? It’s the drum of the bass player. It’s, it’s even the drummer or the bass player. I always had the crush on the drummer. Yeah.
Well, it’s normally the drama drums. The, he, he gets in trouble all the time. So I thought, Here we go, drama’s done something stupid. We’re about to be kicked out. This guy had a, he was a big guy, had a good grip on my shoulder, and I’m thinking, Wow, this guy’s like, really I’m in trouble. You know, I turn around, he had tears rolling down his face and I’m like, No, are you okay?
And he said, Yeah, look. He said, Mate, I’ve gotta, I’ve gotta tell you that you, you have saved my life. And like, what are you talking about? He said, Everything, you know, a year ago, whatever it was that, what things had happened to him, marriage breaker, the family left. He was just like, he hit rock bottom. He’s lost his business and he was just, he wanted to end it.
He wanted to end his life. And he said one song kept me going. Uh, through that time, I would wake up in the morning and I’d play it, and then when I’d go to bed at night, I’d play it and it would get me through and I would realize that I, I’m gonna get through this and I’ll be much better for it. And it was better days.
Wow. And you know, there’s no greater compliment in the world when someone says that one of your songs has saved their life. That’s the greatest thing that you can ever hear. And I’ve heard it a few times now with some other people too. Um, and it’s a really great thing that, um, I didn’t set out to do that with that song of course, but that’s just how it’s worked out for a lot of people.
And, um, yeah, it makes me feel great that, that those lyrics have helped someone remain here. Let’s talk about creativity as a parent. Uh, you are lucky because your job happens to have a real creative outlet. How important do you think it is for us as busy, tired parents to carve out. Some time in our life for that passion, whether it be music, whether it be art sport, but that thing that gives you a buzz and has that creative outlet.
How important do you think that is? Extremely important. That’s kind of what you’re passionate about. You know, I’ve always lived my life, um, for life, not for money. To have a, an amazing job or whatever the, you know, your prestigious is like work to live. Yeah, that’s right. You, you know, you, you work to live, not live to work.
Yeah. It’s very important that I could, you know, be working for myself and like I said, have a job that could just give me this freedom and time so that I could have a good life and do things that I want to do so, and spend time with the people that I want to spend time with. And that’s been really important to me.
So that’s, that’s something. I think it’s really important when you talk about people’s passions and yeah, that’s what we are here for, really, like, you know, you don’t wanna be, like I said before, earlier, how many guys at the end of their life have said, I wish I had, have spent more time with my family. I wish I had have done this.
Wish I did that. Don’t wish do it. You know, you’ve just gotta try and do that opportunity. The song is all about that. If you, if you’re in something that you’re not happy with, and you’ve gotta get out of it, and you’ve gotta find a way to get out, it’s not just as easy as walking out of it. You gotta, you gotta work towards this, and you have to spend a lot of time planning on how you’re going to do that.
But it can happen, you know? And if you, if you plan it out and think about it, then anything’s possible. It is such a good reminder, because right now for everyone that’s sitting here listening, I’m sure we’ve all got our to-do list. I’m sure you’re listening to this, either trying to squeeze your exercise in or you’re cleaning the house or you’re driving from A to B and you can kind of go, Oh my goodness, Like it’s so hard to carve out that time or, or find the time or the money or the energy to pursue that passion.
But as you say, it’s. What makes us who we are and it’s what we look back on. So finally, Pete, to wrap up, uh, for a mom listening today, who does feel like she’s lost a piece of that joy or that passion that she once had, whether it be from music or, or from another hobby or passion. How can she reignite that passion if she’s broke, tired or time poor?
What would be like one of your recommendations for like that first step to reigniting that passion? Again, I think the best things with mums is getting time, time’s the thing, as I said earlier, you know, I want my life to have time, uh, and that’s what you need time to yourself, time that you can just forget about everyone and do what, what you need to do for yourself.
That might just be sitting down, having a cup of coffee and just having. Kid around screaming at you for an hour. Yeah. And you. In that hour. You know, I think it’s a good thing to, to dream. Dream is such a great thing. Dream about what you wanna do, what, what your passions used to be, you know, when you were leaving school, what did you want to be, Did you, did that happen?
All those things. And just to go back and reignite those, those little flames that were there years ago and to think about it. But, you know, if, if that’s possible for the moms to do that and get together with friends and. I totally agree with you, and I feel like even if it’s just an hour, a week or an hour every two weeks, where I know there’s one mum’s group up near me and they call themselves the surfing mums, and they, most of them say they’re absolutely terrible surfers, but a couple of them look after the kids while another couple go out and surf.
I know a few mums that have gone back and got singing lessons and they’re like, I am so terrible at singing, but it just brings me such joy. It doesn’t matter, does it? As long as you’re. Yeah. And I think some of us, we get in this world, it’s all about you’ve gotta be good at it. And if you’re not good at it, you’re not gonna try.
But I think with these passions and creative outlets, it’s not about whether you’re good or bad. It’s about if it brings you joy, then do it. And Pete, your music brings us so much joy, so please keep producing . Thank you. Well, I don’t plan. Finishing anytime soon. I’ve still got married to win, you know, so I’ve gotta keep going.
I get that area. I, I love playing music, you know, that think that’s the main thing for me. It’s, it’s such a buzz to play live. But no, I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. Good. Uh, and the other thing for the mums I was thinking before too, is to not fear, fear. Right. Don’t be scared of it because we all, that’s what holds us back a lot.
I don’t wanna do that. I, of course, I’m not good at it. I’ll embarrass myself to get that. I’m old, I’m too old. I’m over the don’t fear, fear. I’ll be so silly. Get into it and, and just don’t fear. Fear. Have fun. And like I said, doesn’t matter if you’re a terrible surfer. I’m not a great surfer. Yeah. I love doing it.
And it’s just amazing when you get out there and surf a lot of great surfers around. Um, but I still get to have fun when I come in. It just feels so good. And that’s the thing, you know, so whatever you’re doing, if you feel great, then that’s, that’s what you need in your life and you’ve gotta try and make that happen and, and put it in to the calendar.
If you have to do that, just put in, that’s your time where the dad has to come home and watch the kids for a bit, then, you know, that’s what you have to do. Pete Murray, thank you so much. Thank you. Nice talking to you. Now can you indulge me for one second? Yeah. Can we just sing a couple of lines of please Together?
please. Sure. Okay. Okay. Okay. You start four. Always. I’ll see you there. Four. Always roll down hand for Always Be Man. It’s breaking up between us, but I think there’s some chemistry happening here. Oh my God. I think it’s.
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