1) British hardrock ba… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) British hardrock band
2) Dutch guitarpop band
3) British folk group
1) Blue Murder was the hard rock brainchild of ex-Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes. The original 1988 lineup of the band, also included ex-The Firm bass player Tony Franklin and drummer Cozy Powell (although he was almost immediately replaced by Carmine Appice). Ray Gillen was also briefly in the 1988 line-up before Sykes decided to take the vocal duties himself in addition to guitar.
Hoping to capitalize upon the success of Whitesnake's multi-platinum 1987, Geffen Records signed Sykes to form a new band. After auditioning several vocalists (including Tony Martin and Ray Gillen), Sykes was encouraged to handle vocal duties himself.
Their self titled debut did moderately well, peaking at #69 on the Billboard Top 200, and spawned the singles "Jelly Roll" (#15, Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks) and "Valley of the Kings", which received substantial airplay on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.
In 1993, the follow-up Nothing But Trouble was released. While the original lineup recorded much of the album, Sykes' hesitancy at handing the vocal chores resurfaced; he recruited Baton Rouge singer Kelly Keeling. After spending more than a year laying down the vocal tracks for the album, John was not convinced that the vocals were to his liking. He proceeded to go over the lead vocal tracks with his own until Kelly had only one lead vocal track left, "I'm On Fire".
Perhaps stemming from Keeling's ouster, Franklin and Appice left midway through the recording sessions, to be replaced by bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy O'Steen.
As Nothing But Trouble was released well after the grunge explosion of 1991, it received virtually no promotion from Geffen. The album's lead-off track "We All Fall Down" reached #35 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, but the album was a commercial failure.
A live recording, Screaming Blue Murder, was to be the band's final release before their 1992 split.
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2) Blue Murder was a Dutch band formed after the split up of Soviet Sex back in 1982. The members on the first albums are:
MAARTEN VAN DER PLOEG: voc, guitar
PHIL VAN TONGEREN: voc, synthesizer
RYU TAJIRI: voc, synthesizer
ROGIER VAN DER PLOEG: guitar
ANNEMIEK LELYVELD: bass
MONIEK VOULON: drums
Also on drums on the latter albums: Jos den Brok, and in 1986 Kors Eijkelboom. In 1987 the group falls apart. In the Amsterdam Melkweg arena was their final concert.
Blue Murder plays guitarpop, like Talking Heads.
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3) Blue Murder is an occasional folk supergroup, containing various members of Swan Arcade, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Waterson:Carthy and The Watersons.
Billy
Blue Murder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out of Frisco
Running scared he's moving from the heat
The electric chair was the sentence there
But they didn't take the time or care to see
That it wasn't Billy
Chorus
But they can't know what's going on
They call him public enemy No. 1
But they can't know what's going on
Cruising in a car heading down the main street
To see my girl, she's waiting there for me
The cops are tailing with their sirens wailing
But the one thing they can see is there ain't
Just Billy oh no
Gonna race this car get away from here
Start a new life, there'll be no more fear for me
No no no
Chorus
They call me public enemy No. 1
But they won't know what's going on
They call me public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on with me
I'll tell you girl if we make it to the borderline
We will be free just you and me
I swear I will make you mine till the end of our time
Now Billy's got a gun and he's heading for the border
Moving fast they're almost in the clear
Police are waiting with an ambush, saying
There ain't nothing passing here, not even Billy
They're gunning Billy down in the middle of the street
Till him full of lead and his girl begins to scream no no no
Chorus
They called him public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on
They called him public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on
They called him public enemy No. 1
Gotta shoot to kill cause he's on the run
They called him public enemy No. 1
They called him Billy
The lyrics to Blue Murder's song Billy depict the story of a young man who escapes from Frisco and is on the run from the law. This young man, named Billy, is falsely accused of committing a crime that landed him a sentence in the electric chair. The song begins with Billy on the run, running scared from the authorities. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "They call him public enemy No. 1, but they can't know what's going on." This conjures the image of the media sensationalizing his case to boost their ratings, without really understanding the truth or the larger circumstances that led to Billy's predicament.
The second verse of the song introduces a second character, who is also racing down Main Street in a car, with the police hot on his tail. This second character, who we assume is singing the lyrics, is determined to start a new life with his girl, free from the fear of the police. He is frustrated with the system and the way they brand people as "public enemy No. 1" without truly understanding their story. He tells his girl that if they make it to the border, they will be free.
The bridge of the song returns to Billy's story, with him armed and making a break for the border. However, the police have set up an ambush and shoot Billy down in the middle of the street. The song ends with the haunting repetition of "They called him public enemy No. 1, gotta shoot to kill cause he's on the run, they called him Billy." It's a powerful image that leaves listeners questioning the justice system and the media's role in perpetuating fear and misunderstanding.
Line by Line Meaning
It was the midnight hour when the boy broke
It was late at night when the boy escaped.
Out of Frisco
He ran away from San Francisco.
Running scared he's moving from the heat
He's scared and on the run from the law.
The electric chair was the sentence there
He was sentenced to death by electrocution.
But they didn't take the time or care to see
The authorities didn't bother to examine the facts closely.
That it wasn't Billy
They executed the wrong person.
They call him public enemy No. 1
He's deemed as the most dangerous criminal.
But they can't know what's going on
The authorities don't understand the situation.
Cruising in a car heading down the main street
He's driving down the main street with his girlfriend.
To see my girl, she's waiting there for me
He's going to see his girlfriend who's waiting for him.
The cops are tailing with their sirens wailing
The police are following them with their sirens on.
But the one thing they can see is there ain't
The police only see Billy in the car.
Just Billy oh no
There are other people in the car besides Billy.
Gonna race this car get away from here
They plan to escape by driving fast.
Start a new life, there'll be no more fear for me
They hope to start a new life without fear.
They call me public enemy No. 1
He's now the most wanted criminal.
But they won't know what's going on
The authorities don't know the full story.
I'll tell you girl if we make it to the borderline
He promises his girlfriend they'll be free if they cross the border.
We will be free just you and me
They'll be free if they make it past the border.
I swear I will make you mine till the end of our time
He promises to love her forever.
Now Billy's got a gun and he's heading for the border
Billy has a gun and is trying to flee across the border.
Moving fast they're almost in the clear
They're almost home free.
Police are waiting with an ambush, saying
The police set up an ambush to catch them.
There ain't nothing passing here, not even Billy
They won't let them cross the border.
They're gunning Billy down in the middle of the street
They're shooting Billy in public.
Till him full of lead and his girl begins to scream no no no
They keep shooting him and his girlfriend is screaming in shock.
Gotta shoot to kill cause he's on the run
They're justified in shooting to kill him because he's escaping from justice.
They called him public enemy No. 1
He's still referred to as the most dangerous criminal.
They called him Billy
His real name is Billy.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN JAMES SYKES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sören
It was the midnight hour when the boy broke
Out of Frisco
Running scared he's moving from the heat
The electric chair was the sentence there
But they didn't take the time or care to see
That it wasn't Billy
They call him public enemy No. 1
But they can't know what's going on
They call him public enemy No. 1
But they can't know what's going on
Cruising in a car heading down the main street
To see my girl, she's waiting there for me
The cops are tailing with their sirens wailing
But the one thing they can see is there ain't
Just Billy oh no
Gonna race this car get away from here
Start a new life, there'll be no more fear for me
No no no
They call me public enemy No. 1
But they won't know what's going on
They call me public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on with me
I'll tell you girl if we make it to the borderline
We will be free just you and me
I swear I will make you mine till the end of our time
Now Billy's got a gun and he's heading for the border
Moving fast they're almost in the clear
Police are waiting with an ambush, saying
There ain't nothing passing here, not even Billy
They're gunning Billy down in the middle of the street
Till him full of lead and his girl begins to scream no no no
They called him public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on
They called him public enemy No. 1
But they don't know what's going on
They called him public enemy No. 1
Gotta shoot to kill cause he's on the run
They called him public enemy No. 1
They called him Billy
Dig This
Full album playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL045F1C96498B6D96
Mike Hughes
This entire album is just a pure masterpiece
Axwage
yes it is
VerticeAlto
Now don't esagerate... I love Blue Murder, but masterpieces are Pink Floyd songs ;-). However, I prefer Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.
Francesco Zappacosta
Exactly a masterpiece
Mark KISS
"ABSOLUTELY"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Masterful !
SouthOfTheBorderSmoker
So amazing the whole thing.
Paul Donovan
Masterpiece!!! I could listen to songs like "Billy" a million times and not get tired of it. Sykes you are amazing!
rbagel55
Watched them perform this one live. I amazed 9and almost envious) how well sykes
handles vocal and all guitar parts together. Not too many people can multitask that good--amazing musician
Kvn
Man, Sykes’ phrasing in the guitar solo starting @ 2:20 is goosebump-inducing; total ear candy.