Head was born in London to parents Seafield Head, (1919-2009) a documentary-maker, and Helen Shingler, an actress (1919-2019). His younger brother is Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Little Britain star Anthony Stewart Head.
Head began acting and writing songs as a child, and by the mid-1960s had a London recording contract. He had limited success (although some of his early singles now appear on mod/psych compilations, enjoying a cult status) until he was selected by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber to play Judas Iscariot on the original album version of Jesus Christ Superstar. At around the same time he won a leading role in the Oscar-winning Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), alongside Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson. Despite these successes, he received little public attention in the next ten years (save for 1975's Say It Ain't So Joe), reappearing in the spotlight in 1984 as the star of the musical, Chess. The song "One Night in Bangkok", from Chess, featuring Head on lead vocal, became a radio hit.
After his 1984 hit "One Night In Bangkok", Head has had little attention internationally. Fluent in French, he has released some albums in that language, notably the song "Une femme un homme", a duet with Marie Carmen released in 1993 which became a radio hit in French-speaking Canada.
Some of his most recent work was in Luc Plamondon's musical comedy Cindy, in which he played Cindy's father.
Head is currently playing a character on ITV's Heartbeat.
Los Angeles
Murray Head Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the man behind a desk,
In a motel on some old boulevard
Where the view deserves a rest.
Try the phone just one more time,
Answering service comes on the line.
Will my credentials give me a start,
Or if I make a sudden movement
Is it all gonna crack wide apart ?
All they ask is my name, will I call back again?
Ooh Los Angeles and your ivy-mantled lawns
Ooh Los Angeles and your candy coated homes
In this smoothest saccharine city
Where there's the sun to say there's a shine.
Is it roasting turkeys slowly,
On a never ending line.
Or blinding ultimatums
While they buy themselves more time
Los Angeles
In the end do your prisoners fail ?
Los Angeles
How your guardian angels wail !
Los Angeles
How does your garden grow?
Old gold, Los Angeles
Your wrinkles barely show.
The lyrics to Murray Head's "Los Angeles" describe the experience of visiting the City of Angels, and the anxieties and uncertainties that come along with it. The first stanza sets the scene, with the singer leaving his passport and money with a motel desk clerk, suggesting a sense of vulnerability and reliance on external resources. He then tries to call someone, perhaps someone he knows in LA, but reaches only an answering service, leaving him wondering if his credentials will be enough to "warm somebody's heart." The uncertainty continues in the next stanza, with the singer wondering whether his movements will cause everything to "crack wide apart." He then laments the city's seeming lack of authenticity, describing it as "smoothest saccharine," where even the sun itself merely "says there's a shine." The third stanza takes a more ominous turn as the singer ponders whether the city's prisoners will fail, and describes the "golden" and "wrinkle-free" exterior that belies a darker reality.
Overall, the lyrics to "Los Angeles" capture a sense of disorientation and unease in the face of a glittering metropolis that can seem simultaneously alluring and threatening. The lyrics suggest a city that is superficial, disingenuous, and potentially dangerous. The imagery of prisoners and guardian angels implies a city that is both oppressive and in need of redemption, while the wrinkles that "barely show" suggest a façade of immortality that conceals its own decay. The song is a powerful exploration of the contrasts and contradictions of LA, a city that is at once dazzling and disorienting, and it speaks to the larger human experience of seeking out new places while also searching for a sense of home and belonging.
Line by Line Meaning
Leave my passport, and deposit,
I need to leave my passport and deposit with the man behind the desk in a motel on an old boulevard, where I can take a break and enjoy the view.
Try the phone just one more time,
I'm trying to call someone, hoping for a start, but I'm only getting the answering service.
Answering service comes on the line.
The answering service picks up and asks me for my name before they transfer me.
Will my credentials give me a start,
I wonder if my qualifications will be enough for me to succeed in this city.
Will they warm somebody's heart?
I hope my qualifications will impress someone and make them warm up to me.
Or if I make a sudden movement
I'm afraid that if I make a sudden move, everything will fall apart.
Is it all gonna crack wide apart ?
I'm worried that everything will fall apart completely.
All they ask is my name, will I call back again?
The answering service only asked for my name and I'm not sure if I should call back again.
Ooh Los Angeles and your ivy-mantled lawns
Los Angeles has beautiful gardens and ivy-covered walls.
Ooh Los Angeles and your candy coated homes
Los Angeles has pretty and happy-looking homes.
In this smoothest saccharine city
This city is full of smooth people, sugar-coated promises, and temptation.
Where there's the sun to say there's a shine.
Los Angeles is sunny most of the time.
Is it roasting turkeys slowly.
In Los Angeles, things can move very slowly, like a turkey roasting on a spit.
On a never ending line.
This slow pace seems to last forever.
Or blinding ultimatums.
At the same time, there are sudden, demanding decisions that one has to make in Los Angeles.
While they buy themselves more time.
These decisions can lead to only more time being wasted.
Los Angeles
This is Los Angeles.
In the end do your prisoners fail?
I wonder if Los Angeles will make me its prisoner, and if so will I succeed in this city.
Los Angeles
This is still Los Angeles.
How your guardian angels wail !
Despite being sunny and happy on the outside, Los Angeles has problems hidden behind this facade, and the guardian angels (law enforcement) can't solve all of the city's problems.
Los Angeles
Still, this is again Los Angeles.
How does your garden grow?
What grows in the gardens of Los Angeles? Are they really happy, or do they have a secret?
Old gold, Los Angeles
Los Angeles is sometimes called 'Old Gold.'
Your wrinkles barely show.
Despite being old, Los Angeles still shines like no other place.
Contributed by Xavier M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.