Cillian Murphy is returning to BBC Radio 6 for a 12 part series called ‘Limited Edition’. These are songs for “after midnight”, from Cillian’s own personal collection. You can tune in between 12 and 2 am, from Monday 18th October, to hear a mix of genres including afrobeat, jazz, electronica and poetry, and a range of artists including Patti Smith, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.
Exciting news…
Cillian Murphy is making a welcome return to 6 Music and BBC Sounds.
For a new 12-part series called Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition.
It launches on Monday 19th Oct (12am-2am). pic.twitter.com/gEvU2HcISE
— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) October 12, 2020
Speaking about his new programme in a press release, Cillian said: “Over the last few months, radio in general, and 6 Music specifically, has kept me going, so it’s lovely to be able to give something back in the form of these shows.” This has been a common comment levelled at radio during the months of isolation and lockdown. Murphy’s timeslot, from midnight to 2am, seems especially to establish and welcome companionship for those who don’t or can’t sleep during those hours.
Samantha Moy, the Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, declared that “we consider Cillian part of our family, so it’s a joy to have him back home on 6 Music. His passion for music is inescapable, his story telling sublime and I know he will make Sunday nights very special for 6 Music listeners.” Indeed, for Murphy, this is a return to familiar ground; he has been presenting on 6 Music since 2013. One of his earliest radio appearances was ‘The Sound Of Cinema’, where he played some of his favourite musical moments in cinema, including Ennio Morricone, Alexandre Desplat and The War on Drugs. He presented a one-off, memorable Christmas special in 2018, tracking some of his favourite songs of the year. Following these appearances, he stood in for Guy Garvey with ‘Cillian Murphy’s Music Mixtape’ in 2019, which you might have caught again this year as it was rebroadcast during the early weeks of lockdown.
His collection is usually pretty varied, but there is a strong 1960s influence that always seems to run through his choices. Across all of these radio appearances, he has maintained the same calm vibe with his gentle voice and his chilled taste, all of which points to this new series being perfect for Murphy’s radio persona.
Cillian Murphy is best known and well loved for his role as Tommy Shelby on critically acclaimed tv show Peaky Blinders – in fact some newer fans of the show might be surprised to learn that Murphy is not originally from Birmingham at all, but from County Cork, Ireland. Before his acting career, Murphy was the guitarist for a number of bands, with his brother Páidi, who was still in secondary school at the time. Their music career was poised to take off, but they never signed the contract offered by Acid Jazz Records. During his first term as a law student at University College Cork, Murphy had set his sights on acting, and the rest is history.
In advance of the premiere of ‘Limited Edition’ next Monday, you can catch Murphy on Steve Lamacq’s show on 6 Music, this Thursday, 4-7pm.
