The Mullahs were one of the most outstanding bands of the 1980s Cambridge Music scene.  The had what can only be described as an unstable membership and sadly this led to them missing out on a richly deserved major record deal.  They were introduced to producer Paul “Doc” Stewart, who was well known for Indie and Psychobilly chart success and he sign them to a a production and publishing deal, took them into Triple X Studios and made” Sing To Be Free” c/w “Die For Love”.  The intention as to make a double A side single, licence this to a label in return for a three album deal.

The negotiations for this were well under way with Stewart talking to two Indie labels and one major, a number of DJs had heard the tracks and responded favourably.  Then the bombshell news that a key member of the band wanted to leave not just the Mullahs, but the music business led to the project collapsing.  The tragedy of this is that the pre release copies of the track showed the single had a great chance, with influential Cambridge music magazine “Scene and Heard” calling “Die for Love” “The perfect pop song”  Sean Murphy the lead singer, who started his career singing in working mens clubs in his native Newcastle, was described by Doc Stewart as “Without doubt the finest singer, with the finest voice I have ever worked with”.  Stewart who has also had a career as an award winning photographer also shot the publicity and record cover images of the band.

However the tracks are really great, and to mark the 40th anniversary of Doc Stewart’s production career and 35 years of 1•11 MUSIC as a publishing and production company, they’re being released and we hope you enjoy them. 

The Mullahs were at the time of these recordings

Sean Murphy… Vocals

Sam Dowson… Backing Vocals

Simon Bishop… Drums

Stephen Herwitt… Guitars

Jon Whitamore… Sax

Graham Wilde… Bass

Words and images ©copyright 1•11 MUSIC/Paul Stewart Media 2023