CHRIS MURPHY
Chris Murphy is The Quiet Man, strong, silent … He’s a dangerous mother******.
Chris became part of this book by pure accident. I’d just finished an interview with Dave Davies. Afterwards, he went one way and I went the other. An hour later, my phone rang. Dave had bumped into his old buddy Chris Murphy in his local off-licence. He hadn’t seen him for donkey’s years. Then he told me about his reputation. He is The Man, he said. I admit, I was intrigued.
I met Chris in a pub in Essex, and instantly knew what Dave meant. While he chatted, Chris smiled a lot – but never with his eyes. He never came across as mad – just slightly unhinged. I felt Chris had more depth to him than he was letting on. He was secretive about what he did and how he did it. There was something about him, something I couldn’t put my finger on. After spending a couple of hours in his company, I was wiser – but not much.
What is his profession? Gangster? Security? SAS?
Whatever he is, he ain’t letting on. And I ain’t asking …
Well, of course I did – but decorator? Decorator, my arse!
BACKGROUND
I’m an Essex boy. I’ve got a younger brother and a sister.
That’s all I want to say about my background.
LIFE OF CRIME
I’ve been away. Two years, one year, I did a four-stretch for malicious intent. Violence. The last one was six months for having weapons.
DO YOU THINK PRISON IS A DETERRENT?
I don’t know. To some it might be but, in general, no. It’s a learning process. For youngsters, I think it might be a deterrent but when you’re older, no.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?
Under certain circumstances, yeah. Nonces, people like that, definitely. I’d like to fucking do it.
WHAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED YOU FROM A LIFE OF CRIME?
I don’t think anything would have deterred me. Some things are meant to be. I’m not a nine-to-five person, I never could hold down a normal job. I realised that when I was about 15 years old and helping my old man in the building trade. It was fucking hard work and I don’t like that! I suppose that’s why most people get into crime – why go out working hard for five or even seven days a week when you can make the same amount of money in half-an-hour?
So why bother?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN STABBED/SHOT?
Yes. Both. I was shot in the leg when I was 20. And I’ve been stabbed five times. The stabbings happened when I was working on the door when I was younger – the shooting was something else, something I would rather not go into. How does it feel when you’re shot? It hurts! But it’s strange, you know straight away you’ve been shot but you don’t feel immediate pain, it comes on a few seconds later and you’re thinking, Fuck, I’ve been shot. And the speed of that bullet, when it hits you it burns you.
I’ve been trained in the use of most small firearms and some other weapons and I know what they can do. But we won’t go into that either! I’ve also trained for years in the martial arts, karate and the Korean martial arts. Your mind is your most dangerous weapon. I always weigh up situations – I never go into anything hot, never.
SCARIEST MOMENT?
I got stabbed when I was abroad, miles from anywhere and no one around to help. That was scary because you don’t know what’s coming on top at the time. I thought I was going to die … well, I thought I was dead. I was stabbed in the back. It feels like someone’s punching you but as soon as that knife comes out you know. If they left the fucker in there, that’s all right – but when they take it out, that’s what hurts.
When I was stabbed, I couldn’t move and I had trouble breathing. That was scary – fighting for breath.
SADDEST MOMENT?
My wife killed herself in 1995 – and she meant to do it. We’d split up about a week before; we’d been arguing a lot, usual things. I picked up my son and took him swimming then dropped him back and I told him to go and see where Mum was, so he went upstairs and said, ‘She’s asleep on the bed.’ So I said, ‘Don’t wake her – tell her I’ll come back later on, pick you up and take you for a meal and that.’
About three hours later, I called my daughter. She told me, ‘Mummy’s dead.’
What I didn’t realise is that she was already dead when I dropped my son off. She’d already shot herself. So my son was in the house on his own with her for four hours. He was only ten at the time. He didn’t have a clue because she was lying on her side with a pillow over her – she’d shot herself through the pillow. It looked like she was asleep but she’d shot herself through the heart with one of my guns!
WHAT RATTLES YOUR CAGE?
Rudeness. I don’t see any reason for rudeness in people – politeness doesn’t cost you anything.
WHAT FRIGHTENS YOU?
My mum! Every time I go round there she finds me another job to do.
DESCRIBE A HARD BASTARD
Hardness comes from years – not how big you are. It all comes from up here – it’s all in the mind.
NAME A HARD BASTARD
Roy Shaw. A man not to be messed with.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?
I’d like to move abroad. I’d like to live in Malta. I like the Maltese people. I’d like it if my daughter wanted to come, too, but it’s up to her; she’s grown up now – she’s got a kiddie of her own. But that would be nice – us all together out there in the sun.
ANY REGRETS?
Yeah, getting caught! I haven’t retired as such but let’s say I’m winding down … I think you have to realise after a certain amount of time that you aren’t as young as you were, all that kind of thing. I think you realise when you’re older that a lot of the things that you argued about when you were younger just aren’t worth arguing about. I do think as you get older you definitely get wiser. You think about things a bit more.
What you do think about is the consequences, the repercussions of your actions as you get older. When you’re young you don’t give a toss. Getting five or ten at that age – getting five or ten at my age is something entirely different, know what I mean?
When you’re older, you’ve settled down, you’ve got the house and all that; you don’t want to give it up. Inside, you’ve got three meals a day, a roof over your head … in many ways, it’s worse for the people you love on the outside. Even so, I don’t want to go back to that.