Fifteen Quickfire Questions for . . . Stuart Murdoch
By Faber Editor, 13 September 2024
Get to know Stuart Murdoch, the author of Nobody’s Empire: A Novel, who kindly humours us with rapid responses to fifteen entirely frivolous questions.
Nobody’s Empire is the life-affirming debut novel by the Belle and Sebastian frontman.
It’s the early 1990s in Glasgow, and Stephen – music-loving romantic – has emerged from a lengthy hospital stay diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, a little-understood disease that has robbed him of any prospects of work, a social life or independent living. Meeting fellow strugglers, who the world seems to care less and less for, they form their own support group and try to get by as cheaply and as painlessly as possible.
Finding that he has the ability to write songs, albeit in a slow and fledgling way, Stephen wakes to the possibility of a spiritual life beyond the everyday. Leaving Glasgow in search of a cure in the mythic warmth of California, Stephen and his friend Richard float between hostels, sofas, and park benches. Could the trip really offer them both a new-world reinvention?
What is the best song to wake up to?
‘Age Of Consent’ by New Order.
What one meal could resurrect you from the dead?
Good bread and wine.
Who or what has most influenced your career?
Illness, wrong turns, an oversized ego and a desire to be at the party.
What song do you wish you wrote?
‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’, but I’m no Republican.
What would you change about yourself if you could?
More energy, less blues.
What is your most valued possession?
I like my bicycle. It’s not fancy, but it gets me around.
Which artist would you most like to bring back to life?
William Blake, make him Culture Secretary.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be Bruno from Fame. Or Coco. Both.
What are you most fascinated with?
God, karma, Christ, Buddhism, otherness.
What was your first job?
I sold tubs of cream door-to-door in a coastal town.
Where would you take an alien to teach them about life on Earth?
Schiphol Airport.
What do you splurge on?
Acupuncture and childcare.
How do you pass time on a long flight?
Valium, shit movies, Scrabble, looking out for the Aurora.
How do you like to celebrate success?
What is success? If it’s getting through the day, then I just want to hug my kids.
From expensive candles to bowls of brown-free M&Ms on demand, the artist’s rider is a key part of their mystique: what would yours be and why?
I’ve got a rider. It’s got pineapple juice, grapefruit juice and sparkling water on it. After shows I make Lilt for the rest of the band.
Nobody’s Empire: A Novel will be published on 10 October 2024.
The life-affirming debut novel by the Belle and Sebastian frontman.
Stuart Murdoch is the lead singer and songwriter for the iconic Glasgow-based band Belle and Sebastian. Since forming in the mid-1990s, the band has released twelve studio albums to high acclaim, including If You’re Feeling Sinister and The Boy With the Arab Strap. In 2012 Murdoch scripted, composed, and directed the movie God Help the Girl. An outspoken advocate for sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Murdoch is also an Ambassador for the Open Medicine Foundation working to promote awareness of ME/CFS.
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