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The playlist is made of 23 different tracks including songs by Sam Fender, Lil Simz, The Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground and The Murder Capital. The playlist is a mix of different genres loved by the actor and allowing his fans to delve more into the season at the same time as him. Murphy made sure to include a few of his favourite Irish artists such as The Murder Capital.

Cillian Murphy is known to be an avid music lover, having taken part in many different bands before becoming an actor. Although the Oscar winner decided to focus on his acting career, his passion for music remains strong and the actor occasionally gets to broadcast on BBC 6 Music.

The production company Big Things was founded back in 2022 by producer Alan Moloney and Oscar winner Cillian Murphy and saw the pair make movie ‘Small Things Like These’. The film is a historical drama released in November 2024 which takes place in 1985 and follows main character Bill Furlong, played by Murphy as he slowly starts to discover the dark and disturbing secrets of his small Irish town, influenced by the Roman Catholic Church.

The movie was a a box office success, scoring a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Being the company’s first release, it sets them on a journey for more with their next production ‘Steve’ in the works. The website describes the new movie as: “a reimagining of Max Porter’s novel Shy, and traces a pivotal 24 hours in the life of a head teacher (Cillian Murphy) at a reform school for boys in rural South West England, circa 1996. Financed by Netflix, Tim Mielants directing”.

This instalment of his radio show is set to begin on 17th September, with the show running from 10pm-12pm on Sunday nights. In a press release, Murphy said that he will “share songs from all corners of his record collection and share why they hold a special place in his life.”

We’re thrilled to announce that Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition returns to 6 Music on Sundays, 10pm-12am from 17th September

His weekly nocturnal playlist sees Cillian explore music from all corners of his record collection & share why they hold a special place in his life. pic.twitter.com/s4a1zRG8Sz

— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) September 1, 2023

Murphy has previously hosted two instalments of Limited Edition in 2020 and 2021, and he has shared his excitement to return. In an interview on BBC Radio 6 with Nemone, Murphy shared, “It’s been a while, but I am thrilled to be back playing tunes on 6 Music, my favourite radio station in the world. The show will be a sound collage of new, old and limited edition tunes for your discerning ears. Can’t wait.”

Listen to the full interview with Murphy here, 1 hour and 35 minutes into the programme.

In his previous instalments of Limited Edition, Murphy has showcased his eclectic music taste, featuring artists from Carly Simon and Marvin Gaye to Pixies and Nina Simone. He shared his interest in music with NME, discussing his band, The Sons of Mr Green Genes that he formed with his brother.

Named after a Frank Zappa song, they put together experimental songs filled with “wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos.”

Speaking on why he didn’t pursue a career in music, Murphy said, “I just never thought that I was good enough really. I like to do one thing quite well.”

Despite his self-deprecating comments, The Sons of Mr Green Genes were offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz Records, based in London. He and his brother turned the record deal down however, citing artistic independence as their main reason.

Murphy’s return to BBC Radio 6 will mean a change in its current scheduling. The BBC confirmed that Don Letts will move his Culture Clash Radio show to Saturday nights from 9pm-11pm. Letts currently hosts his show in the slot that Cillian Murphy will be taking over from 17th September.

Letts’ show will replace The Blessed Madonna’s Saturday evening show, who recently made the “gutting decision” to lessen her work schedule amidst touring and recording.

These changes follow the news that Steve Lamacq will be stepping down from his Radio 6 show after 18 years.

Listen to BBC Radio 6 live here.

Coming tomorrow, 2pm BST.https://t.co/EenDATd51l pic.twitter.com/Ay9ocdlUTi

— The Smile (@thesmiletheband) July 19, 2022

Back in February director, Anthony Bryne told NME, “Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed some original stuff. I’m over the moon about all of that. The music has always been really important historically, and I was keen to bring a dramatic score into it. We’re using that much more in this season. It’s a much heavier season so the score is taking things in a very different direction.”

Talking about the music for the show, Murphy said, “You just know when a song is ‘Peaky’. The artists are outsiders. They have resisted the tyranny of the mainstream, shall we say?” Yorke and Greenwood have spent a career running from the mainstream success of the Radiohead song “Creep” and despite playing stadium shows the world over would happily wear the title of outsiders.

The Smile came into fruition over lockdown from Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood’s desire to make music together, and they soon were playing Glastonbury’s Live at Worthy Farm in 2021 with Son’s of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. The band’s debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention, was released via digital formats on 13th May 2022 and given a physical release on 17^th June 2022 via XL Recordings. The track was produced by long-time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Godrich first worked with Yorke and Greenwood on Radiohead’s second album The Bends as an engineer and then becoming co-producer on Ok Computer.

A Light for Attracting Attention received universal acclaim receiving 86 out of 100 on Metacritic and Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork saying that the album is, “unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project.”

Since their appearance at Worthy Farm, “Pana-Vision” is the fourth single to be released from the band and is the fourth track to be taken from A Light for Attracting Attention. Tyler Golsen of Far Out magazine gave the song 7.2 out of 10 saying, “The new track is the most nebulous track that The Smile have officially released so far.” The song is a definite shift in tone from the opening three tracks and showcases Greenwood’s film composer alter ego.

“Pana-vision” originally appeared on April 3 2022 with an animated video directed by Sabrina Nichols, using imagery by Yorke and Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood.

Thr Smile’s only UK show will be at London’s All Points East, tickets available here.

28/08/2020 – All Points East – London

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.

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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. Cillian says: “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.” Hear his nocturnal playlists, made for after midnight from Oct 19th for 12 weeks. You’ll be able to subscribe to the show and download them for 30 days after broadcast with BBC Sounds.

A post shared by BBC Radio 6 Music (@bbc6music) on Oct 12, 2020 at 2:26am PDT

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.