Stephen Murphy Obituary

From: David Williams

To:  Webmaster@liverpool-collegiate.org.uk

Sent: 8th February 2022

Stephen Murphy 1968/75

Steve Murphy, AKA Stephen Aintree (which was his stage name) was born on 14^th January 1957 and passed away on 19^th January 2022, aged 65 years and 5 days.

I first met Steve in September 1968, the year we both gained places at Liverpool Collegiate School. We were both placed in Form 3B, and our form mistress was Mrs. Muir, known by all the new boys as Maggie Muir. I recall her being very strict but kind, making us all feel welcome and helped us to settle into our new school.

After the first year, I was somehow elevated to the A class, which strangely became 2A, whilst Steve as far as I can recall stayed in the B stream. As a result of going into different classes in 1969, we did not see as much as each other until 1973, when we did our O Levels and went into the Sixth Form.

However, we both had a common interest in watching Liverpool F.C. matches. But whilst Steve was an only child and obviously a little spoilt, his Dad could afford to take him to Anfield in the stands, taking Steve to his first games in the 1962/63 season, when he would have been just six or seven years old. With me having two younger sisters and parents who couldn’t afford to take me to football matches, I had to wait until the 1965/66 season to go to my first games when I would have been nine years old. And whilst Steve was watching matches with his father from the luxury of the Kemlyn Road stand, I cut my teeth at Anfield in the Boys Pen with my older cousin Tommy who was four years older than me. If anyone remembers the Boys Pen at Anfield, you had to have eyes in the back of your head, because it was full of rogues and vagabonds who would steal your last penny!

Moving on to 1975, we both left the Collegiate to go our separate ways: Steve into journalism and me into banking. I recall attending my first ever COBA Annual Dinner that year as a very quiet and introvert eighteen year old. There were just three school leavers who attended that dinner at Allerton Hall: Keith Simpson, Stephen Murphy and David Williams.

As we got older, I realised we had a number of things in common. First of all, I recall the date of 25^th May 1977 vividly. I was supposed to be sitting an Institute of Bankers examination at the former Millbank College of Commerce in Tuebrook. Unbeknown to me at the time, Steve was due to sit one of his journalism exams in Preston. However, neither of us turned up for our exams that day. Why you may ask? Well, Liverpool were due to play Borussia Monchengladbach that evening in the eternal city of Rome at the Stadio Olympico, and we both felt we had to be there. That decision set my banking career back by two or three years, and I think it was the end of Steve’s career in journalism too. Did we regret it? I don’t think either of us gave it a thought!

At this point in our lives we lost contact. Steve married his first wife Colette in 1978 whilst I was still young and happy being single, and Steve moved on to other jobs, such as being a librarian and then securing a job as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence. Then, in the 1980s Steve decided to go back to college, studying to become an actor at C F Mott College in Liverpool. He had appeared in a number of productions at the Collegiate, including one memorable performance as Van Helsing in the school production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

On graduating from drama school, Steve decided to move to London, the place to be for budding actors. It was here that he met his second wife Lynn. Steve and Lynn lived together in Finchley, which was quite ironic, as Steve was a staunch left-winger and always voted Labour to his dying day. Of course, who was his local MP in Finchley? None other than the Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher! Steve was not Maggie’s biggest fan.

Before Steve moved to London, I introduced him to a Quiz League at St. Michaels’s social club in West Derby Road, Liverpool. There we played a quiz which I will never forget. One of our players was a Collegiate Old Boy called Billy Halliday, whom I was introduced to by a cousin of mine who played in Billy’s quiz team. Steve and some other friends formed their own team, and were in opposition one night when Billy got asked a question: “Billy, who wrote the book the Invisible Man?”. After a pause, as Billy didn’t know the answer, came the classic reply: “Oh, I can just see him now” replied Billy. That brought the house down, and I think they had to pick me and Steve up off the floor as we were both laughing so much!

Steve then introduced me to the Merseyside Quiz League, and I played with him for several years at the famous White Star pub in Rainford Gardens, where the Beatles used to get paid when they were appearing at the Cavern club. However, I got married in 1989 and moved to Southport, transferring from the Liverpool Quiz League, joining a team in the Southport & Formby Quiz League.

When Steve’s marriage to Lynn ended, he left London and rang me up about moving to Southport, where he has lived close to me since about 2007. As you can guess, I snapped him up right away and asked him to join my team at the Fishermen’s Rest pub in Birkdale, and he played in the team for many years until becoming too ill to play a few years ago. Whenever we left the Fishermen’s Rest, Steve would give me and other members of the team an astronomy lesson. We would gaze up at the stars for ages. I’m sure the other patrons leaving the pub thought we were either mad or had been drinking too much. He would point up at the sky on a clear night, and the conversation would go something like this: “if you look at the brightest star, that is Sirius. Then to the right of that you have got the constellation Orion. And just above that you can see Venus”. Or something like that – I am sure you get my drift. Anyhow, I had never got a question on astronomy right in my life, but a week or two later Steve was not able to play. And lo and behold I got a question on astronomy. I think I was asked “what is the more common name of the star called Canis Major?” I thought about this for a few seconds, trying to recall Steve’s stargazing on the previous Monday night. Then it came to me: the Dog Star. Correct said the question master, and I punched the air – my first ever points for an astronomy question!

The last time Steve was at my house was another memorable date: 1^st June 2019. Liverpool were playing Tottenham Hotspur in the all-English European Cup Final. As I could get the match live on my television, I invited a few friends around. Now this was a big risk, as almost every time I watched a Liverpool match with Steve, Liverpool would get beaten. Thankfully on this occasion Liverpool won, and after my guests polished off a whole bottle of my best single malt whisky, the first guest left at 2.30 a.m. which I think was Steve.

Steve Murphy had a tremendous general knowledge in a wide range of subjects: football, astronomy, science fiction (especially Doctor Who), the Beatles (he was an official and qualified Beatles tour guide), and, as you can imagine as an actor, television and films. Also, he had a vast knowledge of London, becoming a London tour guide so that he could continue working between acting jobs. However, the one thing I am grateful to him for was a phone call I got from him in 2013. After moving from London to Southport, he transferred his skills as a London tour guide to becoming a Liverpool tour guide. He told me the company he worked for were looking for new guides, and at his suggestion I attended a meeting in Bootle for prospective City Explorer tour guides. Steve said he knew I was used to doing a little public speaking (especially COBA AGMs) and so thought it maybe something I would consider. I took that as a compliment, starting learning more about Liverpool’s history and how to entertain the public with a microphone on open-top bus tours, and with his help passed out as a Liverpool tour guide in May 2013. I am still doing this job to this day, and it is the best job I have ever had. And I get paid for something I love doing!

To sum up, thanks Steve. As one of my friends said recently, you were definitely a complete one-off.

David Williams

Hon. Secretary

COBA