Joe Murphy of Koopa – who made UK chart history – dies aged 46

Joe Murphy, the singer and bassist who made UK chart history with his band Koopa, has died at the age of 46.

The news was confirmed by his sister Hollie on social media today (July 7), who wrote: “For those who knew him, it breaks my heart to say that my big brother, Joe Murphy has passed away. Love you big bro.”

No cause of death has been publicly confirmed.

Murphy had previously been left critically ill in 2021 after suffering a cardiac arrest while driving and crashing his car. He spent weeks in intensive care following the incident, with his sister thanking fans at the time for the “love and messages” sent to the family. It has not been confirmed whether his death was linked to that previous health emergency.

Koopa formed in 2000 in Essex, with Murphy on vocals and bass alongside brothers Ollie Cooper on vocals and guitar and Stuart Cooper on drums.

Koopa made UK chart history in January 2007 when their song ‘Blag, Steal & Borrow’ entered the UK Singles Chart at Number 31, making them the first unsigned band to reach the Top 40 with a download-only single after new rules allowed songs to chart without a physical release.

The moment was celebrated as an early example of how digital downloads could disrupt the traditional record label system. Speaking at the time, Murphy said the band had rejected approaches from labels because they “either wanted to change us too much and manufacture us or they couldn’t do anything for us that we couldn’t do ourselves”.

Koopa went on to score two further UK Top 40 singles in 2007, with ‘The One-Off Song For The Summer’ reaching Number 21 and ‘The Crash’ peaking at Number 16.

The band also opened the Isle Of Wight Festival in 2007 and they later signed with Pied Piper Records and recorded the Mark Hoppus-produced album ‘Lies Sell Stories’, which was released in 2009.

Shortly before the unexpected success of ‘Blag, Steal And Borrow’, Ollie and Stuart Cooper’s father Martin, who had invested £20,000 of his earnings into the band, died of a suspected heart attack. Their manager Gary Raymond said at the time: “It’s the greatest week of our lives and the worst week of our lives. The boys’ dad was one of the driving forces of the band.”

Tributes have since been paid to Murphy by figures from the Essex music scene. Local band The Broken Johnny’s wrote that they were “absolutely gutted” to hear of the death of a “local legend”.

Essex Rocks Creative CIC also remembered Murphy, saying he and Koopa had been “a massive part” of their formative years as promoters in the mid-2000s.