Olly Murs

**Oliver Stanley** "**Olly**" **Murs** (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor.

Murs rose to fame after finishing as the runner-up in the sixth series of X Factor in 2009, and has since achieved 3 #1 albums and 4 #1 singles in the United Kingdom.

He was signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Music in 2010. Murs is currently signed to Epic Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States.

He was the opening act for One Direction during the North American leg of their *Up All Night Tour*. Murs is close friends with Niall Horan.

## Early Life

Murs was born in Witham, Essex. He is the son of Vicky-Lynn and Pete Murs. He has a twin brother, Ben Murs, and a sister, Fay Murs. Two of his paternal great-grandparents were Latvian.

Murs attended Howbridge Junior School in Witham and Notley High School in Braintree, Essex where he was a striker in the school's football team. He also went to school with Next of Kin and played semi-professionally for Isthmian Division One North side Witham Town between 2006 and 2008. He excelled for the club's reserve team during the 2006/07 season, scoring 12 goals in 13 appearances and winning the Ridgeons Reserve Teams Cup. He made three first team appearances in the following season, scoring once, but was forced to give up his football career following an injury.

Before *The X Factor*, Murs worked as a recruitment consultant at Prime Appointments in Witham, and performed as part of a covers band called the Small Town Blaggers with a friend, Jon Goodey. He also appeared on the game show *Deal or No Deal* in 2007, where he won £10; he returned for a celebrity version of the show in 2012, which made him the only person to appear on the show twice.

## Musical Career

In 2008, Murs travelled to Australia, backpacking alone along the east coast for three months. Upon return, Murs decided, having tried out unsuccessfully in the past twice, to audition for *The X Factor* again. Murs finished as the runner-up in the sixth series and was signed to Syco Music in February 2010.

His self-titled debut album was released on 26 November 2010 and spawned the hit singles "Please Don't Let Go" and "Thinking Of Me", which reached #1 and #4 on the UK charts respectively. Two more singles, "Heart On My Sleeve" and "Busy", found moderate success.

Murs second album In Case You Didn't Know was released on 25 November 2011 and spawned two #1 singles "Heart Skips A Beat" and "Dance With Me Tonight". The third single "Oh My Goodness" was a top 20 UK hit.

Murs released his third album "Right Place Right Time" on 23 November 2012. It spawned his most successful single to date, "Troublemaker", which was a UK #1, a worldwide top 5 hit and reached #25 in the United States. It also featured American rapper Flo Rida. Murs released five more singles from the album, with third single "Dear Darlin' also becoming a worldwide top 5 hit.

His fourth album "Never Been Better" was released 21 November 2014 and became Murs third consecutive UK #1 album. He released four worldwide top 20 singles before re-releasing the album as a special edition on 20 November 2015. Two more singles were released, to moderate success.

Murs announced his fifth album would be titled "*24 Hrs"* and would be released on 11 November 2016. The first single "You Don't Know Love" became a top 15 hit in the United Kingdom. The second single "Grow Up" was released on 12 October 2016. Murs premiered and released a lyric video for "Back Around" on 4 November 2016.

## Relationship With One Direction

Olly Murs was a co-host of The Xtra Factor in 2010, during the seventh series, when One Direction were contestants. Murs also served as the band's opening act for their 2011 *Up All Night Tour*. Since then, Murs has maintained a close friendship with the band, in particular with Niall. Murs has been seen golfing with Niall and Harry, bowling with Harry and his family, and dining out with Louis and his then-girlfriend Eleanor Calder. Niall often attends Murs's concerts. After Niall's debut solo televised performance of his first single This Town in October 2016, Murs tweeted "Superb performance on @TheGNShow last night @NiallOfficial you ledge!! Such a beautiful song mate.. love it love it love it #ThisTown". Niall also tweeted support for Murs's single "Grow Up" posting a video announcing the song's release.

Murs appeared alongside Niall on a special *Stand Up To Cancer* edition of Gogglebox on October 21, 2016.

## Personal Life

Murs lived with his parents Vicky and Pete until Easter 2012 when he moved into a 5 bedroom house of his own in Toot Hill, Essex. He is a supporter of Manchester United.

He also has a twin brother named Ben, who has been estranged from the family since 2009. Murs stated on *The Jonathan Ross Show* in March 2015 that Ben was also estranged from their parents, and that the incident stemmed from him not being able to attend his brother's wedding because of X Factor commitments.

Murs was in a relationship with model and property manager Francesca Thomas from 2012 to 2015.

## Discography

* *Olly Murs* (2010)
* *In Case You Didn't Know* (2011)
* *Right Place Right Time* (2012)
* *Never Been Better* (2014)
* *24 Hrs* (2016)

## Concert tours

### Headlining

* *Theatre Tour* (2011)
* *In Case You Didn't Know Tour* (2012)
* *Right Place Right Time Tour* (2013)
* *Never Been Better Tour* (2015)

### Supporting

* *One Direction's Up All Night Tour* (USA leg) (2012)
* *Robbie Williams's Take the Crown Stadium Tour* (2013)