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David Michael "MoonFace" Murray (born December 23, 1956 in Edmonton, London) is a British guitarist and songwriter. Murray was born of mixed Scottish and Irish descent. Known to some fans as `Moonface`, he is one of the founding members and legendary guitarists of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He joined the band just two months after their inception in 1975.
Like the band`s bassist Steve Harris, who was living a few miles up the same road, as a boy Dave was a fanatical football (soccer) player and fan (although he followed Tottenham Hotspur whereas Harris is a West Ham fan) as well as a keen cricketer. But his family was poor - his father was disabled and his mother worked part-time as a cleaner - and the family never settled anywhere long enough for Dave to establish himself in any of the schools` teams he could have played for. By his reckoning, he had been to a dozen different schools by the time he left for good at the age of 16.
The first thing he did when he made some money was buy his parents a house. His dad has since passed away but his mother still lives there to this day. Dave`s hard upbringing also helped him ride the highs and lows of his career in Maiden without ever losing his head. Dave first got interested in rock music when he was 15. He`d heard "Voodoo Chile" by Jimi Hendrix on the radio and everything changed. He got his first guitar and formed his first ever band, a trio called Stone Free, which also featured Adrian Smith (Guitar/Vocals) of Iron Maiden.
From there, Dave had played with a number of different bands before meeting Steve Harris and joining Iron Maiden for the first time in 1976. As long time fans of Maiden or people who bought The Early Days DVD will know, he was actually sacked just a few months later - after an argument with then vocalist Dennis Wilcock. Dave rejoined Adrian in Urchin, who recorded one single, "Black Leather Fantasy", before Dave upped sticks again and returned to a new Maiden without Wilcock.
Dave`s contributions to Maiden, musically, over the years have mainly been of the legato based solo variety. This can be seen in songs from their first self titled album, such as "Phantom of the Opera", to songs from their latest release A Matter of Life and Death, such as the new single "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". Dave`s unique sound and style can be clearly noticed and distinguished from Janick Gers` and Adrian Smith`s sounds. Dave has also written for the band, though not often compared to some of the other band members. Usually leaving lyrics to someone else, he has written known Maiden songs such as "The Prophecy" or even further back to "Charlotte the Harlot".
Murray and Steve Harris are the only members of Iron Maiden to have appeared on every one of the band`s albums.
In his spare time Dave is an avid golfer, as seen in the Rock in Rio DVD.
Throughout his career, Dave has used and endorsed Marshall amplifiers and Fender Stratocasters almost exclusively. His famous black `57 strat (used from circa 1976-1990) now resides in a glass case at his home. Although he has been seen with the occasional Gibson, ESP, or acoustic, Dave`s primary instrument has always been the strat. He used the DiMarzio Super Distortion and [PAF] in his strats before switching to Seymour Duncan JB`s and Hot Rails in the 1990`s.
Dave has a wife named Tamar, and a daughter named Tasha.
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