There are few people you’d rather sit down for food and a laugh with than Sebastian Murphy – the lead singer of Sweden’s chaotic punk outfit Viagra Boys. We met up with him at Stow, where, over plates of steaming mussels, an ex-dairy steak and some of their spectacular milk bread, he gave us an insight into his band, his life, and his slightly bizarre fascination with bog bodies.
Seb’s relationship with Manchester has had its moments. The last time Viagra Boys played here, at Albert Hall, the crowd were great but the tech team was less lucky. Halfway through the set, a couple of punters managed to spill two full drinks over the sound desk, knocking out the sound completely. Seb carried on regardless, finishing the set to a crowd who, thankfully, loved the chaos.
As plates landed – burnt onion buttered milk bread, overnight beets with smoked honey – Seb talked about his signature on-stage style. For 15 years, he’s kept it simple: Adidas trackies, no shirt, sunglasses. In Sweden, it’s known as snabb – fast fashion for people who don’t take themselves too seriously. His wardrobe at home, he said, is little more than repeated black and white shirts, much to the bemusement of his girlfriend.
Things took a weirder turn when talk escalated to bog bodies – the medieval corpses preserved in peat. Seb’s girlfriend had become obsessed with one in particular, known as The Bockstensmannen, even visiting a Swedish museum and posing for photos with a reconstruction of him. Seb got his own back by writing Bog Body, a revenge love song about falling for a different pickled corpse, complete with perfect skin and a dainty nose. A true punk rock love story.
The name Viagra Boys also has its roots in Seb’s real life. When the band first started, he was dealing with heavy amphetamine use and the side effects that came with it. Viagra was just something you carried around. When a friend jokingly suggested it as a band name, it stuck. It captured the chaotic, self-deprecating energy they were aiming for, and also served as a tongue-in-cheek comment on masculinity and vulnerability.
Food kept arriving – mussels with caramelised onion purée, a 700g ex-dairy ribeye with brown butter – and Seb talked about how much eating well means to him, especially on tour. Ordering a proper meal in a good restaurant, he said, gives him one of the best dopamine hits you can get. Sometimes even reading a menu is enough.
Food references crop up all over Viagra Boys lyrics, often without Seb even realising it at the time. From hot dog flavoured water to worms and breakfasts falling from the sky, the language of eating and drinking sneaks into his work again and again. He admitted that often he doesn’t know what a song is really about until much later – sometimes not until a journalist points it out.
Funny, self-aware, and committed to keeping life as loose as possible, Sebastian Murphy proved to be every bit as brilliant off stage as he is on it. Watch the full interview to hear more about bog bodies, fast fashion, and the art of living without overthinking it…
