# Sebastian Murphy (singer)
**Sebastian Murphy** is a Swedish-American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman and lyricist of the Stockholm post-punk band [Viagra Boys](https://www.edgepedia.org/viagra-boys).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317) Born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area, he moved to Sweden as a 17-year-old, trained as a tattoo artist, and became the band's singer after its members saw him perform a [Mariah Carey](https://www.edgepedia.org/mariah-carey) song.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317) • [2](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel) • [3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Upbringing | San Rafael, California, near San Francisco; American father who worked at a bank, Swedish mother who had moved to the United States as a young woman[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) |
| Move to Sweden | Sent from San Rafael to his aunt in Stockholm at age 17[2](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel) |
| Other profession | Trained tattoo artist, later quit tattooing entirely because he could not stand the pain[2](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel) • [3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9) |
| Recruitment | Chosen as Viagra Boys' singer after other members saw him sing a Mariah Carey song while drunk; he had never been in a real band before[3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9) |
| Albums with Viagra Boys | Street Worms (2018), Welfare Jazz (2021), Cave World (2022), Viagr Aboys (2025)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317) |
| Face tattoo | The word "LÖS" (Swedish for "loose") across his forehead[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) |
## Early life in California
Murphy grew up in San Rafael, near San Francisco. He has described the social demands of his home town as the source of his rebellion: his father was American and worked at a bank, and his mother had moved to the United States from Sweden as a young woman. In his own words, he grew up in a strict family with large plans for him, with good grades and a good college expected, and he developed what he calls a strong hatred of society and of what was expected of him; instead he drew inspiration from poets, bohemians, and life artists.[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86)
The household was strict, but it was the bank-working father who laid the foundation of Murphy's musical backbone, introducing his son to vinyl records by [Joy Division](https://www.edgepedia.org/joy-division), old country artists such as [Hank Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-williams), and punk in the style of the [Sex Pistols](https://www.edgepedia.org/sex-pistols).[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) GQ has described him as the band's half-Swedish, half-American lead singer, who grew up in the Bay Area but made his home in Stockholm for a dozen years.[5](https://www.gq.com/story/viagra-boys-swedish-punk-rock-profile)
## Move to Sweden and tattooing
As a 17-year-old, Murphy was sent from San Rafael, where he had grown up among rich hippies, to his aunt (mother's sister) in Stockholm; he has described realizing that he needed a change of environment after skating, truancy, and trouble with the police.[2](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel) In Sweden he gave up his musical ambitions and trained as a tattoo artist.[2](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel) • [4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86)
**The "LÖS" tattoo.** Murphy's forehead tattoo traces to a 19-year-old who came into his studio and asked to be tattooed in the face. Murphy recalled telling him he would never get a job again, adding that in his day a face tattoo meant you were either crazy or criminal, so he decided to tattoo his own face as a kind of protection against society.[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) The tattoo has since become part of his public image.[6](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/56351/1/on-cave-world-viagra-boys-sebastian-murphy-interview)
## Viagra Boys
Viagra Boys formed in 2015 in Stockholm. AllMusic recounts how the two tattoo artists, Henrik Höckert and Sebastian Murphy (Murphy being a San Francisco native who had made his home in Stockholm), were introduced by a friend they had in common and then spent an evening drinking together.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317) The Bowery Presents account says the two knew each other from the world of tattooing and had a rowdy night out, after which the band built a reputation as a raw, unapologetic live act across punk, hip hop, experimental electronic, and even jazz circuits.[7](https://origin.bowerypresents.com/artist/viagra-boys) In the Swedish telling, the group was in principle founded by force: Murphy had abandoned all music dreams to become a tattooist when his friend Henrik "Benke" Höckert heard him sing karaoke, and after much pressure and persuasion they finally formed a band.[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) Reporting on a 2025 Guardian interview states he was recruited after the other members saw him sing a Mariah Carey song while drunk, and that he had never previously been in a real band, accepting thanks to his rock'n'roll attitude.[3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9)
The band's recordings run from the 2016 EP Consistency of Energy to four full-length albums: Street Worms (2018), Welfare Jazz (2021), Cave World (2022), and [Viagr Aboys](https://www.edgepedia.org/viagr-aboys) (2025), the last focusing on surreal humor and angular pop production.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317)
**Lyrics and persona.** Murphy writes and sings in character, which he has described as half act and half diary, an unconscious satire of himself and others.[5](https://www.gq.com/story/viagra-boys-swedish-punk-rock-profile) GQ calls him an expert chronicler of the darker corners of the male brain, dissecting masculinity while singing as one of the hapless men he criticizes.[5](https://www.gq.com/story/viagra-boys-swedish-punk-rock-profile) On Cave World, written and recorded during the 2021 COVID-19 lockdown, his lyrics took on conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, and the polarization of American life, drawing on his engagement with internet culture and memes.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317) • [6](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/56351/1/on-cave-world-viagra-boys-sebastian-murphy-interview) The band's music is marked by satire against hypermasculinity, conspiracy theories, and cynicism, mixed with Murphy's personal elements and absurdist storytelling.[8](https://musikaliska.se/musikartister/rock/viagra-boys/)
**Performing and sobriety.** Although Viagra Boys have often been praised for energetic live shows, Murphy has described concerts as a war he wages against himself; in the first years it was impossible for him to play a gig sober, and he called singing and dancing in front of people the most ridiculous thing he had experienced, adding that it lingers at times but is easier today.[4](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86) He told the Guardian in 2025 that with the years he has become better at understanding his limits with drugs and alcohol.[3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9)
## Later career
By 2025 Murphy had left tattooing behind completely, because he could no longer stand the pain of the work, joking that nowadays he cries for a week if he stubs his toe.[3](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9) In November 2025 the band played its largest concert to date, a sold-out show at [Avicii Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/avicii-arena) in Stockholm, where Murphy's powerful baritone carried a set that included the new album's "Man made of meat" and, as a tribute to late band member Benjamin Vallé, who died in 2021, a dedication of the night.[9](https://www.svd.se/a/zO5zWO/viagra-boys-i-avicii-arena-recension-sa-bra-var-gruppen) Reviews of that concert noted that the audience did not dare scrawl the word "LÖS" on their foreheads in homage to Murphy's face tattoo.[9](https://www.svd.se/a/zO5zWO/viagra-boys-i-avicii-arena-recension-sa-bra-var-gruppen)
## References
1. [Viagra Boys Biography by Mark Deming, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viagra-boys-mn0003565317)
2. [Sebastian Murphy om mangel, Hemma hos Strage (14 March 2019)](https://hemmahosstrage.se/avsnitt/2019/3/14/sebastian-murphy-om-mangel)
3. [Inget mer bläck för Murphy: "Jag gråter i en vecka", Omni (2025)](https://omni.se/a/zAjzL9)
4. [Murphy: Var omöjligt att uppträda nykter, Göteborgs-Posten/TT (2022)](https://www.gp.se/kultur-noje/noje-kultur/murphy-var-omojligt-att-upptrada-nykter.d1c06eec-afcc-5eed-9b70-42a01d31db86)
5. [A Heavy Dose of Viagra Boys, GQ (2021)](https://www.gq.com/story/viagra-boys-swedish-punk-rock-profile)
6. [On their new album, Viagra Boys explore the internet's darkest corners, Dazed (2022)](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/56351/1/on-cave-world-viagra-boys-sebastian-murphy-interview)
7. [Viagra Boys, The Bowery Presents](https://origin.bowerypresents.com/artist/viagra-boys)
8. [Viagra Boys, Musikaliska](https://musikaliska.se/musikartister/rock/viagra-boys/)
9. [Ett oseriöst band framför sitt livsverk, Svenska Dagbladet (2025)](https://www.svd.se/a/zO5zWO/viagra-boys-i-avicii-arena-recension-sa-bra-var-gruppen)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Post-punk and new wave › Singers and frontpeople*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license