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 on social media.
Joe Murphy's younger sister Ellie announced the death on July 7. She wrote that it breaks her heart to share that her big brother has passed away.
Murphy formed Koopa in 2000 in Essex alongside brothers Ollie Cooper and Stuart Cooper. In January 2007 the band became the first unsigned act to reach the UK Top 40 with a download-only single when 'Blag, Steal & Borrow' entered at number 31.
The group scored two further Top 40 hits that year and opened the Isle of Wight Festival. They later released the 2009 album 'Lies Sell Stories', produced by Mark Hoppus.
Tributes have come from the Essex music scene, including local band The Broken Johnny's, who called Murphy a local legend.
