John Murphy (born March 4, 1965) is an English film composer, musician, and producer from Liverpool. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, he works across electronic music, rock, ambient music, and orchestral film scoring. His music is particularly associated with tense, atmospheric films, where abrasive electronics and massive melodic themes are used to heighten psychological and emotional intensity.
He’s known for scores such as 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His music has also been used in advertising campaigns for Apple, Nike, Google, Microsoft, and others. The Apple connection
The specific track most directly associated with Apple is “Spit” by John Murphy, which was used in Apple's 2002 “Switch” commercials.
He also has two very recognizable pieces that have been widely licensed for advertising:
“In the House – In a Heartbeat” — originally from 28 Days Later “Adagio in D Minor” — originally from Sunshine
Murphy's publisher specifically notes that these works have been licensed for major-brand advertising.
Murphy began working professionally as a musician in the 1980s. During this period he was connected with several Liverpool and London-based artists, including The Lotus Eaters, Thomas Lang, Gary Wall, and Claudia Brucken. He later moved toward film composition, initially collaborating with David Hughes, formerly of the electronic group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Their early scoring work included the British comedy Leon the Pig Farmer, which helped establish Murphy in the film industry.
His breakthrough came through a series of collaborations with director Guy Ritchie. Murphy and Hughes contributed to the music for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, whose energetic combination of British rock, electronic textures, and sharply edited action made the soundtrack highly influential. Murphy subsequently worked on Ritchie's Snatch, after which he moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and began pursuing a largely independent career as a film composer.
Murphy's most recognized work emerged from his collaborations with director Danny Boyle. For 28 Days Later, he created the stark electronic piece "In the House - In a Heartbeat," a track whose gradual build and distorted guitar tones became one of modern horror cinema's most recognizable musical signatures. He returned for 28 Weeks Later, producing another score built around dread, momentum, and emotional exhaustion. Murphy also worked with the electronic duo Underworld on Boyle's science-fiction film Sunshine. The score's "Adagio in D Minor" became widely known beyond the film itself, appearing in trailers, television programs, advertising, and video game promotions.
His other major credits include Michael Mann's Miami Vice, Stephen Frears' The Queen, Michael Caton-Jones' Basic Instinct 2, The Last House on the Left, and Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass. Across these projects, Murphy has shown a willingness to combine synthesizers, processed percussion, rock instrumentation, and traditional orchestral writing rather than treating them as separate musical worlds.
In 2014, Murphy released Anonymous Rejected Filmscore, an album developed from music originally written for a film project whose score was rejected by the studio. Freed from the demands of the production, the music became a standalone work and offered a concentrated example of his interest in dark, textural, and unconventional sound design. Around the same period, he established the Taped Noise record label.
Murphy later composed the score for the BBC series Les Miserables. His collaboration with filmmaker James Gunn began with The Suicide Squad and continued with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In 2025, Murphy shared composer credit with David Fleming on Gunn's Superman. Their score incorporated elements connected to John Williams' music for the 1978 Superman film while adding Murphy's own guitar-driven and electronic approach.
Although some of his themes have become familiar through trailers and television, Murphy's importance lies in the way he has brought the force and immediacy of contemporary electronic rock into mainstream film scoring. His best-known work demonstrates how a simple motif, heavily processed texture, or slowly expanding rhythm can become as memorable and dramatically powerful as a traditional orchestral theme.