Cillian Murphy on his love of Fontaines DC: “I’m just a groupie”
Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy has jokingly described himself as a “groupie” while discussing his love of Fontaines DC.
Murphy was speaking alongside Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten on BBC Radio 1 to coincide with Chatten releasing ‘Puppet’, which is taken from the soundtrack of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
The eerie track is the first to be released ahead of the new film, set for release in cinemas on March 6th, 2026, for a limited time before arriving on Netflix two weeks later.
Upon being asked by host Jack Saunders if they had “crossed paths” before being brought together by Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Chatten said Murphy had been to a “couple of shows” before the Oscar-winner elaborated.
Murphy, who had already declared himself as a “massive fan” of the band, shared, “(I went to) Dublin in Vicar Street in about 2019, I think. Then, we were really lucky to get to the album launch of Romance, and it was amazing. You know, I’m just a groupie.”
He also said of his joy to have Chatten involved with the film, stating, “We’re just thrilled that somebody like Grian is now part of the Peaky sonic landscape, and we’ve had such a storied and amazing line-up of artists over the years contributing to the show, and this was a massive step up for us to make a film.”
In the same interview, Chatten also provided a glimpse behind the curtain into the creation of ‘Puppet’, saying he was overcome with “pure Shelbyism” as he was writing it.
He joked, “I locked myself in a cupboard for six weeks, didn’t speak to anyone, and it was very difficult not to shave my head in the Peaky style, as well. So, I was just resisting that.”
On a serious note, Chatten divulged, “I got the joy of watching a lot of the scenes over and over again, it’s a wonderfully layered piece of work. There’s an awful lot of inspiration to bounce back off but it’s a really interesting thing to try and not spoil or kind of over-narrate the scene and allow the pictures to speak for themselves, which is the magic of cinema.”
Murphy has spoken about his adoration for Fontaines DC before, especially during his broadcasts on BBC 6 Music, once saying of their debut album Dogrel, “Every single tune, they’re relentlessly themselves.”
Fontaines DC have a quiet year ahead, by their standards, with their headline dates at Reading and Leeds Festival their only scheduled shows.
However, in addition to ‘Puppet’, Chatten also teamed up with Damon Albarn and Kae Tempest for ‘Flags‘, which will appear on War Child Records’ benefit album, Help (2). Fontaines DC will also contribute a cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ for the compilation.
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