#gregory gray

Gregory Gray (Paul Lerwill) (deceased)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 20 May 1959

RIP: 25 April 2019

Ethnicity: White, Indian

Really cool video. Short slice of life of a NYC gay club in the mid 90s and then an acoustic performance by Gregory Gray.

In Nov 2020 I made an hour long mix/radio special about the music of Mary Cigarettes for my Time Travel show on Dublin Digital Radio. I thought I’d write a short introduction as not everyone will know who he was. Yes, sadly he is no longer with us, he died in 2019 at the age of 59 (I only discovered his music afterwards). His real name was Paul Lerwill but he used the professional name of Gregory Gray. 

The Wikipedia entry for him appears to be reliable so you could read that for more detailed info but essentially as far as music was concerned he was in a kind of early boy/pop band with Rosetta Stone in the late 70s and formed Perfect Crime (’81-84) before going solo as Gregory Gray (’86-95). He released plenty of singles and albums with these projects. You can see all of his releases on his Discogs entry. 

What interests me the most was his work as Mary Cigarettes. I don’t know when he started to record it (in a home studio) but he began releasing it through online platforms such as Soundcloud, Bandcamp and YouTube from about 2007. It’s well worth watching his videos as they really compliment the songs. I found the songs very honest, catchy and accessible. When I made the mix it was really an excuse for me to discover even more of his music under this name and there is plenty of it. You can still download much of it for free from his Bandcamp or just stream it. 

I don’t know but it seems like after a career with various labels he just wanted to make music and give it to anybody who wanted to listen. It was a very generous act and he put his heart and soul into the songs. 

I’ve listed my track selection below and here are a few more links for further information and music by him.

Hot Press obituary by Stuart Clarke

Tom Robinson radio tribute

Mary Cigarettes’ YouTube channel

Mary Cigarettes’ Bandcamp

Mary Cigarettes’ Soundcloud

Mary Cigarettes’ Wordpress

Time Travel radio special (first broadcast 14/10/20). The show is now archived here.

His voice made a hoora difference. But Mary Cigarettes wasn’t simply trying to make a difference. He was aiming for Holy Ghost status. It was a lifetimes work, and it had cost him his life.

Grey Surgeon, a superhero I made based on the 90s- a great decade for comics!

Gregory Marcus Gray  was killed on December 24, 2014, by DC Police (Washington, DC).