Joe Murphy, the singer and bassist of Essex pop-punk band Koopa, has died at the age of 46, as confirmed by his younger sister Ellie in a social media post on 7 July. His death matters as a notable moment for British music history, since Murphy and Koopa helped pioneer the shift towards digital downloads that challenged the traditional record label system in the late 2000s.

Koopa, formed in 2000 with Murphy alongside brothers Ollie and Stuart Cooper, made history in January 2007 when 'Blag, Steal & Borrow' became the first download-only single by an unsigned band to reach the UK Top 40, entering at Number 31. They scored two further Top 40 hits that year, opened the Isle of Wight Festival, and later released the Mark Hoppus-produced album 'Lies Sell Stories' in 2009. No cause of death has been confirmed, though Murphy had suffered a cardiac arrest while driving in 2021; tributes have been paid across the Essex music scene.