Enquiries now being taken for 2008 and 2009

In addition to the regular club and summer seasonal work since the mid-sixties, Phil has been performing concerts since the mid-seventies in venues in the north west and north Wales and had opportunities to travel Europe in the late seventies and eighties - except for one small problem. He wouldn't fly. Full stop. Ironic that someone who lived, breathed and slept aircraft - cycling from home to Manchester airport twice or sometimes three nights a week after school - summer and winter - (a 34 mile round trip from his home in Glazebrook, west Manchester) from 1964 until he passed his driving test in 1968 and then by car almost as frequently! But wouldn't actually fly! Read about how things have changed in the "Phil's Interests" section.

After years of arriving at concert venues, accepting a very steep learning curve, having to perform on an instrument often never encountered before and spending the first half of the concert trying to remember what was what and hoping to avoid pressing any button or switch which would produce a gross mismatch of sounds at best or at worst, cancel a manual or "general cancel" the whole setting. It has happened - fortunately not to Phil. This scenario will have been experienced by most concert artists at some time or another and when witnessed by fellow professionals, the amusement is not directed at the temporary demise of the performer, but rather a "there, but by the grace..." etc!

As more and more Concert organists and keyboard players began to travel to venues with their own equipment, familiarisation was less and less a problem. With pre-programming and good continuity, much of the pressure was removed, allowing the artist to concentrate on an entertaining performance.

For mobile public performance, Phil uses two Yamaha Tyros2 keyboards.  He bought the original Tyros in early 2004 and used a pair of Roland KC60 powered speakers capable of a reasonable volume in most small to medium venues.  The Tyros2 was introduced in the autumn of 2005 and Phil has been using this keyboard since then - adding a second T2 in 2007. 

Working at home, mainly arranging and programming – he uses the optional Yamaha satellite and subwoofer speakers.  In concert and for dancing, Phil uses a pair of JBL EON 15 G2 powered speakers, each of 400 watts output in stereo and a dB Technologies Stage Opera 41.15 subwoofer, also 400 watts, all controlled via a Behringer Xenyx 1622FX mixer.

Phil also owns a Technics GX7 multi-keyboard, which, although 15 years old, still gives sterling service and a Yamaha PSR 7000 keyboard which ‘resides’ in a venue in Switzerland where he plays on regular visits. The Swiss visits usually include playing at the local church on Sunday.  Phil still occasionally performs recitals on classic pipe organ – or on the modern electronic equivalents – and even manages a 32’ reed bass accompaniment on the Tyros2!

Having been brought up on large two, three and four manual electronic, classic or theatre organs – with, if not always a full 32 note pedalboard, at least a 13 note short offering – a complete change of playing style was needed for the Tyros.  A “two hands and two feet” playing technique was to instantly become a “two hands only” on a single keyboard.  Phil had always accepted that single keyboards were popular – he has taught many people of all ages to play both single and multi-keyboards – but personally found them a compromise, not least because having built his musical reputation on his bass pedal work, it was now necessary to assess the logic of the keyboard’s system of arriving at an automatic bass pattern – especially if he wanted it to play his preferred pattern!

By a degree of physical dexterity and no shortage of musical reasoning, Phil manages to manipulate the bass, when required, to follow his intentions.  This accounts for some of the unusual chord shapes to achieve the desired effect.  Conversely, the premise that on some occasions ‘more is less’, he is equally happy to allow the keyboard to ‘do its stuff’ and let the electronics do what they do so very effectively on the Tyros.

Phil makes no apology for using some of the preset intros and endings and will not attempt to cover the fact that this is what is happening – pretending to play over a perfectly good phrase or two will fool no one!  What he doesn’t do, however, is use any pre-recorded or pre-sequenced accompaniment, apart from that which is provided by the default settings of the keyboard.  The keyboard player is, after all, as much an arranger and conductor as a performer and making the best use of the available features is the basis for good performance.

Phil still plays the piano accordion and has come along way from the original 8-bass Hohner.  His current instrument is an Italian "Fantini", which he had specially made in 1997.  In appearance, it is a classic 120-bass acoustic accordion but has a MIDI contact on every key and button so that when connected through a MIDI interface to the Tyros2, he can enjoy the full Tyros2 accompaniment.  Should the amplified content exceed the reed output, a pair of Sennheiser stereo microphones built into the reed blocks allows the natural and electronic voices to be balanced appropriately.

Among the other instruments, which Phil owns and plays is a Theremin.  This is played by proximity of the hands to the Theremin’s two antennae and the first impression is that the player is actually conducting rather than performing.  For those who regularly watch “Midsomer Murders” (not a safe place to retire to) it is a Theremin which plays the main theme melody. Add a pair of white cotton gloves, copious uv light and a near blackout and there is a novel Theremin solo!!