{"id":16703,"date":"2020-09-17T09:25:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T13:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=16703"},"modified":"2020-09-18T09:28:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T13:28:31","slug":"phil-coulter-an-irish-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=16703","title":{"rendered":"Phil Coulter: An Irish Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Paddy McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n

I just did the most fascinating interview with one of the greatest musicians. He is a living Irish Legend and is none other than Phil Coulter. Here is a man that could sit back and enjoy life and just let the world go by, as he has done everything that has to be done as a musician. But no, that is not Phil Coulter. He still loves what he does. He gives advice and guidance and is still performing and just as popular as ever in the music world. <\/p>\n

Before I get into the history of Phil, I remember when he performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York. He packed many a place and I was fortunate to be there for some of them. Let me tell yea, it was only magic when he performed.<\/p>\n

He did mention one other particular venue in New York that he performed in and that was The Irish Repertory Theatre. Phil said he had the warmest memories of this. The venue was so unique in size and was beautiful to perform in. His wife Geraldine Brannigan also performed there. And guess what? I was there too.<\/p>\n

He made one very nice comment regarding Ciaran O\u2019Reilly, Producing Director of the Irish Rep. He said he had come not come across a more genuine man. I can tell you that he could not say enough about Ciaran, about his professionalism and how he made it so easy to perform, and comfortable for them; now wasn\u2019t that nice. <\/p>\n

Getting back to my questions to Phil I asked how hard was it for him to get into the social media space and to reach his fans during the ongoing pandemic? Here is what he said: \u201cWhen Covid hit, the music business fell off the edge of a cliff. Gigs were cancelled, tours were pulled, recording sessions were abandoned. When the stark reality hit home, I figured I had two options. Either to sit in a corner feeling sorry for myself, complaining about the lockdown and blaming everybody from the government to the Chinese\u2026or I could get creative and reinvent myself!\u201d<\/p>\n

I then asked whether he\u2019d found that social media enhances the chemistry between you and your fans? He again said that \u201cfor the past few months I have seized the social media bull by the horns. In order to keep a profile with my followers I have embraced the technology, live streaming on my Facebook page every Saturday from my \u2018Lockdown Lounge\u2019 that was the room in his house and posting a couple of new tracks every week. The response has been a revelation.\u201d <\/p>\n

I asked him how hard is it to get that \u201crush\u201d when performing without a crowd in front of you? He spoke again like a true professional and said \u201cI am looking into the camera just as if I am looking in the camara when I am doing a television show.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had over one million reactions. For example, when I posted a short \u2018Town I Loved So Well\u2019 tribute to my friend John Hume It notched up 150,000 views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now where would yea get it? Only from a true Legend Phil Coulter. I talked about a few things that I knew he could answer without a blink. <\/p>\n

How has the process of collaborative song-writing changed in this era of lockdowns? How\u2019s the planning going for the live events in October? Tell us more about Ryan Hennessy and Jimmy Rainsford. I was not hurrying him only I did not want to miss a question as I am still flabbergasted talking to him. <\/p>\n

This was his reply: \u201cTo take all this to the next level we have planned three shows, on October 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Venue Theatre, Ratoath, Co. Meath. The shows, called \u201cUp Close and Personal\u201d will be in front of a restricted socially distant audience, ten tables of four.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the third night we are live streaming the concert across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an attempt to re-imagine our live performances this old dog has had to learn a few new tricks! In the same spirit I have been active on the songwriting front, writing with two of the hottest young talents around, Ryan Hennessy and Jimmy Rainsford from Picture This. It\u2019s never too late for a fresh challenge!\u201d <\/p>\n

Now what more could I ask for as he was so pleasant to me and we also a had a few laughs about the old days in New York that I am not going to tell you about; it was all good fun with friends of both Phil and myself that are now gone, RIP.<\/p>\n

The two lads that Phil was talking about from Picture This originate from\u00a0Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. The band consists of many people including Ryan Hennessy (vocals), Jimmy Rainsford (drums),\u00a0well you can read about them in the Music page. <\/p>\n

Now for a history on Philip Coulter\u00a0is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from\u00a0Derry,\u00a0Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the\u00a0British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors\u00a0in October 2009. He has amassed 23 platinum discs, 39 gold discs, 52 silver discs, two Grand Prix Eurovision awards; five\u00a0Ivor Novello Awards, which includes Songwriter of the Year; three\u00a0American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers\u00a0awards; a\u00a0Grammy\u00a0Nomination; a\u00a0Meteor Award, a National Entertainment Award and a Rose d\u2019or d\u2019Antibes. He is one of the biggest record sellers in his native land. <\/p>\n

Phil was born in\u00a0Derry,\u00a0Northern Ireland\u00a0during the height of the\u00a0Second World War, where his father (from\u00a0Strangford,\u00a0County Down) was one of a minority of Catholic policemen in the\u00a0Royal Ulster Constabulary. His mother was from\u00a0Belfast. He was the fourth child with two older brothers and a sister and one younger sister, each born with a year\u2019s difference between them, in a\u00a0two-up two-down\u00a0terraced house.<\/p>\n

Coulter\u2019s father, also called Phil, encouraged music in the house. He played the\u00a0fiddle\u00a0whilst his wife played the upright piano. The younger Coulter recalls this piano, made by Challen, as \u201cthe most important piece of furniture in the house<\/p>\n

\u201cI always stayed away from the fiddle, having inflicted enough pain on my family with the piano,\u201d he laughed. Coulter confesses that he came close to abandoning the piano at an early age. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is I hated the piano at first. I\u2019d love to say I was a natural but I wasn\u2019t. I hated playing it and I hated my music teacher. My father, who was a canny man, told me, \u2018We have to scrimp and save to pay for these lessons, you might as well give them up. It wasn\u2019t long before I gravitated back to the piano, trying to play the songs that I was listening to on the radio. I always wondered what my left hand was supposed to be doing though. But after two or three years at St. Columb\u2019s College I began thinking of the piano as an extension of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of Coulter\u2019s most popular songs, \u2018The Town I Loved So Well\u2019, deals with the embattled city of his\u00a0youth, filled with \u201cthat damned barbed wire\u201d during\u00a0the Troubles. <\/p>\n

He started his first band at Queen\u2019s University, playing early\u00a0rock and roll\u00a0music despite studying classical music. He was also founder of the Glee Club, which staged music events for the university. By 1964, his final year at university, he\u2019d already written a couple of hit songs in Ireland and moved to London, where his first job was as an arranger\/songwriter with a music publisher in\u00a0Denmark Street. <\/p>\n

From here he was hired to work with acts including\u00a0Billy Connolly,\u00a0Van Morrison,\u00a0Jerry Lee Lewis\u00a0and\u00a0Tom Jones. He wrote \u2018Foolin\u2019 Time\u2019 (1963), a hit for the Capitol Showband. Other songs he contributed to around that time included his\u00a0arrangement\u00a0of \u2018Terry\u2019 (1964), a UK No. 4 hit for\u00a0Twinkle, plus co-writing \u2018I Can Only Give You Everything\u2019, which was originally recorded by\u00a0Them.<\/p>\n

In 1965, he met\u00a0Bill Martin\u00a0and the two became established as a successful songwriting team that lasted more than ten years (Martin for the\u00a0lyrics, Coulter for the\u00a0melody).\u00a0They wrote\u00a0Sandie Shaw\u2019s 1967\u00a0Eurovision-winning entry, \u2018Puppet on a String\u2019, which became an international hit which was covered more than a 100 times.<\/p>\n

The following year their song \u2018Congratulations\u2019, sung by\u00a0Cliff Richard, came second in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2008 a Spanish documentary alleged that Cliff Richard had been robbed of victory after General\u00a0Francisco Franco\u00a0fixed the vote. The person who made the claim in the documentary,\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda \u00cd\u00f1igo, said later that his words had been taken out of context. <\/p>\n

Seven years after \u2018Congratulations\u2019, another Coulter song, \u2018Toi\u2019, co-written with\u00a0Pierre Cour, was performed as the\u00a0Luxembourg\u00a0entry by Coulter\u2019s future wife Geraldine in\u00a0Stockholm. Coulter conducted the orchestra for the song, which came fifth.<\/p>\n

Coulter and Martin also wrote \u2018Shine It On\u2019, which finished third in the 1978 heat of\u00a0A Song for Europe, performed by the Glaswegian performer Christian.<\/p>\n

Between 1967 and 1976, they had four\u00a0No. 1\u00a0hits\u00a0in the UK: \u2018Puppet on a String\u2019, \u2018Congratulations\u2019, \u2018Back Home\u2019 and \u2018Forever and Ever\u2019. There were also numerous\u00a0Top 10\u00a0hits including the\u00a0Bay City Rollers\u2019 \u2018Shang-A-Lang\u2019,\u00a0\u2018Fancy Pants\u2019 by the\u00a0glam rock\u00a0band\u00a0Kenny, \u2018Requiem\u2019 by the\u00a0Scottish\u00a0pop group\u00a0Slik, and \u2018Surround Yourself with Sorrow\u2019 by\u00a0Cilla Black.<\/p>\n

In 1975, Martin and Coulter were joint recipients of an\u00a0Ivor Novello Award\u00a0for \u2018Songwriter of the Year\u2019.
\nThe Bay City Rollers had a No. 1 hit in 1976 in the US\u00a0Billboard\u00a0Hot 100\u00a0chart\u00a0with \u2018Saturday Night\u2019, a song that was not released as a single in the UK. There were three No. 1 hits in the US for the songwriters, the other two (which were chart-toppers on the\u00a0Billboard\u00a0Hot Country Songs and the\u00a0Adult Contemporary\u00a0listings respectively) being \u2018Thanks\u2019, performed by\u00a0Bill Anderson\u00a0and \u2018My Boy\u2019, sung by\u00a0Elvis Presley. They also contributed incidental music to the 1967\u00a0Spider-Man\u00a0television series, and Coulter also wrote the score to the 1978 film version of\u00a0The Water Babies.<\/p>\n

As well as writing hit singles, Coulter produced three albums with\u00a0Planxty. Christy Moore\u00a0wrote: \u201cWith no competition he gave us a shite contract and we signed everything away. All that said, 30 years on this album sounds good. He produced it well and … (he had) the foresight and wherewithal to record the band at a time when no one else was listening.\u201d <\/p>\n

Coulter produced, arranged and wrote most of\u00a0Joe Dolan\u2019s 1983 album,\u00a0\u2018Here and Now\u2019. The album featured several hit singles, including the Irish Top Ten hit \u2018Deeper and Deeper\u2019 which remained a staple in Dolan\u2019s live sets, and was also one of the last songs Dolan performed before he became ill on stage, during what turned out to be his last ever show in\u00a0Abbeyleix. The album was released in South Africa as\u00a0\u2018Yours Faithfully\u2019\u00a0where it went to number one within one week of release. <\/p>\n

In 2007, Phil joined with Sharon Browne, one of the originators of the successful\u00a0Celtic Woman\u00a0production, to collaborate on formation of a male version of that production called\u00a0Celtic Thunder. A stage production at\u00a0The Helix\u00a0in Dublin was released on DVD as\u00a0\u2018Celtic Thunder: The Show\u2019, and it went to the top of the\u00a0Amazon\u00a0and\u00a0Billboard\u00a0World Top Albums chart in 2008. <\/p>\n

In 1984 Coulter launched himself as an artist in his own right and began by releasing a solo instrumental album called\u00a0\u2018Classic Tranquility\u2019. His follow-up,\u00a0\u2018Sea of Tranquility\u2019, became the second-best selling album of all time in Ireland. It peaked at No. 46 in the\u00a0UK Albums Chart, and remained in the chart for fourteen weeks.\u00a0The follow-up album,\u00a0\u2018Phil Coulter\u2019s Ireland\u2019\u00a0reached No. 86 in the UK.<\/p>\n

He moved from London back to Ireland, where he established his music publishing company on the grounds of his house in\u00a0Bray, south of Dublin. Coulter\u2019s official website notes that he has some 23\u00a0platinum records, 39 gold and 52 silver albums. He also keeps one of the walls of his office blank, \u201cto remind me that there\u2019s still room for a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, he produced work for both\u00a0Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor\u00a0and\u00a0Boyzone. In 2001 he was nominated for a\u00a0Grammy Award\u00a0in the \u201cNew Age\u201d category for his album\u00a0\u2018Highland Cathedral\u2019. He continues to be a popular performer in his native country and around the world in places such as\u00a0The White House\u00a0and\u00a0Carnegie Hall. On October 28, 2009, he was presented with a\u00a0BASCA\u00a0Gold Badge Award in recognition of his unique contribution to music. <\/p>\n

Coulter\u2019s first marriage was to Angela Coulter; their second child was born with\u00a0Down\u2019s Syndrome\u00a0and died aged four. With the encouragement of\u00a0Luke Kelly, he wrote the song \u2018Scorn Not His Simplicity\u2019 to help him get through the difficult time. Kelly recorded the song and it appeared on\u00a0The Dubliners\u2019 1970 LP\u00a0\u2018Revolution\u2019, becoming the definitive version, later being recorded by several artists.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Geraldine Brannigan<\/figcaption><\/figure>In 1974, Coulter was approached by\u00a0Luxembourg\u00a0to write a song for the\u00a01975 Eurovision Song Contest, following his success with \u2018Puppet on a String\u2019, which won for the UK in 1967, and his \u2018Congratulations\u2019 (recorded by\u00a0Cliff Richard), which nearly won in 1968. Whilst looking for a singer he saw\u00a0Geraldine Brannigan\u00a0in a\u00a0Guinness\u00a0TV advert in Dublin and felt that he had to meet her. She went on to represent Luxembourg and came in fifth place. He later said in an interview on\u00a0Miriam Meets…\u00a0on\u00a0RT\u00c9 Radio 1\u00a0it was love at first sight. <\/p>\n

In November 1998, Coulter married Brannigan in a low-key ceremony at Wicklow registry office, witnessed by their six children, Danielle, Dominique, Alexandra, Daragh, Ryan and Georgina, and 16 guests. Coulter and his wife live in\u00a0Bray, County Wicklow. <\/p>\n

Disregarding the broad international campaign against the\u00a0Apartheid\u00a0regime and the imprisonment of\u00a0Nelson Mandela, Coulter performed in an undemocratic South Africa in May 1983 and his name was included in the register of entertainers who traveled to that country by the United Nations Center Against Apartheid, which was published in 1986.<\/p>\n

In 2002, Coulter was encouraged by the\u00a0Save the Swilly\u00a0organisation to run for the\u00a0D\u00e1il\u00a0to protect\u00a0Lough Swilly\u00a0from aquacultural destruction. After some deliberation, he concluded that work and family commitments would not allow him the time necessary to fill the political position.<\/p>\n

Around that time, Coulter’s brother died in a drowning incident in Ireland, which also caused Phil to retreat from the\u00a0music industry\u00a0for some time.<\/p>\n

He is a former president of\u00a0Derry City Football Club\u00a0and is known to be a supporter of the club, having attempted to help the club with its financial problems in the early 2000s. He has also helped Derry City\u2019s local rivals,\u00a0Finn Harps, in their time of need. His son Ryan plays in goal for\u00a0Forward Madison FC. <\/p>\n

In 1995, the\u00a0Irish Rugby Football Union\u00a0commissioned Coulter to write a politically neutral anthem for the\u00a0Ireland national rugby union team, which represents both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The result was \u2018Ireland\u2019s Call\u2019, which is played alongside, and in some cases instead of, \u2018Amhr\u00e1n na bhFiann\u2019. As well as being used by both the Ireland national rugby union team and the junior national teams, \u2018Ireland\u2019s Call\u2019 has since also been adopted by Ireland\u2019s national\u00a0hockey,\u00a0cricket\u00a0and\u00a0rugby league\u00a0teams and by the world-renowned singing group\u00a0Thunder Coulter has received honorary doctorates from the\u00a0University of Ulster\u00a0(1988),\u00a0Dublin Institute of Technology\u00a0(2006),\u00a0and\u00a0The Open University\u00a0(2018).<\/p>\n

Now you have an idea what this man has accomplished in his life time and let tell not finished yet. <\/p>\n

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