Phil Bates

Phil Bates

Mai 14th, 9:45 pm

I want to wish my lovely daughter, Rosie, an extremely happy 34th birthday.My girls are the light of my life, and both real shining stars.So proud of Rosie for all she has done and continues to do with her writing. It is her passion and she will do it no matter what life throws at her.I am also in awe of her travel experiences. I know I have travelled a lot, but always in some sort of protected cocoon via music, but she has travelled so many places I have never been and really put herself out there.Not sure I would ever have done that.And I have a feeling that her adventures are far from over, even though she is settled in Hereford at the moment.I always wanted both my girls to go wherever the spirit took them, even if it meant separation from us. Sometimes the best opportunities lie elsewhere in the world.But HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my beautiful girl ❤️😄❤️😄❤️xxxxxxxxxxx ... See MoreSee Less

Phil Bates

April 15th, 10:03 am

Just back from our short tour in Germany. 6 great gigs in a variety of venues, but all with a great audience reaction. Very gratifying.It wasn’t without trouble, though. At one point, I was the only healthy vocalist, which led to some interesting issues😂It all came right on the end, though. Serious acoustical issues on our last gig at Kristuskirche, Bochum. We have done 4 concerts there now, and all have been fantastic as far as audience response is concerned, but the venue was not really made for loud music, and so there is a fine line above which you can’t go, volume-wise.I think we went over it for part of the gig, but it turned out fine.Sad tour in some ways because these were all gigs we had played before and had great times, but these were our final gigs in these venues.It will be sad to leave behind these great people, both front and backstage, but time, fatigue, arthritic hands march on😂🙏❤️☯️ And especially those onstage, who are all wonderful people - Ralf, Eric, Chris, Susanne, and Steffen.Next week, we have 3 more final gigs in Neuenhagen, Neuruppin, and Magdeburg, followed by more old favourites in May - Dexheim and Bonn, plus a few others.I am excited by the prospect of pastures new, both solo, and in conjunction with Jo on a folky/celtic project we have been promising ourselves for a while.So, in the words of the great Bard Richard Starkey, peace and love to all🙏😄❤️☯️ ... See MoreSee Less

Phil Bates

April 3rd, 11:24 am

Back off to Germany for 11 days in a couple of hours. Just hoping Jo can cope with the travel and the gigs.She has made really good progress and is walking largely with no crutches, or one crutch, but there are bigger challenges out there in the world and on the stage😂9 gigs in April, and 6 in May, with the band, plus one solo gig in Anglesey, and a lot of travelling, so pretty busy for 2 months.But then …..bliss😄 Hardly any gigs until September, and holiday in the Azores with Sarah❤️😄🍾I look forward to seeing a few of you out there. Please feel free to say hello.The smaller village hall gigs I have just finished have energised me, musically, because of the chance to play songs I haven’t played on stage before.I find that I have renewed enthusiasm for playing ‘live’ when I can broaden things out, and play a few favourites that I haven’t had chance to play before.Also very heartened at the positive reaction to my own songs, which hadn’t always been the case.I am still writing, with no particular agenda, commercial or otherwise, so there will be new stuff out there later in the year, alongside the re-release and possible re-recording of older stuff.Anyway, see you soon. I hope for happy (happier😂) travels 🙏❤️☯️😄 ... See MoreSee Less