Phil Bates

Phil Bates

September 19th, 7:51 am

You may not recognise this young chap sitting on Primrose Hill, London having his photograph taken by Dezo Hoffman, who took a lot of the early Beatles publicity photos.The year was 1974, I was 21, and these photos were taken to publicise my first single, ‘Mr Hand Me Down’, a Gilbert O’Sullivan inspired song which, unsurprisingly, failed, although it did receive quite a few radio plays.Story behind this shoot was that I was in the middle of the tour I did playing bass for Duane Eddy, a tour which involved several nights sleeping in the van, and on some very hard London floors 😂😂The fact that I looked even vaguely human after the rigours of rough sleeping is down to my youthful resilience 😂😂The vagaries of ‘living the dream’ included playing the Lyceum in the Strand to a packed audience, with Paul McCartney allegedly in the audience to see good ol’ Duane, and then trying to find a safe side street to park and sleep in. There was not enough money for even a flea-infested B&B 😂Next day I was up on Primrose Hill trying to look human and vaguely attractive for my indifferent audience 😂The trials and tribulations of an aspiring pop star 😂😂🙏 ☯❤ ...

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Phil Bates

July 30th, 5:35 pm

Some say that I should write some sort of book/autobiography, but musicians memoirs seem to HAVE to be full of sex, drugs, rock & roll, tales of notoriety and outrageousness, and rampant name dropping.On those grounds, my memoir would be a snooze fest because it would feature NONE of the above.I have met and observed plenty of ‘famous’ people, but I can’t regale you with tales of drug/alcohol-fuelled exploits, ending up semi-conscious in a lap-dancing club at 5.00 am, or waking up hungover and naked in some female’s bed not knowing who or where I was 😂So, if such a publication should ever appear, it will just be the tale of an ordinary bloke who managed a few (very tame) exploits, and a lot of great experiences and travel, but who managed somehow (despite widespread early misgivings from pretty much everyone) to carve out a living from the, sometimes, barren wastelands of the music biz, starting mid way through the last century 😂☯❤ ...

Phil Bates

July 30th, 5:02 pm

A list of my last solo gigs - 2026/2027.There is a possibility there will some additions.Sat 6th September - The View, Rhoshilli, The GowerSun 7th Sept - The Foundry, BreconFri 2nd October - Jubilee Hall, BrattonSat 3rd Oct - Compton Chamberlayne Village Hall, SalisburyFri 9th Oct - Met Theatre, Brynmenyn, BridgendSat 10th Oct - Lowther Pavilion, Lytham-St-Anne’sFri 16th Oct - Verwood Hub, Verwood, DorsetSun 25th Oct - Hanger Farm Arts Centre, TottonFri Nov 6th - Sit and Listen, StaffordSat 21st Nov - Front Room Theatre, Weston-Super-MareFri 27th Nov - Cromer Community Centre, Cromer, NorfolkSat 12th Dec - The Pump, TrowbridgeFri 18th Dec - Helping Hands Cafe, TamworthSat 19th Dec - Greystokes Castle, PenrithSat 6th March - Village Concerts, Purley-on-ThamesSat 3rd April - Malvern Cube, Malvern - Farewell concertSat 10th April - Clyro Village Hall - Phil&Jo Bates - Farewell concertThere is always a chance that one or two of these do not happen, but if that happens, I will let everyone know 🙏❤️☯️ ...