Phil Bates

Phil Bates

June 8th, 1:11 pm

Sometimes people (critics) forget that fundamentally I have always been an ELO fan, even well before my association with the band and Jet Records began.I was over the moon when we signed to the same label as ELO, and especially when I sat in the Jet listening room downstairs at Gloucester Place, and heard Out of the Blue before it was released.Turn to Stone just blew my mind at that time, listening to it LOUD in that room.My band had a VW van that we travelled to gigs in, which was a challenge because it would rarely reach speeds over 50 mph, even downhill with a following gale😂But I had possession of it most of the time, and I have wonderful memories of trips and holidays to the south coast, Devon and beyond listening to Out of the Blue constantly, time after time. Which is why I got to know the album so well.But I was a fan from 10538 Overture onwards, which again is probably why this has always been one of my favourites to play ‘live’.A few things have soured me along the way, but the music was, and still is, absolutely wonderful, beyond souring😂. This is something that I have come to appreciate even more as I have dissected the songs to put my solo acoustic versions together.Thank you Jeff Lynne. ... See MoreSee Less

Phil Bates is with Joanna Bates and 5 others.

May 9th, 1:37 pm

Back from the 80s Cruise around a small part of the Med. Palma - Marseilles - Barcelona - Palma. 5 days of music and over-eating😂Our two concerts, in the theatre, and then poolside, were an absolute success, with great audiences going a bit crazy. Really enjoyed the gigs, even with some technical challenges. Seeing the joy on people’s faces was fantastic.Also did a few interviews for on-board entertainment and radio, which are not always easy for someone who is fundamentally an introvert. But they seemed to be OK.Such a great pleasure forcJo and me to be with our friends - Ralf, Eric, Chris, Susanne, Steffen, Alex, and Dominik. Dominik has done some really good things with my website. He put the whole cruise together. Such a lovely chap and a hard worker. Thank you all. I am very grateful that you are all in my life.Travel was surprisingly problem free, and I always have to shout out for Jet2 and their organisation. A company that employs enough people to make the whole process as easy as possible.Other artists on the show were Sweet, Nick Kershaw, Samantha Fox, Sydney Youngblood, plus a few others, so pretty diverse and interesting.One day to recover, then my solo gig in Clyro on Sunday 🙏☯️❤️😄And, by the way, my cabin was stunning. Panoramic views, and a separate terrace/sun deck. Never had such luxury before. Perhaps a final reward for an old muso😂😂Steffen Klimt Susanne Filep Alex Sicorskyy Dominik Dröse Joanna Bates #schallwellen #80sclassicrock #meinschiff ... See MoreSee Less

Video

Phil Bates

February 8th, 1:03 pm

OK, artistes of all kinds WANT to play, perform, act, write, paint etc, and will often seize any and every opportunity to do so, whatever the circumstances.But over the last years there has been a growing belief that performance in itself should be enough, and that artistes actually getting paid for what they do is a luxury they should not always expect. In my area, the BIGGEST outrage, by far, is the absolute rip-off perpetrated by Spotify on those crazy enough to list themselves and their music on this site. But there are many more examples.Consequently, music, in general, has come to be viewed as something that IS free, and should be free to one and all.And, of course, it can be free now because of AI, i.e. the road to oblivion for musicians, songwriters, authors, writers of any kind, artist etc.Melodramatic? Absolutely not. Let’s meet again in 5/10 years time and see if I am wrong.I know many of us value deeply real music, real art, real literature, and I will until my last breath, but let us NOT roll over and accept this perversion as inevitable.KEEP THE ARTS ALIVE AND ‘LIVE’ ☯️🙏❤️ ... See MoreSee Less