For me it all started in 1980 when the 'Flash Gordon' movie was released. Along with many kids my age we grew up with this movie - it was distinctly different from other Sci-Fi movies of the late 70's and early 80's... especially because of that soundtrack! It wasn't the John Williams orchestral scores and the huge symphonies - it was something raw, rocky, majestic and very theatrical. My parents bought the album for me on cassette (remember those?) and I immediately fell in love...

​

Fast forward to 1985 - watching Top Of The Pops, I was blown away by the flamboyant video for 'It's a Hard Life'... I recognised the musical vocabulary immediately and it all started to click into place. It was then that I started to understand what this band Queen was about. Not long after this Queen released 'A Kind of Magic' and my journey to dark side was complete! I nearly wore out the cassette of this album - then I hunted down the early albums, 'Queen', 'Queen II', and 'Sheer Heart Attack' and completely immersed myself in the complexity and passion of 'my band'...

​

I originally trained as a Chorister in Rochester Cathedral, but spent my formative years soaking up the musical theatre of Bernstein and Rogers & Hammerstein (as the 4th generation of my family who performed in the theatre). Theatre, showmanship, emotion, musical complexity and harmony became the building blocks for my future in music.

​

I performed in bands and duos and over the years learnt my craft, until in 2018 (with massive encouragement from my Wife, Vicky) I finally started work on my solo act, 'Freddie Forever': the idea being that I took the concert that inspired me the most and recreated the vibe of the Wembley experience but on a smaller scale.

​

It was only a matter of time till the word got around the circuit, and I was contacted by James through Facebook and we began the conversations which lead to my first rehearsal with the band in October 2021. I knew immediately that these guys were something special and the thrill I got from hearing the music I loved delivered with such passion and fire was incredible. We performed our first show together in January 2022, but it has always felt like we've been together for years. I think I can speak for us all when I say how lucky we are to found that our individual talents match each other so well... and that we actually get on too!

​

You can also here more about Phil's background in music in this video of a recent podcast by Vic Hyland...