Phil grew up in the sleepy Northern NSW town of Grafton. He spent his very early years listening to his parents’ huge record collection, being raised on a diverse musical diet of the great musicals such as ‘Oklahoma’., legendary crooners like Nat King Cole and The Ink Spots, and British skiffle performers such as Lonnie Donegan.

In 1963, at the tender age of 7, Phil heard the fresh sounds of a new combo from Liverpool, England. He was immediately hooked and by the end of that year had acquired his first guitar. He received formal Spanish guitar lessons for 6 years, but his ambition was always to perform for audiences in the rock and pop genres.

Phil performed from age 8 in one-off spots at dances, eistedfords and talent quests on the North Coast. By the time he was at high school, he was playing as a singer, guitarist and occasional bass player in a variety of school-based combos, copying the sounds of rock legends such as The Stones, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Hendrix at local dances in the pre-disco era.

Whilst at university, Phil had a chance meeting with Dick Diamond, bass player from the legendary Easybeats, recently returned to Oz. This resulted in the formation of The Rooftop Ragers, a rock and blues outfit that performed in pubs and clubs on the North Coast to enthusiastic audiences. The acclaimed blues drummer, Mitch Preston (The Layabouts, Foreign Lee and the Legionnaires) was also a featured part of this collaboration. In the next few years, Phil played in a variety of bands covering a diverse range of styles from country rock to reggae across country NSW.

In the early eighties, Phil travelled extensively throughout Europe and the UK. It was here that he really developed his craft as a solo performer. Whilst living in the Scottish Borders, he played a lengthy residency as a solo performer at The Tower Tavern in Selkirk and other Borders venues, entertaining his Scottish audiences with Aussie takes on popular rock, pop and folk classics. Phil also performed in Scandinavian venues in Denmark and Finland, all the while writing songs, several of which are still performed in his show today.