Phil Coulter facts for kids

Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is a famous Irish musician, songwriter, and music producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He has sold millions of records and won many awards. These include 23 platinum discs, 39 gold discs, and 52 silver discs! He also won five Ivor Novello Awards and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Phil Coulter is known for writing many popular songs. Some of his most famous songs are "The Town I Loved So Well", "Puppet on a String", and "Congratulations". He is one of the biggest record sellers in Ireland.

Early Life and Music

Growing Up in Derry

Phil Coulter was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. His father was a policeman and his mother was from Belfast. Phil was the fourth of six children. They lived in a small terraced house.

Music was very important in their home. Phil's father played the fiddle, and his mother played the piano. Phil remembers the piano as the most important piece of furniture in their house.

One of Phil's most famous songs, "The Town I Loved So Well", is about his hometown of Derry. It talks about the difficult times during the Troubles, a period of conflict in Northern Ireland.

Education and Early Bands

Phil went to secondary school at St. Columb's College. He then studied music and French at Queen's University Belfast. While at university, he started his first band. They played early rock and roll music, even though Phil was studying classical music.

He also started the Glee Club at the university. This club put on music events for students.

Starting a Music Career

Moving to London

By 1964, Phil had already written a few hit songs in Ireland. He decided to move to London to pursue his music career. His first job was working for a music publisher. He helped arrange and write songs.

From there, he worked with many famous artists. These included Billy Connolly, Van Morrison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Tom Jones.

Early Songwriting Success

Phil wrote "Foolin' Time" in 1963, which became a hit for the Capitol Showband. He also helped arrange "Terry" in 1964. This song was a UK No. 4 hit for the singer Twinkle.

He also co-wrote "I Can Only Give You Everything" with Tommy Scott. The band Them first recorded this song.

Songwriting Partnership

Working with Bill Martin

In 1965, Phil met Bill Martin. They became a very successful songwriting team for over ten years. Bill wrote the lyrics, and Phil wrote the melody.

They wrote "Puppet on a String" for Sandie Shaw. This song won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. It became a huge international hit.

The next year, they wrote "Congratulations" for Cliff Richard. This song came second in the Eurovision Song Contest.

More Eurovision Songs

Seven years after "Congratulations", Phil wrote another Eurovision song called "Toi". He wrote it with Pierre Cour. Phil's future wife, Geraldine, sang this song for Luxembourg in 1975. Phil even conducted the orchestra for the song, which came in fifth place.

Phil and Bill also wrote "Shine It On". This song came third in the 1978 competition to choose the UK's Eurovision entry.

Chart-Topping Hits

Between 1967 and 1976, Phil Coulter and Bill Martin had four No. 1 hits in the UK. These were "Puppet on a String", "Congratulations", "Back Home", and "Forever and Ever".

They also had many other songs in the Top 10. These included "Shang-a-Lang" by the Bay City Rollers. They also wrote "Fancy Pants" for the glam rock band Kenny, and "Requiem" for the Scottish pop group Slik.

In 1975, Phil and Bill won an Ivor Novello Award for 'Songwriter of the Year'.

International Success

The Bay City Rollers had a No. 1 hit in the US in 1976 with "Saturday Night". This song was written by Coulter and Martin.

They had two other No. 1 hits in the US on different music charts. These were "Thanks", sung by Bill Anderson, and "My Boy", sung by Elvis Presley. "My Boy" was their English translation of a French song.

Phil also wrote music for the 1967 Spider-Man TV show. He also wrote the music for the 1978 film The Water Babies.

Music Producer and Solo Artist

Producing Other Artists

Besides writing hit songs, Phil Coulter also produced albums for other bands. He produced three albums for the band Planxty. He also produced The Dubliners' 1973 album, Plain and Simple. He wrote or co-wrote many songs on that album.

In 1983, Phil produced, arranged, and wrote most of Joe Dolan's album, Here and Now. This album had several hit singles, including "Deeper and Deeper".

In 2007, Phil helped create Celtic Thunder. This was a male singing group, similar to the successful Celtic Woman. Many songs in their show, like "That's a Woman" and "Heartbreaker", were written by Phil.

Solo Albums

In 1984, Phil started releasing his own music. His first solo album was an instrumental album called Classic Tranquility. His next album, Sea of Tranquility, reached No. 46 in the UK music charts.

He later moved from London back to Ireland. He set up his music publishing company near his home in Bray. Phil's website says he has 23 platinum records, 39 gold, and 52 silver albums.

In the 1990s, Phil also produced music for famous artists like Sinéad O'Connor and Boyzone. In 2001, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for his album Highland Cathedral.

Personal Life

Family and Songs

Phil Coulter's first marriage was to Angela Coulter. Their second child was born with Down's Syndrome and sadly passed away at age four. To help him cope, Phil wrote the song "Scorn Not His Simplicity".

The famous Irish singer Luke Kelly recorded this song. It appeared on The Dubliners' 1970 album Revolution. Many other artists have also recorded the song since then.

Meeting His Wife

In 1974, Phil was asked to write a song for the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg. While looking for a singer, he saw Geraldine Brannigan in a TV advert. He felt he had to meet her.

Geraldine went on to represent Luxembourg in the contest. Phil later said it was "love at first sight" when they met. In 1998, Phil married Geraldine in a small ceremony. They have six children: Danielle, Dominique, Alexandra, Daragh, Ryan, and Georgina. Phil and Geraldine live in Bray, County Wicklow.

Phil Coulter and Sports

Football and Rugby

Phil Coulter used to be the president of Derry City Football Club. His son, Ryan, plays as a goalkeeper for Forward Madison FC.

In 1995, the Irish Rugby Football Union asked Phil to write an anthem for the Ireland national rugby union team. This team represents both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The song needed to be politically neutral.

The result was "Ireland's Call". This song is now played alongside, or sometimes instead of, the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland, "Amhrán na bhFiann". "Ireland's Call" is also used by the Irish national hockey, cricket, and rugby league teams.

Awards and Honors

Phil Coulter has received special honorary degrees from several universities. These include the University of Ulster (1988), Dublin Institute of Technology (2006), and The Open University (2018).

On 5 April 2022, he was given the Freedom of the City of Derry. This is a special honor given to people who have made a great contribution to the city.

Discography

Albums

Entries in the Eurovision Song Contest

Phil Coulter co-wrote three songs that were entered into the Eurovision Song Contest:

• "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw, for the United Kingdom (Eurovision Song Contest 1967), which came in 1st place.
• "Congratulations" by Cliff Richard, for the United Kingdom (Eurovision Song Contest 1968), which came in 2nd place.
• "Toi" by Géraldine, for Luxembourg (Eurovision Song Contest 1975), which came in 5th place.