Phil

Phil
Thomas has been a working Musician, Singer and Writer for over twenty five years
and he reckons he is a bit like the family pet dog....he'll play with anyone
who will feed him! Throughout the Seventies and eighties he played in a variety
of Folk and Country Music outfits (even a Skiffle Band!) and built a reputation
on the UK Folk circuit as a journeyman musician. He did a stint as a 'Pit' musician
for musical theatre productions and also worked as Musical Director for student
productions while working as a college lecturer in Peforming Arts. Working in
the theatre was bound to have an effect. One day he heard the story of a young
local lad who, in 1912, picked up the distress messages from the Titanic on
his home-made radio set...and nobody believed him! The show 'One Last Dance'
was born and fate eventually brought Eirwen and Phil together to perform the
show in Spring 2001 at Miskin Folk Festival in Wales.
("A finely woven mixture of interesting stories, original songs and hard
facts; presented with style and authority". Andy Jackson - Miskin at Easter
Festival)
They worked together again on a visit to the Pan Celtic Festival in Kilkenny,
Ireland by a troupe of Welsh dancers and then again in summer 2002 when the
late withdrawal of a cast member from the 'Tale of Two Rivers' show which was
about to leave for the USA led to a call for Phil to be a Stand-in. A sell-out
Performance at the Welsh 'Gymanfa Ganu' (A Welsh singing festival) in Harrisburgh,Pennsylvania
and an appearance at the 'Kipona' Festival (which includes the annual 'Pow-Wow'
of the Native American Nations) convinced Phil and Eirwen that they should work
together on a regular basis.