Jeffrey Travis Andrew Phillips (born November 1948) is an Australian TV show host, personality, musical theatre actor and pop singer active from 1966 to the early 1990s. As a pop singer, he had a Top 40 hit on the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' singles chart with a cover version of

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

' 1961 hit, "

Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It ...

". At the Logie Awards of 1970, he won the Best New Talent category for hosting his own ABC TV pop show, ''

Sounds Like Us ''Sounds Like Us'' was an Australian Music television series aimed at teens and twenties. Hosted by Jeff Phillips it featured guest stars performing with a 32 piece band, directed by Brian May, and 18 singers and dancers. Performances were live ...

''. In the early 1970s he hosted a series of teen pop music shows, ''Happening '71'' and ''Happening '72''. In July 1972 Phillips won a song prize at the Fifth Olympiad of Song, held in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, performing his self-written work, "Gloria"; the prize money was 100,000 drachmae (

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

$2,797). Although he issued further singles, until the early 1980s, he had no other national Top 40 chart success. From July 1985 to October 1987 he appeared in the Australian stage production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' in the role of

Rum Tum Tugger Rum Tum Tugger is one of the many feline characters in the 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot, and in the 1981 musical ''Cats'' which is based on Eliot's book. Rum Tum Tugger is a rebellious Jellicle cat who ...

in both the Sydney run and the Melbourne season; he also performed on the original Australian cast album.

Biography

Jeffrey Travis Andrew Phillips was born in November 1948 and grew up on the

Canning River The Canning River ( or ) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source and route With headwate ...

, Western Australia. His father was a hairdresser. From the age of ten he learned the guitar. For secondary education he started at St. Francis Xavier High School with his final two years at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and also performed at annual concerts. At the age of 12 years he appeared on TVW–7's ''Thursday Party'' and the following year on ''Play a Simple Melody''. In 1964 he was spotted by a TVW–7 representative at a Trinity College concert and invited to appear on nightly variety show, ''In Perth Tonight''. In 1966 he took over as compere of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

TV pop music show, ''Club 17''. At

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

he commenced an Economics course and formed a band, The Jeff Phillips Scene. Early in 1968 he relinquished his studies and moved to Melbourne where he signed with

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

. During that year he competed on a TV talent quest, ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: ...

'', he appeared on teen pop music show, ''Uptight'', and variety show, ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety show, variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's mai ...

''. In November he issued his debut single, which was a cover version of

' 1961 hit, "

", and had also been covered by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

in 1963. In December 1968 Phillips' version peaked at No. 34 on the ''

'' National Top 40 singles chart. That year the track also appeared on his debut extended play, ''The Wonderful World of Jeff Phillips''. In June 1969 on the ''Go-Set'' Pop Poll he was voted fifth on a list of most popular Male Vocal artists. Although he issued further singles, until the early 1980s, he had no other national Top 40 chart success. From September 1969 Phillips was the host of his own ABC TV pop variety show, ''

''. ''

The Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...

''s Sally White described Phillips as having "charm" and "set for a long and highly tuneful career" with his "elfin chin and clean cut appeal". In 1970 he released a video recording of ''Sound Like Us'' with tracks by himself and by his guests, fellow pop singers, Ronnie Burns and

Bev Harrell Beverley Anne Harrell, (born 24 October 1946) is an Australian pop singer, most famous for her 1966 Australian hit "What Am I Doing Here with You?". Biography Harrell was born on 24 October 1946 in North Adelaide to Reg Harrell, a carpenter, ...

. At the Logie Awards of 1970, sponsored by ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

'', he won the George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent. In April 1971 he hosted a Saturday morning teen pop music show, ''

Happening '71 ''Happening'' is an ATV-0 music television program that ran for four hours on a Saturday morning. It ran from 1970-72. The series played video clips, had live performers and showed interviews and discussions. The first season was titled ''Happe ...

'', for

ATV-0 ATV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia, part of Network 10 – one of the three major Australian free-to-air commercial television networks. The station is owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. History In April 1963, the ...

and followed with ''Happening '72'' the next year. In July 1972 Phillips won a song prize at the Fifth Olympiad of Song, held in

, performing his self-written work, "Gloria"; the prize was 100,000 drachmae (

$2,797). At the ''TV Week'' King of Pop Awards of 1972 he won Best Dressed Male. In December that year he was placed fourth on ''Go-Set''s Pop Poll for most popular Male Vocalists. Following the demise of ''Happening '72'', in 1973, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he was based for several years. He released a number of singles there including a version of

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, Order of Australia, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is an Australian pop singer who is best known for having a worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air (song), Love Is in the Air" in 1978. His ...

's, "Yesterday's Hero" (1975). During his time in UK he became a regular act at the Speakeasy Club. In 1977 he appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV shows, ''

The Rolf Harris Show Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

'' for eight episodes and on ''Seaside Special'' for three episodes. In the late 1970s he re-located to Los Angeles for a time. He returned to Australia where he briefly hosted the game show ''Child's Play'' for the Seven Network in 1984. Then from July 1985 to October 1987 he appeared in the Australian stage production of ''

'' in the role of

in both the Sydney run alongside

Debra Byrne Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...

Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera (1986 mus ...

and

Anita Louise Combe Anita Louise Combe is an Australian actress, singer, dancer who has worked extensively in the entertainment industry all around the world. Combe attended the Gwen Mackay School of Dancing and trained in the Cechetti method of ballet with Jenni ...

; and then the Melbourne season; he also performed on the original Australian cast album. He then went on to club work. Phillips was a regular TVW-7 personality who often performed

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

material on various ''Tonight'' shows. In 1991 he hosted the Ten Network TV talent show, ''Star Search'', where finalists were determined by phone-in votes from viewers. In March 1992 he had a guest role on soap opera '' Chances''; he described his work as having "some steamy scenes and it will attract a bit of interest".

Discography

Video albums

* ''Sounds Like Us'' – (1970, Australian Music Heritage)

Extended plays

* ''The Wonderful World of Jeff Phillips'' – (1968,

FX-11585)

Singles

* "Baby It's You" – 1968 (''

'' No. 34, KMR No. 42, Melbourne No. 21, Brisbane No. 11) * "What a Wonderful World" – 1969 * "Everything I Touch Turns to Tears" – 1969 (KMR No. 63) * "Wrong or Right" – 1970 (Festival) * "I Want to Be Famous Like My Dad" – 1970 (Generation) * "Movement of Love" – 1971 (Generation) * "Gloria" – 1972 (Havoc) * "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" – 1973 (WWA) * "Shake a Hand" – 1974 (UA) * "Yesterday's Hero" – 1975 * "Superman (I Want To Make You Love Me)" – 1976 (as Jeff Phillips & Tigerwing) * "Crying in the Middle of the Night" – 1976 * "Here You Come Again" – 1977 (NEMS) * "Jojo" – 1978 (RCA Victor UK) * "Let Your Love Go" – 1977 * "Rock Me Slowly" – 1978 (RCA UK) * "Somebody's Stolen My Thunder" – (NEMS) * "L.A. Reggae" – 1981 (Astor) * "Desire" – 1981 (RCA)

Awards and nominations

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper, ''

'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll during 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. , - , 1969 , himself , Male Vocal , 5th , - , 1972 , himself , Male Artist , 4th , -

King of Pop Awards

The King of Pop Awards were voted by the readers of

. The King of Pop award started in 1967 and ran through to 1978. , - , 1972 , himself , Best Dressed Male , , -

Logie Awards

The

Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and ...

is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by magazine TV Week, with the first ceremony in 1959, known then as the TV Week Awards, the awards are presented in 20 categories representing both public and industry voted awards. , - , Logie Awards of 1970 , himself ,

George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent The George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent was an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. The award recognised a new talent in an Australian program. It was first awarded at the 11th Annual TV Week Logie Aw ...

, , -

References

* Noel McGrath's ''Australian Encyclopedia of Rock & Pop'' – 1978 * ''The Who's Who of Australian Rock'' – Chris Spencer – Moonlight Publishing * ''An Australian Rock Discography'' – Chris Spencer −1990 – Moonlight Publishing * Gavin Ryan's Sydney & Melbourne Chart Books

External links

* Photos: *
"Pop Singer Jeff Phillips Performing at Melbourne Town Hall, 1968"
by Laurie Richards, held at

Museum Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks (Melbourne), Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO W ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Jeff 1948 births Living people Australian male singers Australian pop singers Australian television presenters Logie Award winners People educated at Trinity College, Perth