Roy Godfrey Phillips (5 May 1941 – 24 April 2025) was a British musician. He was a member of The Soundtracks (a backing group of The Dowlands), The Saints and

The Peddlers The Peddlers were a British jazz/soul trio of the 1960s and 1970s. Led by organist Roy Phillips, they had hits with "Birth" and " Girlie". They were very popular in New Zealand during the 1970s. History The Peddlers formed in Manchester in A ...

Background

Phillips was known as the voice and keyboard sound of well-known popular trio,

which was formed in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1964.''Stuff.co.nz'', 16 June 2013 �
Mood music for the meth-lab – Grant Smithies
/ref> In later years, Phillips was so taken with New Zealand, he decided to move there in 1981.''The Gisborne Herald'', 24 August 2017 �
Smooth grooves with Peddler Roy Phillips by Mark Peters
/ref> After rejecting living in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, Philips moved to

Paihia Paihia is a town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell, New Zealand, Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Wi ...

, where he ran a café for eight years, before moving to Queenstown. From 2002, he lived in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, after moving there to marry his wife, Robyn. Phillips died in Christchurch on 24 April 2025, at the age of 83.

Career

1960s

During the 1960s, Phillips was a member of The Song Peddlers which with addition of

Trevor Morais Trevor Morais (born 10 October 1944) is an English drummer who has been a member of several notable groups such as Faron's Flamingos, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, The Peddlers, Quantum Jump and the Elkie Brooks backing band. He is also a s ...

became a trio. The lineup also included Tab Martin. The group were managed by Alan Lewis. A single "Rose Marie" bw "I'm Not Afraid" was released on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

label in 1964. The group then became

. Also in 1964, and now known as The Peddlers they had some minor success with their debut single, "Let The Sun Shine In" which was written by

Teddy Randazzo Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935 – November 21, 2003) was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as " Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", " Pretty Blue Eyes", ...

. Phillips was one of the musicians placed in the 1967 ''Beat Instrumental'' Gold Star Awards. He shared the no. 12 spot with

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...

in the Keyboard Player category. Also in the same awards, The Peddlers were placed at no. 18 in the Best Group on Stage category. The group would go on to have hits with "

Birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

" and " Girlie".

1970s

In 1976, his group, Peddlers which he had led since 1964 broke up. In the same year, Phillips's solo album '' Mr Peddler'' was released on

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

It also had a limited release as a private pressing on the Wild Cherry label as ''Heavy on the Light Side''. The Wild Cherry release differed slightly from the Warner Bros. one. Also that year he had a single "My Spanish Sun" bw "The Office Party" out on the Sol-Doon label.Global Dog Productions �
45 Discography for Sol Doon Records – UK
/ref>

1980s to 1990s

In 1983, Phillips had a single released on the Warrior label which included releases by artists the Mike McGregor Band, Mantra and

Herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

. The single was "New Zealand, New Zealand" bw "Takapuna". In 1987, his single "Step By Step" bw "All Girl Planet" was released on Zulu Z006. Also in the late 1980s, Phillips headed the Sunday bill at the Sixth Southern Comfort Jazz and Blues Festival that was held in New Zealand over Queen's Birthday Weekend.

2000s

In 2006, he appeared on the television show ''

Close Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long ...

'', interviewed by John Sellwood. In 2007, a song by Phillips, "Closer" was featured on a Lord Large album, ''The Lord's First XI''. The album also featured recordings by

Glenn Tilbrook Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957, in Woolwich, London) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the English new wave band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in th ...

Clem Curtis Clem Curtis (born Curtis Clements; 28 November 1940 – 27 March 2017) was a Trinidadian British singer, who was the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group the Foundations. Background Early life Born in Trinidad as Curtis Clements, he a ...

Dean Parrish Dean Parrish (born Philip Anastasi, or Anastasia; December 30, 1942 – June 8, 2021) was an American singer from New York City, best known for the song " I'm on My Way", which became noted for being the penultimate record that was played at th ...

and

Linda Lewis Linda Ann Fredericks (27 September 1950 – 3 May 2023), better known as Linda Lewis, was an English singer, songwriter and musician. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo" (1973) and her version of Betty Everett's "The Shoop Sh ...

. Phillip's involvement in the project came about as a result of Large's friend, producer/drummer Jones who was honeymooning in New Zealand and had found a new drinking buddy who happened to be Phillips.Bisikleta Productions, Friday, 17 July 2009 �
PAUL WELLER PENNED TUNE DONE BY LORD LARGE
/ref> His album called ''Blue Groove'' (2014) was produced and recorded at Roy's "Groove Room" Studios which he set up at his home in Christchurch after moving there in 2002. In August 2017, he appeared at Peppers Beachfront restaurant in Gisborne.

Discography (selective)

Citations

References

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Roy 1941 births 2025 deaths Entertainers from Poole English keyboardists English pop guitarists English male guitarists English multi-instrumentalists English male songwriters Parlophone artists The Peddlers members The Saints (British band) members