Harold Adolphus Phillips (15 January 1929 – 5 July 2000), known as Lord Woodbine, was a Trinidadian

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

and music promoter. He is regarded by some as the musical mentor of

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 ...

, and has been called the "sixth Beatle".Alan Clayson
"'Lord Woodbine'"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 10 July 2000.

Early life

Phillips was born in

Laventille Laventille is a suburb of Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago. It is administered by the San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation. Etymology The name ''Laventille'' hearkens back to colonial times, especially when the French dominated the cu ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. In 1943, at the age of 14, he lied about his age and joined the RAF. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he went back to Trinidad in 1947, where he started to sing calypso. He returned to England in 1948 on the HMT ''Empire Windrush'', the ship which carried the first boatful of West Indian immigrants to post war Britain. The boat also transported two other calypso singers, Aldwyn Roberts (Lord Kitchener) and Egbert Moore (Lord Beginner). Phillips lived in Clapham before moving to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in Shropshire. His calypso band, Lord Woodbine and his Trinidadians, was one of the first to tour England. The Jacaranda

Phillips had a variety of jobs in the 1950s, and opened the New Colony Club in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He also sang calypso and played the guitar. He played a tenor pan as part of the first professional

steel band The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared ...

in England, the All Caribbean Steel Band, which was formed by Gerry Gobin in 1955, and played regularly at the Joker's Club and then the Jacaranda Club in Liverpool, owned by

Allan Williams Allan Richard Williams (21 February 1930 – 30 December 2016) was a British businessman and promoter who was the original booking agent and first manager of the Beatles. He drove the van to take the young band to Hamburg, West Germany, in 1960 ...

. Phillips later played with the All Caribbean Steel Band in their television appearance on the '' Opportunity Knocks'' in July 1965. His music and its influence remain relatively obscure because little of his music was recorded.

The Beatles

Airborne-War-Cemetery Oosterbeek Nederland-04

Phillips was a promoter of

in their teenage years, then known as the Silver Beetles, and they also played at the Jacaranda Club. The nascent band was occasionally known as "Woodbine's Boys" due to their close relationship. The Beatles played at a new club,

New Cabaret Artists' Club New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, that Phillips and Williams opened in 1960, and he helped with their first visit to Hamburg in 1960. He was in favour of adding percussion to their four-guitar band and

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (; born 24 November 1941) is an English retired musician who was the drummer for the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. He was dismissed shortly before the band achieved worldwide fame and is one of several people referred to as a ...

joined

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a British painter and musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, best known as the original bass guitarist of the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a pa ...

in August 1960. Phillips drove the Beatles to Hamburg in an Austin minibus. En route, they were photographed together at

Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery The Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, more commonly known as the Airborne Cemetery, is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Oosterbeek, near Arnhem, the Netherlands. It was established in 1945 and is home to 1,764 graves from the Seco ...

. He performed as Lord Woodbine on the same stage as the Beatles at their first performance in Hamburg in August 1960. Phillips became the manager of another Liverpool club, the Blue Angel, in 1961, also owned by Williams. After an argument with Williams over fees, the Beatles engaged

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

as their manager in November 1961 and lost contact with Phillips.

Personal life and death

Phillips married Helen (Ena) Agoro in 1949, in Liverpool. She sang with another of his bands, the Cream of Trinidad. They lived in

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

, and had one son and seven daughters. Phillips later ran a second-hand shop. He and his wife died in a fire at their home in Toxteth on 5 July 2000. He was buried in Liverpool's

Allerton Cemetery Allerton Cemetery is a cemetery in Allerton, Liverpool, England. The cemetery, of , is one of the main burial sites for the Metropolitan Borough of Liverpool and is Grade II listed. Springwood Crematorium is situated opposite the cemetery on ...

. His daughter Barbara Phillips became a playwright, and wrote episodes for ''

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''.

In fiction

In the 1994 film ''

Backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a pi ...

'', Lord Woodbine was played by the actor Charlie Caine.

References

External links

Beatles Bible
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbine, Lord 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Trinidad and Tobago calypsonians 1929 births 2000 deaths Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom The Beatles Deaths from fire