Phil Colclough (11 January 1940 - 23 September 2019) was an English

contemporary folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from trad ...

singer and songwriter. His best known works, co-written with his wife, June Colclough (1941 – 12 October 2004), are "A Song for Ireland" and "The Call and the Answer". June and Phil Colclough both came from

North Staffordshire The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. The federation was one of ...

, England, and both had careers in education. Phil had been a navigator in the Merchant Navy, which provided source material for some of his songs. The Colcloughs founded the first folk music club in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

in 1960. In 1966, they moved to London, where they were members of

the Critics Group The Critics Group, also known as The London Critics Group, was a group of people who met to explore 'how best to apply the techniques of folk-music and drama to the folk revival' under the direction of Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, with some pa ...

led by

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

and

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

; they eventually left the group due to bitter disputes stemming from MacColl's "authoritarian tendencies". In the 1970s, the Colcloughs returned to North Staffordshire, where they produced a folk music radio program for

BBC Radio Stoke BBC Radio Stoke is the BBC's local radio station serving Staffordshire and South Cheshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, Freeview and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent. According to RAJAR, the station has a week ...

. "A Song for Ireland" was inspired by a trip the Colcloughs took to the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula (; anglicised as Corkaguiny or Corcaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of m ...

. Described as a "modern classic",. it has been recorded by numerous artists, including

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Ro ...

, Luke Kelly, Mary Black, Ralph McTell, Celtic Spirit, The Dubliners, Brendan Hayes, Damien Leith, and Scott Appel.

Discography

*''Players from a Drama'' (1991)

Notes

References

*. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colclough, Phil 1940 births 2019 deaths Musicians from Staffordshire English folk singers English male songwriters