I must be one of the few mudcatters that heard the first public performance of "Song For Ireland" in the Stoke on Trent Folk club.
Phil had a great repertoire of sea songs from his time in the merchant navy. He had some fine tales of his life at sea as well.
Another of his songs is "My grandfather knew the plough", recorded by Nick Jones. Phil's introduction to it was a graphic description of his Shropshire grandfather arriving in Stoke on Trent by train. The smoke and sulpher laden air from the pottery kilns made his grandfather think he had arrived in hell.