Born: February 19th, 1942, Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
Nationality: British
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
Phil Coulter studied French and music at Queen’s University, Belfast. Already during his student days, he composed songs which were successfully recorded by Irish artists. In 1964, he moved to London to work as a songwriter and arranger for, amongst others, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He joined forces with Bill Martin, with whom he wrote several well-known songs, including ‘My Boy’, which was recorded by many artists, most famously Elvis Presley. Coulter also penned hits for Slik and Joe Dolan.
In the 1980s, Coulter moved to Bray, Ireland; in 1984, he released his first record as a solo artist. In 1995, he composed ‘Ireland’s Call’, an anthem played before matches of the united Irish and Northern Irish rugby team. In 2009, Coulter received the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA).
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Phil Coulter and Bill Martin composed two back-to-back UK entries, both commercially highly successful, ‘Puppet On A String’ for Sandie Shaw in 1967, the first victory in the contest for the United Kingdom, and ‘Congratulations’ for Cliff Richard in 1968. Prior to that, he had already been the pianist for the studio recording of 'I'm Walking the Streets In The Rain', the very first Irish Eurovision entry (1965), with Johnny Spence leading the orchestra for that recording session.
In 1970, Coulter wrote the arrangement to the Irish Eurovision winner ‘All Kinds Of Everything’; this Dana song was published by Martin and Coulter’s company. In 1975 came Coulter’s only participation as a conductor, when he led the orchestra during the Luxembourg entry ‘Toi’ for his future wife Geraldine Branagan, an Irish singer; Coulter had written the song in collaboration with Bill Martin and Pierre Cour. In 1978, Coulter and Martin wrote ‘Shine It On’ for Christian, who, with it, finished third in the UK Eurovision heats, A Song For Europe.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – United Kingdom
Song title – "Puppet On A String"
Rendition – Sandie Shaw
Lyrics – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Composition – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Studio arrangement – Phil Coulter / Kenny Woodman
Live orchestration – Kenny Woodman
Conductor – Kenny Woodman
Score – 1st place (47 votes)
Country – United Kingdom
Song title – "Congratulations"
Rendition – Cliff Richard
Lyrics – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Composition – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Studio arrangement – Norrie Paramor
Live orchestration – Norrie Paramor
Conductor – Norrie Paramor
Score – 2nd place (28 votes)
Country – Ireland
Song title – "All Kinds Of Everything"
Rendition – Dana
Lyrics – Derry Lindsay / Jackie Smith
Composition – Derry Lindsay / Jackie Smith
Studio arrangement – Phil Coulter
Live orchestration – Phil Coulter
Conductor – Dolf van der Linden (MD)
Score – 1st place (32 votes)
Country – Luxembourg
Song title – "Toi"
Rendition – Geraldine Branagan
Lyrics – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Composition – Phil Coulter / Bill Martin
Studio arrangement – Phil Coulter
Live orchestration – Phil Coulter
Conductor – Phil Coulter
Score – 5th place (84 votes)
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