Phil Bell
Phil Bell was still two months shy of his sixteenth birthday when he got himself noticed by Alan Lewis, editor of Sounds, in March 1981, just as the legendary weekly was reaching its apex. Presenting the genuine enthusiasm of a teenage rock fan, he became a popular freelancer for the next three years, through a golden age of hard rock – this was the time of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" – interviewing and reviewing many new and older rock and prog acts in the UK and abroad. His work was also featured in Kerrang!, Noise and International Musician.
However, with editors unwilling to allow Phil's changing tastes to be reflected in his commissions (he was now listening to African music and the Talking Heads), at just 18 he decided to follow in the footsteps of Bob Geldof and Chrissie Hynde. Phil quit writing in 1984 to focus on his own take on pop culture, and went on the circuit with his own hugely unsuccessful (of course, criminally underrated) pop-rock band, the Dice Club, before hearing 'Express Yourself' propelled him on into a love affair with earthy funk.
In the London scene of the early-mid '90s. he then developed a reputation as a monster rhythm guitar player – Michael Jackson's guitarist David Williams even described him as "a seriously funky dude." He toured Europe twice, once as guitarist for one of the earliest British live hip-hop acts, Brothers Like Outlaw, and also for singer Leena Conquest, whilst his own bands achieved little victories; the Filberts (including well-known thesps Charlie Creed-Miles and Dexter Fletcher) can be seen in the 1994 film Glastonbury –The Movie; Vibe Tribe released material on legendary all-live groove label Boogie Back and headlined regularly at Camden's Jazz Café; and as half of the Afropeans, one track, 'Afropean Wonderland' with contributions from Astrid Gilberto's band, came out. These bands opened for many R'n'B, Jazz and rap legends: Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston-Smith, Herbie Hancock. Guru and Arrested Development and others.
However, feeling his literary muscle was atrophying, Phil then redefined himself as Phil "Sweet Pea" Bellko, songwriter /solo artist and has since been alternating gigging with recording his debut album – for the past 17 years actually. It's not quite ready yet. Meanwhile he keeps the wolf from the door by teaching (mostly little) people the geetar in the always soulful London Borough of Camden.
29 articles
List of articles in the library
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 9 May 1981
IT WAS WITH a considerable degree of lingering dubiety that I ventured beyond the chimney-potted horizons of the far west from my humble North London ...
Diamond Head: "We are the natural successors to Zeppelin"
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 25 July 1981
THIS ASSIGNMENT begins in suburban Stourbridge, definitely not the R'n'R capital of the world, but a peaceful dwelling place satellite to Birmingham, England's second city, ...
Def Leppard, More: The Luxury Of Real Fur: Def Leppard/More: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 8 August 1981
SUBTLE AS THE brain-scalding squeals of a skewered pig on the barbecue, roasting alive. Ass-kickin', rabble-rousin', atom-splittin', hard-livin', ever givin'. More had the ear-ringin' toned ...
Riot (V): Riot: Fire Down Under
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 15 August 1981
YESSIRREE, THEM rich yankee dudes comfy smokin' their tabbacy'ed exhaust pipes in those croccy-skinned swivel-chairs sure am gonna be mighty peeved when they get that ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 19 September 1981
The Thinking Man's Schenker SCENE: Our capital's glorious, raz-ama-dazzling West End. Twenty-five feet across a spacious apartment in Chrysalis' head office, the other side of a ...
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 5 December 1981
IN THE BLACK CORNER, Sabbath. In the white corner, their sworn adversary, Ozzy Osbourne. Or vice versa. ...
AC/DC: For Those About To Yawn: AC/DC: For Those About To Rock (Atlantic K50851) ***
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 5 December 1981
WHEN I humbly volunteered to undertake this venture, I knew full well what a pasting I'd be letting myself in for. Pitting my feeble opinion ...
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 5 December 1981
THIS IS the bass player. His dinner jacket's splattered with a multiplied spectrum of colour. A Dulux hoarding on legs. Or maybe he walked under ...
The Scorpions: Lord of the Stings
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 5 December 1981
PHILIP BELL makes buddies with Scorpions' skinsbeater HERMAN RAREBELL ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 19 December 1981
Phillip Bell takes a squawk on the wild side with HM survivors Budgie ...
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 19 December 1981
PAGE ONE, question one How the hell do you go about an anatomical analysis of an album when you know you love it, but shouldn't, ...
Sammy Hagar: Standing Hampton (Geffen) ***½
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 9 January 1982
Sammy gets his Hampton caught ...
Sammy Hagar: Hagar The (not quite so) Horrible
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 23 January 1982
Philip Bell meets the untypically reticent man behind that Standing Hampton ...
Iron Maiden: Run For The Pils!
Report and Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 20 February 1982
The flanning of Iron Maiden: report by PHILIP BELL ...
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 27 February 1982
UNLIKE LEGIONS of musical kompatriots, Krokus have nothing to prove. Nobody in the kamp has tempted fate by kontroversially shooting their mouth off about anything, ...
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 27 February 1982
CHASE THE ALBUM. "Here's a track from our new album, out on September 12th," quoth mag-estic Bob Catley . . . at Reading Festival, 1980. So, ...
Iron Maiden, The Rods: Mark Of The Beast: Iron Maiden/The Rods: Queensway Hall, Dunstable
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 6 March 1982
BEEN A LONG TIME since the Queensway Hall's played host to such an uncouth, freakin' gang of insuffisticates as the Rods. ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 27 March 1982
ONE DAY by the seaside. A menacing ocean rears up and surges landward. Cruel winds lash our locks into matty rastafarian entanglement. Doomy clouds are giving ...
The Scorpions: Manchester Apollo
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 24 April 1982
APOLLO was clearly the operative term as German blitzkreig '82 style blasted off. ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 8 May 1982
INKING THE dotted line with major record company MCA has instigated no dramatic transformation in lifestyle for Stourbridge's stealthiest grafters, Diamond Head. ...
Marillion: The Dial Inn, Glasgow
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 22 May 1982
MARK MY WORDS. Critics will choke and chuckle en bleeding masse. But when action's sizzling at grass roots level, to apathetically ignore it would be ...
Judas Priest: Screaming For Vengeance ****
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 3 July 1982
Vengeance is mine ...
Live Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 24 July 1982
BOING, boing, boing, boing… Cor what a pair! ...
Electric Gypsies: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 2 October 1982
This p-p-p-p-FEATURE is a ber-ber-ber-bout per-per-per-p-p-Bernie Torme's Electric ch-ch-ch-Gypsies. ...
Marillion: Sob Standard: Marillion: Script For A Jester's Tear (EMI) *****
Review by Phil Bell, Sounds, 12 March 1983
PREDICTABLE? Little over a year has elapsed since Marillion were first propelled into the public eye by your fave rock weekly. What with X Russell, ...
Peter Gabriel: Tales Of The Gold Monkey
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 1 October 1983
Philip Bell discovers the shocking truth behind Peter Gabriel ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 26 November 1983
Phil Bell gives the nod to the reformed, revitalised Yes ...
Interview by Phil Bell, Sounds, 15 September 1984
THE SMELL of success? For this interview, not the thin atmosphere of air-conditioned record company offices, nor the sterile tang of a posh hotel suite. ...
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