Anthony Phillips

Anthony Edwin Phillips
Anthony Phillips
Background information
Also known as	Ant The Vicar Vic Stench
Born	23 December 1951 (1951-12-23)
Origin	London, England, UK
Genres	Classical Rock Progressive Rock
Instruments	guitar vocals keyboards bass guitar dulcimer drums percussions
Labels	Virgin Voiceprint Hit & Run Vertigo RCA Arista Passport
Associated acts	Genesis Mike Rutherford Camel
Website	anthonyphillips.co.uk

Anthony Edwin "Ant" Phillips (b. 23 December 1951, Chiswick, west London) is an English multi instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of the band Genesis. He played guitar and sang backing vocals until leaving in 1970, following the recording of their second album, Trespass. He left due to suffering from stage fright, after being told by his doctor that the best thing would be to leave the band. He is known for his twelve string guitar work, and his influence can be heard throughout Genesis's early output.

Genesis's first album after Phillips's departure, Nursery Cryme, featured two songs which were holdovers from the days when Phillips was in the band: "The Musical Box" (originally called F#) and "The Fountain Of Salmacis".

After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music (especially classical guitar) and made recordings in collaboration with Harry Williamson, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, among others.He played the keyboards on the demos for Peter Gabriel in 1976. His first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, was issued in 1977.

Phillips released his second album, Wise After the Event, in 1978. This was followed the next year by Sides. Both of these albums were produced by Rupert Hine and were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither album was successful in that regard.

In its initial release in the UK, Sides was accompanied by a more experimental album entitled Private Parts and Pieces; in the U.S. and Canada the two albums were issued separately. Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion followed the next year, and several further sequels were issued in the 1980s and 1990s.

Phillips began writing material with Andrew Latimer of Camel in 1981, and was a featured performer on that band's album, The Single Factor (released in 1982).

Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled Invisible Men in 1983. He later claimed that this project went "horribly wrong" as a result of commercial pressures, and would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialised material.

Phillips remains involved in a variety of musical projects, including extensive soundtrack work in England often for the label Atmosphere part the Universal Music Group. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled The Living Room Concert, which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material. He also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, Genesis Archive 1967-75, released in 1998.

Several of his albums feature artwork by Peter Cross.

Discography

Genesis

Studio

• From Genesis to Revelation (1969)
• Trespass (1970)

Compilations

• Genesis Archive 1967-75 (1998)
• Genesis 1970–1975 (2008)

Solo Albums

Studio

• The Geese and the Ghost (1977)
• Wise After the Event (1978)
• Private Parts and Pieces (1978)
• Sides (1979)
• Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion (1980)
• 1984 (1981)
• Private Parts and Pieces III: Antiques (1982, with Enrique Berro Garcia)
• Invisible Men (1983, with Richard Scott)
• Private Parts and Pieces IV: A Catch at the Tables (1984)
• Private Parts and Pieces V: Twelve (1985)
• Private Parts and Pieces VI: Ivory Moon (1986)
• Private Parts and Pieces VII: Slow Waves, Soft Stars (1987)
• Missing Links Volume One: Finger Painting (1989)
• Slow Dance (1990)
• Private Parts and Pieces VIII: New England (1992)
• Sail the World (1994)
• Missing Links Volume Two: The Sky Road (1994)
• The Living Room Concert (1995)
• Private Parts and Pieces IX: Dragonfly Dreams (1996, with Enrique Berro Garcia)
• Archive Collection I (1998)
• Private Parts and Pieces X: Soirée (1999)
• Radio Clyde (2003)
• Archive Collection Volume II (2004)
• Field Day (2005)
• Missing Links Volume IV: Pathways & Promenades (2009)

Compilations

• Harvest of the Heart (1985)
• Anthology (1995)
• Legend (1997)
• Legend (1999) [Different release from above]
• Soft Vivace (2002)
• All Our Lives (2002)
• Soundscapes (2003)

Collaborations

• Tarka (1988, with Harry Williamson)
• Gypsy Suite (1995, with Harry Williamson)
• Meadows of Englewood (1996, with Guillermo Cazenave)
• Missing Links Volume 3: Time and Tide (1997, with Joji Hirota)
• Live Radio Sessions (1998, with Guillermo Cazenave)
• Wildlife (2008, with Joji Hirota)

Guest appearances

• Intergalactic Touring Band: Intergalactic Touring Band (1977)
• Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep's Day (1980)
• Camel: The Single Factor (1982)
• Iva Twydell: Duel (1982)
• Asha (Denis Quinn): Open Secret (1987)
• Asha (Denis Quinn): Mystic Heart (1989)
• Asha (Denis Quinn): Amadora (1991)
• David Thomas & Ronnie Gunn: The Giants Dance (1996)
• Mother Gong: Battle of the Birds (2004)
• ProgAID: All Around The World (2004)
• Steve Hackett: Out of the Tunnel's Mouth (2009)

External links

• Anthony Phillips Official Site