Phil Beer

Phil Beer (born 1953 in Exminster, Devon) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.

Beer first began to play fiddle, guitar, and mandolin whilst still at school in Teignmouth, Devon. This passion for acoustic music was especially stirred by the Davey Graham album Folk Blues and Beyond. He played his first gig when he was fourteen in a band called Retrospect with Richard Entwistle and other musicians, and by the time he was sixteen he was performing regularly. Beer worked with Paul Downes as a duo and also in the Arizona Smoke Revue. He was a key member of Johnny Coppin's band (ex-Decameron), and together they collaborated with Nigel Mazlyn Jones on his 1979 Sentinel album. He toured with Mike Oldfield in 1979 and also recorded some tracks at Oldfield's Througham studio. Beer joined the Albion Band in 1984 and stayed with them until 1991, touring extensively at home and abroad, and recording many albums. Show of Hands became a full-time partnership from 1991. Beer continues to do session work, most notably on the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels album.