Phil Chevron
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
Top
Philip Chevron
- Genres: Rock
Biography
The musical traditions of Ireland are combined with the hard-edged attitude of punk rock by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Philip Chevron. A former member of The Pogues and The Radiators, Chevron has become one of the most unusual interpreters of the music of Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill. The son of an actor and theatrical producer, Chevron found his earliest inspiration in the cabaret singing of Agnes Bernelle, who he heard on the radio in 1971. He later produced one of Bernelle's albums. Influenced by the punk movement of the mid-1970s, Chevron joined with Pete Holidai and Steve Rapid to form one of Ireland's first punk bands, The RadiatorsFrom Space. The band's debut single, "Television Screen," released in 1977, reached number seventeen on the Irish music charts. When Rapid left the group, shortly afterwards, Chevron assumed his role as lead singer.
Despite the potential shown by their early recordings, The Radiators From Space had their reputation severly damaged when an audience member was killed at a punk festival that the group organized in Dublin.Despite moving to London and shortening their name to "The Radiators", the band continued to be hindered by circumstances beyond their control.Their second album, Ghost Town, was delayed for nearly a year. Although it received glowing reviews, when it was finally released, the group had lost its momentum and disbanded shortly afterwards. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Phil Chevron
 |
This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (May 2008) |
| Philip Chevron | |
|---|---|
 Philip Chevron, Milk club, Moscow, 29.08.2010 with the Pogues (photo: Zuzana Pernicová) |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Phillip Ryan |
| Born | June 17, 1957 |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Folk rock, folk punk, Celtic rock, Celtic punk |
| Occupations | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar, banjo, mandolin |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Associated acts | The Pogues, The Radiators |
Philip Ryan (born 17 June 1957 in Dublin), professionally known as Philip Chevron, is an Irish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the guitarist for The Pogues.
Career
Since the late 1970s, Chevron is the lead singer and a founding member of punk rock outfit, The Radiators from Space, receiving some critical acclaim, albeit little widespread popularity or financial success. Following a temporary breakup of the band in 1981, he lived in London for a time, meeting and befriending Shane MacGowan through time spent working together at a record shop.
Following the release of the Pogues' 1984 debut album Red Roses For Me, he was invited to join the band on a short-term basis as cover for banjo player Jem Finer's paternity leave. He then took over as guitarist following MacGowan's decision to concentrate on singing—thereby becoming a full-time member of the band in time for the recording of its second album, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.[1]
Although living somewhat in the shadow of MacGowan during his time with The Pogues, and lacking the former's pitch-black sense of humour and distinctive vocal style, Chevron proved himself as a singer-songwriter in his own right, creating the popular ballads "Thousands Are Sailing" and "Lorelei" amongst others.[citation needed]
Although primarily known as a guitarist, he is also a skilled player of the banjo and mandolin, as first demonstrated on The Pogues' third album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God. Chevron left The Pogues in 1994 following much-publicised problems with drugs and alcohol.
In 2003, he reformed The Radiators (Plan 9) along with ex-Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordan. They released the critically acclaimed Trouble Pilgrim in 2006. It topped the independent record charts but did not make any inroads into the mainstream. The album included a tribute to Chevron's friend, Joe Strummer.
In recent years, he has become, in effect, The Pogues' unofficial spokesperson and resident expert on the reclusive Shane MacGowan—frequently visiting online forums and directly answering questions from fans. In 2004, he personally oversaw the remastering and re-release of The Pogues' entire back catalogue on CD. He now tours regularly with The Pogues, who reunited after a successful reunion tour in 2001.
In June 2007, The Pogues' website announced that Chevron had been diagnosed with a case of "locally advanced" throat cancer. In early 2008, the same website announced that Chevron had recovered, and to his surprise and joy, his hearing had returned to almost pre-treatment levels. He embarked on the March 2008 tour of the United States and managed to sing "Thousands Are Sailing" in each of the performances. By 2009, Chevron had fully recovered from both the cancer and the resulting chemotherapy provided by the National Healthcare System of England.[2]
When not touring with The Pogues much of his time is spent seeing plays, musicals and operas primarily in London, Dublin and New York. Occasionally, he is involved professionally with productions and his reviews are regularly published on The Pogues official forum under "Speaker's Corner."[3]
References
- ^ Roddy, Martin. ShaneMcGowan.com. 2004. http://www.shanemacgowan.com/articles/chevroninterview.shtml
- ^ Harper, Jason. The Pitch Music Wayward Blog. October 23, 2009. http://www.pitch.com/wayward/archives/2009/10/23/wayward-qanda-interview-with-philip-chevron-of-the-pogues
- ^ Roddy, Martin. ShaneMcGowan.com. 2004. http://www.shanemacgowan.com/articles/chevroninterview.shtml
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
