Phil Coulter admits he has made his fair share of mistakes in life but has no regrets and a lot to be thankful for.
Aged 82, the chart-topping songwriter is currently on a nationwide tour and counts his lucky stars that he is still able to do what he loves for a living.
And while there are some moments in life where he didn’t get everything right, Phil believes everything happens for a reason.
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He told RSVP Country: “I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Nobody has the divine right to get everything correct. I think for all of the misjudgements and missteps, you have to be philosophical and view them as the different ingredients that make you the person who you are today. You can’t look back and have regrets.
“I’m 82, still in good health and about to embark on a nationwide tour. I’ve a lot to be thankful for. Whatever occasions where the planets weren’t aligned properly, I dropped the ball, or the heavens fell on me personally or professionally, they were all part and parcel of making me the man I am today.”
Phil is still touring after nearly 60 years working in the music industry. He has no plans to slow down or retire but admits there are a couple of things which he has “no control” over.
“One is my health,” he explained.
“Thanks be to God I have good health and no issues which would stop me from touring. I’m in good shape, I look after myself. If I suddenly developed some debilitating disease – touch wood I don’t – that stops me from touring, that would be that.
“Or, if people stop buying tickets or turning up, I think I’ll get the memo. As long as I’ve got the energy, passion and health, and as long as people keep turning up, I’ll keep going.”
Phil has worked with some big names in music and has achieved major success in the Eurovision Song Contest. This means he has accumulated plenty of “pinch me” moments from over the years.
He recalled: “I remember way, way back in my early days I was working with a new band in Belfast called Them. The lead singer was an unknown young man called Van Morrison. I was assigned to work with the band with an American producer called Bert Berns. I was like a sponge, soaking up everything that he did and didn’t miss a trick.
“I remember the first time I heard Luke Kelly sing The Town I Loved So Well to a packed Royal Albert Hall. I was 25 when I went on stage after Sandie Shaw had been announced as winner of Eurovision in 1967. I was only a kid! Having stood with my nose pressed against the window pane for such a long time, to be allowed into the toy shop, I knew I was now in the game.
“Those are the moments that stay with you and I’m blessed to have so many to look back on.”
Phil’s career has spanned over six decades, and while still grateful to be working, isn’t too pushed on accomplishing more goals.
He said: “I’ve long given up on the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is a transient thing, it’s not a state of mind that is enduring.
“Nobody is happy 24 hours a day, but the trick is when there are moments where everything is going well, slow down, breathe deep and saviour it. That’s the important thing.
“If you can achieve some level of satisfaction and fulfilment of your goals in your professional life, and contentment in your personal life, I think you’ve got it cracked. That’s as near a state of happiness as you’re ever going to get.”
Read the full interview with Phil in this issue of RSVP Country - on shelves now
English (US) ·