Phil Kelsall

In 1977 Phil Became Principal Resident Organist At The Tower Ballroom In Blackpool A Position He Has Held Ever Since. The Link Between The Tower Ballroom And The BBC Has Always Been A Strong One More Recently Through The Hit Series Strictly Come Dancing . The Legendary Reginald Dixon Broadcasts Will Be Particularly Remembered By Many And Phil Kelsall Was To Continue This Link When In 1980 He Was Asked By The BBC To Record For The Sam On Sunday Shows Following Reginald Dixon’s Retirement Part Way Through That Series. Phil Has Also Acted As A Guest Presenter For Radio 2’s The Organist Entertains. Numerous Credits Have Also Included Radio 4’s Long Running The Archers And Radio 2’s Flagship Music Programme Friday Night Is Music Night. Phil Has Met Many People Throughout His Career However This Is Without Doubt His Most Memorable Meeting.
Television And Film Crews Never Seem To Be Far Away From The
Tower Ballroom And Phil Has Been Filmed Demonstrating The Wurlitzer Sometimes Along With Celebrities Such As David Soul Barbara Windsor And Even Rod Hull And Emu To Name But A Few. The BBC Recorded An Edition Of Songs Of Praise At The Tower Featuring Phil At The Wurlitzer. During The Past Few Months The Sound Of The Wurlitzer Has Once Again Returned To The TV Screen With Appearances In Yet Another Edition Of Songs Of Praise This Time From The Thursford Christmas Spectacular Show And Also As Part Of The New Year’s Eve Celebrations From Blackpool Tower. Off Camera Phil’s Music Has Been Heard In TV Adverts Documentaries Soap's And In Programmes Such As Last Of The Summer Wine. The Demands On Phil For Concert Appearances Have Always Been Heavy And His Touring Season Begins At The End Of October And Continues Until May Each Year When He Returns To The Tower Ballroom For The Summer Season. A Significant Engagement Is Playing The Wurlitzer At The Thursford Collection For Their Season Of Christmas Shows Which Runs To Around 70 Performances Each Year Performing To An Estimated Audience Of Over 110 000. Phil Performs Frequent Concerts In The The USA And Has Undertaken A Highly Successful Tour Of Australia And New Zealand. Phil Kelsall’s First Recording Thank You For The Music Was Released By EMI In 1978 And At Least One Album Has Been Recorded By Phil At The Tower Each Year Since Then. Together With Recordings Made On Various Electronic Instruments Notably The Technics SX FA1 Phil Has Over 40 Albums To His Credit Excluding Compilations And Re-Issues And It Has Been Estimated That He Now Has More Recordings Available Than Any Other Organist In The World. In 1987 Phil Kelsall Became The First British Theatre Organist To Release An Album On CD. No Fewer Than Three Of Phil’s Recordings Have Won The Music Retailers Association’s Award As Best Middle Of The Road Non-Vocal Recording. In The Summer Of 2001 A Compilation Double Album Of Some Of His Light Classical Recordings Was Released On The Prestigious Universal Classics Label And In Its First Week Entered The Classical Albums Chart As The Highest New Entry Of The Week At Number Six. Phil’s Album Was To Remain In The Classic Top 20 For An Amazing Twelve Consecutive Weeks An Unprecedented Achievement For A Theatre Organ Album. In The 1980s The Video Was Becoming A Popular Form Of Home Entertainment And Determined To Respond To Continually Changing Trends Phil Released The First Known Commercial Theatre Organ Video In 1983 Recorded Naturally At The Tower Which For The First Time Brought The Unique Visual Atmosphere Of The Tower Ballroom Into The Home.
A Series Of Videos Followed Many Of Which Are Now Available On DVD. It Is In Recognition Of Phil Kelsall’s Contribution To The World Of Organ Music That Several Other Honours Have Been Bestowed Upon Him. He Has Held The Title Of ‘Organ World Personality Of The Year’ And He Was Elected Patron Of The Theatre Organ Club On Four Occasions. In 1987 He Was Voted President Of The Theatre Organ Club And Is Only The Second Person To Hold This Office In The Club’s Long History. In 1993 Phil Kelsall Was Particularly Proud To Receive The Coveted Gold Badge Award Of The British Academy Of Songwriters Composers And Authors For His Service To The British Music Industry. Fellow Recipients Of This Award Have Included Shirley Bassey And Jools Holland. During The Time That Phil Kelsall Has Been Entertaining The Public Communications And Home Entertainment Have Been Revolutionised. The Internet Has Become Universal And Information About Phil And His Music Is Now Available To A Far Wider Audience Than Ever Before Through His Own Website. CDs Have Replaced Cassettes And Video Has Given Way To DVD And Online Streaming. By Enthusiastically Embracing These Technological Changes Phil Ensures That His Timeless Music Can Remain Available Not Only For The Enjoyment Of Today’s Audiences But Also For Those Of Tomorrow. Phil Is Extremely Proud To Have Unexpectedly Received The MBE In The
2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List For Services To Music And Phil Has Now Joined Former Tower Legends Reginald Dixon And Norman Barrett Who Were Also Recipients Of This Honour. read less