# Phil Colclough

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{{Short description|English contemporary folk singer and songwriter (1940–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2020}}
__NOTOC__
'''Phil Colclough''' (11 January 1940 – 23 September 2019<ref>{{cite web|last=Drever|first=Kris|title=Kris Drever–The Call and the Answer–Glasgow Flat Session|website=[Facebook](/source/Facebook) |url=https://www.facebook.com/krisdreversings/posts/2642625985789278|access-date=28 July 2020}}</ref>) was an English [contemporary folk](/source/folk_music) singer and songwriter. His best known works, co-written with his wife, '''June Colclough''' (1941 &ndash; 12 October 2004), are "'''A Song for Ireland'''" (first recorded in 1977) and "The Call and the Answer".

June and Phil Colclough both came from north [Staffordshire](/source/Staffordshire), England, and both had careers in education.  Phil had been a navigator in the [Merchant Navy](/source/Merchant_Navy_(United_Kingdom)),{{sfn|Woods|1983|p=383}} which provided source material for some of his songs.  The Colcloughs founded the first folk music club in [Stoke-on-Trent](/source/Stoke-on-Trent) in 1960.
thumb|Phil Colclough's bench by the Thames
In 1966, they moved to London, where they were members of [the Critics Group](/source/the_Critics_Group) led by [Ewan MacColl](/source/Ewan_MacColl) and [Peggy Seeger](/source/Peggy_Seeger); they eventually left the group due to disputes stemming from they described as MacColl's "authoritarian tendencies".<ref>{{citation
 | title = Class act: the cultural and political life of Ewan MacColl
 | last = Harker | first = Ben
 | publisher = Pluto Press
 | year = 2007
 | isbn = 978-0-7453-2165-3
 | page = 209
}}.</ref>

In the 1970s, the Colcloughs returned to North Staffordshire, where they produced a folk music radio program for [BBC Radio Stoke](/source/BBC_Radio_Stoke).

"A Song for Ireland"{{sfn|Woods|1983|pp=349–350}} was inspired by a trip the Colcloughs took to the [Dingle Peninsula](/source/Dingle_Peninsula).  Described as a "modern classic",{{by whom?|date=December 2025}}<ref>{{citation
 |title = Celtic music: a complete guide
 |last = Sawyers
 |first = June Skinner
 |publisher = Da Capo Press
 |year = 2001
 |isbn = 978-0-306-81007-7
 |page = [https://archive.org/details/celticmusiccompl0000sawy/page/173 173]
 |url = https://archive.org/details/celticmusiccompl0000sawy/page/173
 }}.</ref> it has been recorded by several artists, including [Dick Gaughan](/source/Dick_Gaughan), [Luke Kelly](/source/Luke_Kelly), [Mary Black](/source/Mary_Black), [Ralph McTell](/source/Ralph_McTell), [The Dubliners](/source/The_Dubliners), [Damien Leith](/source/Damien_Leith), and [Scott Appel](/source/Scott_Appel).{{fact|date=December 2025}}

== Discography ==
*''Players from a Drama'' (1991)

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
*{{citation
 |title = The Oxford book of English traditional verse
 |series = Oxford Books of Verse
 |last = Woods
 |first = Frederick
 |publisher = Oxford University Press
 |year = 1983
 |isbn = 978-0-19-214132-3
 |url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordbookofengl00text
 }}.
*{{cite web
 | title = Origin: Song for Ireland (Phil and June Colclough)
 | publisher = The Mudcat Café
 | url = https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=105550
 | accessdate = 26 June 2011
}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colclough, Phil}}
Category:1940 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:Musicians from Staffordshire
Category:English folk singers
Category:English male songwriters

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Phil Colclough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Colclough) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Colclough?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.