Steve Phillips (musician)

Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips onstage in Leeds, U.K., 1978, with his vintage National guitar
Background information
Born	(1948-02-18) 18 February 1948 (age 70)
Origin	London, England
Genres	blues music, country music
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, guitar maker, painter
Instruments	Acoustic & electric guitar
Years active	1968 – present
Associated acts	Mark Knopfler, Brendan Croker, Notting Hillbillies
Website	stevephillipsandtheroughdiamonds.co.uk

Steve Phillips (born 18 February 1948) is an English blues and country musician. He is mainly renowned for being part of the supergroup Notting Hillbillies along with the Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Brendan Croker.

Phillips was born in London, England, but when still a child his family moved to Leeds; he has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life. His father, Harry Phillips, was a sculptor (Harry Phillips inspired Mark Knopfler to write the song "In the Gallery," from the debut Dire Straits album), and his mother was a painter. At the age of 13, Phillips began learning to play guitar and started playing in different pubs in Leeds. In 1965, at the age of 17, he formed a band called Easy Mr. Steve's Bootleggers in which he mainly played piano. The group eventually recorded some demos but these were not released until 1996. They split up in 1967, although the various musicians continued to work together in different combinations from time to time.

In 1968, after buying his first steel resonator guitar, a vintage National, he played many solo gigs in Leeds pubs. Then, a journalist working for The Yorkshire Evening Post, called Mark Knopfler, met him to get an interview. They soon become friends and started playing together. Their stage name was The Duolian String Pickers. They went on playing in different pubs. Finally, in 1973, Knopfler left Leeds and moved to London to become part of Brewers Droop and, afterwards, founded Dire Straits, with whom he finally reached mainstream recognition.

By the mid-1970s, Phillips had met the Bradford-born songwriter, singer and guitarist Brendan Croker. They opened a club in a Leeds pub called The Packhorse, where they also played guitar. As a side project, Phillips spent his spare time painting. Finally, in the 1980s, Phillips was persuaded to release his first album, titled ironically The Best of Steve Phillips. Recorded between 1977 and 1986, the album contained fourteen tracks, only one of which was self-composed: the rest were classic country blues and ragtime instrumentals by such artists as Blind Willie McTell, Big Bill Broonzy and Blind Blake. In 1989, he released a second album, Steel-Rail Blues, which contained more of his own compositions as well as arrangements of others' songs.