Fil Campbell

?Fil Campbell has a gently commanding way with a song ? she draws you in slowly until it's a case of sweet surrender.? Folk Roots Irish folk singer Fil (pronounced Phil) Campbell is most at home on a stage. Her lively and emotional performance of Irish songs both traditional and new have enchanted audiences across Europe. Accompanied by 2 stellar musicians, Brendan Emmett and Tom McFarland, Fil Campbell is ?a talent worthy of further recognition?? (Glasgow Herald)

Irish folk singer Fil (pronounced Phil) Campbell is most at home on a stage. Her lively and emotional performance of Irish songs both traditional and new have enchanted audiences across Europe. Accompanied by 2 stellar musicians, Brendan Emmett and Tom McFarland, Fil Campbell is ?a talent worthy of further recognition?? (Glasgow Herald)

She sings traditional songs that she learned as a child, has been writing songs since her school days, and has a knack of making every song sound brand new. Part of the Irish music industry all her life, Fil has recorded 4 CDs of original and traditional songs, has appeared on countless radio and television programmes at home and abroad, has toured extensively, and has presented her own radio and TV shows in Ireland.

From Belleek in Co. Fermanagh in the North of Ireland, Fil was brought up on the folk songs that were popular in Fermanagh and Donegal and spent her childhood immersed in music. With both ceilidh bands and singers in the family, music was all around and performance was part of everyday life, both at home and at school. Belleek is the home of the world famous Belleek Pottery, where Fil's father worked all his life, and where she in turn spent several Summer holidays.

After 3 CDs of original and contemporary songs, Fil returned to her roots for her most recent CD, Songbirds, which is the basis for her current touring show. A collection of folk songs popular in the 30s, 40s and 50s, Songbirds accompanies a TV series and DVD of the same name, which profiles the women singers of that period. Fil both performs and presents this documentary series which is already being seen as a valuable contribution to Irish traditional music archives.


?Fil Campbell ? has been likened to a lot of female performers, but can be compared to none. She has a unique voice and a knack of making every song her own.? The Word (Ireland)

Fil has been working as a full time performer since the late 1980s. Throughout the 90s she toured extensively throughout Europe, Ireland and the UK building up a strong and loyal following on the folk circuit, mainly across Germany, Holland and Belgium, accompanied by her husband and musical partner, percussionist Tom McFarland.

Her first CD, The Light Beyond the Woods, was recorded in 1992 in the world famous Spring Studios in Rostrevor, home of the Sands Family. Dreaming was recorded in 1996 - the title song, a commentary on life in Northern Ireland during the turbulent 90s, was written while travelling in Germany. It won the prestigious Letterkenny Song Festival. Beneath the Calm was a further collection of Fil's songs, released in 2002 and had the beautiful ?I Still Think of You? which she wrote in memory of her father.

Fil's first band, Misty Morning, named after a song she wrote while still at school, accompanied her through her years at Queens University in Belfast where she also became part of the local promoting scene. After a stint running the now extinct Fringe Festival, she travelled with bands for a few years and eventually settled back in Belfast where she worked as a music publicist and promoter for many of the biggest gigs in Ireland at the time, under the supervision of the late great Jim Aiken. During this time she continued singing with bands and as a solo performer and backing vocalist, and added radio presenting to her portfolio as the regular voice of folk music on the airwaves of local BBC Radio.

Highlights
? Songbirds DVD Winner of 2006 JP Folks Video Award.
? Tours with Tom McFarland and Brendan Emmett - Germany, Italy, Scotland, Luxembourg, Holland, Ireland and England.
? Runner up in Glinsk song contest 2002.
? First ever performer in Belfast's Stormont Castle - for Mo Mowlam's celebration of peace concert in 1998.
? Dreaming wins Letterkenny folk song contest 1996.

Discography
? The Light Beyond The Woods (1992)
? Dreaming (1996)
? Beneath The Calm (2002)
? Songbirds (2005)
? Songbirds DVD of TV Series (2006)