a bit of a departure, a favourite in live performances, and has been described as "sweet"... what else could it be?

Phil Hooley - Sticky Toffee Pudding

The opening track of the solo album "Songs From The Back Room", recorded during lockdown 2020. Featuring top session players, Simon Goulding on bass, Scott Poley on guitar and pedal steel, Chris Howard on piano and B3, Mel Osten on backing vocals and Justin Johnson on drums. Produced by Justin Johnson, masters by Tony Draper.

Songs From The Back Room

Songs From The Back Room - 01 - Learning To Be Still

The second track of "Songs From The Back Room", tells the story of Evangelina, stuck in a small town. Phil's sensitive lyrics tell the story. Simon Goulding features on bass, Scott Poley on guitar and lap steel, Justin Johnson on drums. Produced by Justin Johnson and mastered by Tony Draper.

That Same Old Song

Songs From The Back Room - 02 - That Same Old Song

A single taken from the album, "Songs From The Back Room" featuring Robert Vincent sharing the vocals on this popular track.

Midasville

Songs From The Back Room 03. Midasville

What began as a story about a girl looking for her missing sister, became a much broader take on regret and past mistakes. Originally released in 2020 as a single

Come On Home

Songs From The Back Room 04.  Come On Home

As ever, Phil's lyrics have a subtle humour to them, taking the story of a downbeat guy told in a sympathetic way.

Pour Me A Drink

Songs From The Back Room 05 Pour Me A Drink

A track from a seasoned songwriter and traveller, reflecting on the one thing that remains a mystery to him.

Mystery

Songs From The Back Room 07 Mystery

Living in a remote part of North Yorkshire, Phil's lyrics tell of the contrast in his observations of the world around him and the peaceful place where he lives. the song is brought to life by the lovely fiddle playing of Andrea Zonn (a long time member of James Taylor's touring band)

River Of Dreams

Songs From The Back Room 06 River Of Dreams

A song with a jazzy groove, telling of procrastination with a touch of melancholy. Not exactly giving up, but there is a sense of inertia brought on by what is revealed in the last verse. A cool groove, with Pete Norman on upright bass.

Maybe Later

Songs From The Back Room 08 Maybe Later

An uplifting track, the title says it all really. When things aren't going quite right, or you seem to have hit a dead end, push through. As someone said, it's not the number of times you get knocked down, it's the times you get back up.

Trust Your Heart

Songs From The Back Room 09 Trust Your Heart

"What a sad song!" was Andrea's comment on hearing the track, and she went on to nail it with some beautiful fiddle playing. It's a song about an inevitable break up, tinged with regret.

I Guess It's Time We Said Goodbye

Songs From The Back Room 10 It's Time We Said Goodbye

About The Band
Phil is busy as both a solo artist and as frontman for the country band The Woolgatherers. During many years of playing in cover bands in pubs, clubs and small festivals, Phil developed his performance skills and was also writing his own songs. With the encouragement of friends and fellow musicians, Phil began performing his own material in the early "naughties".
The Woolgatherers who were first formed in 2009 when several musicians from a variety of bands playing in the Scarborough and York area got together to perform some of Phil's songs. Later that year they released their first album, entitled “Long Way To Indigo” recorded and produced by Simon Wright at the Imphut Studios in York. The album, was released in 2009 received impressive reviews from Sam Inglis in Sound On Sound, and also in The Link magazine. Sam Inglis describes Phil’s voice as “more Knopfler than Sinatra” and Phil’s own love of songwriters such as Guy Clark, Nick Lowe and Bob Dylan is also evident in the delivery. The songs range from Blues to Folk to Country, sometimes with a touch of Swing. Four of the songs from the album were commended as semi-finalists in the UK Songwriting Contest. 

The second album entitled “ I See” was released in July 2013, recorded by Sam Forrest (from Nine Black Alps and The Sorry Kisses) and produced by Dave Keegan, and is probably more reflective than the first, but still contains the same variety of styles, influences and energy. Three of Phil’s songs, Desperate To Dance, One More and The Till have been played on BBC Introducing. 

Due to lockdown, Phil recorded his third collection of songs as a solo album. Entitled "Songs From The Back Room", on this album Phil teamed up with producer Justin Johnson and some top class session musicians. Robert Vincent appears on Midasville, sharing the vocals and Andrea Zonn (twenty years in James Taylor's touring band) plays some lovely fiddle on a couple of the tracks.

Phil Hooley

Popular tracks