Phil Beer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phil Beer (born 1953 in Exminster, Devon) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.

Phil Beer first began to play fiddle, guitar, and mandolin whilst still at school in Teignmouth, Devon. This passion for acoustic music was especially stirred by the Davey Graham album Folk Blues and Beyond. He played his first gig when he was fourteen in a band called Retrospect with Richard Entwistle and other musicians, and by the time he was sixteen he was performing regularly. Beer worked with Paul Downes as a duo and also in the Arizona Smoke Revue. He joined the Albion Band in 1984 and stayed with them until 1991, touring extensively at home and abroad, and recording many albums. Show of Hands became a full-time partnership from 1991. Beer continues to do session work, most notably on the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels album.