UP in that Pentheon inhabited by the biggest selling recording artistes of all time in Ireland - rubbing shoulders with Bono and the Boys - you might be surprised to bump into Phil Coulter.
You shouldn't be!
It's now 20 years since the distinctive sound of Tranquility, featuring Phil's piano and orchestra, first seduced the whole of Ireland with its easy melodic charm, before going on to make believers around the world.
With recor
d sales now counted in millions, as well as a Grammy nomination, several appearances in the White House and sold out international tours, it's been quite a ride!
Not that Phil Coulter had been a stranger to success in the music biz - prior to that, in the 20 years before Tranquility, he had achieved world-wide recognition as a hit songwriter with then partner Bill Manin, notching up chart entries with a diverse list of acts from Cliff Richard to Sandie Shaw, Elvis Presley to Waylon Jennings, from Bobby Vinton to The Bay City Rollers.
As a producer, his credits are formidable and include icons like Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor and Elvis Costello, classical greats like James Galway and one-of-a-kinds like Richard Harris.
He has worked with legends of Irish music like The Dubliners and Planxty and has written at least four of the Great lrish Songs. - the classic 'The Town I Loved So Well', the rugby anthem 'Ireland's Call' and the haunting 'Scorn Not His Simplicity' und 'Steal Away'.
Indeed his unique contribution to lrish music had been recognised by the awarding of three Honorary Doctorates and an hour long BBC TV Tribute.
As a writer, he is as productive as ever and is currently riding the crest of yet another wave, with the US success of his project 'Celtic Thunder', having notched up three consecutive Number Ones in Billboard's World Music Chart and collected their 2008 World Album of the year award.
Catch Phil Coulter at The Braid Arts Centre, Ballymena, on Wednesday, November 18.
