Welsh singer-songwriter and Mott The Hoople hopeful's debut 45
Label: RCA
Year of Release: 1973
Here's a single I've been after for years, partly because I've come across recommendations on collector's sites before, and partly because it tickles every damn nerve-ending in my record collector's body. High-profile glam connections? Check. Big Jim Sullivan sessioning on it? Yes. Artist managed by Robert Stigwood? Of course. Huge music business hopeful whose career largely passed unnoticed? Why, Alan Phillips could barely look more like "Left and to the Back" fodder if he literally knocked on my door and sold me his story face-to-face.
Sadly, about the only information I've managed to dig up on Phillips was written by Anthony Brockway of the Babylon Wales blog, and obviously I'd feel very uncomfortable about replicating his research and passing it off as my own here - so please do read his webpage if possible and listen to this radio interview which will bring you up to date with his current career.
Those of you who are seeking a very brief summary of his career will probably be happy enough to know that Phillips auditioned for Mott The Hoople and came within a gnat's wing of getting the job, but instead ended up managed by Robert Stigwood who recognised his skills as a promising songwriter. Twelve of his tracks in demo form subsequently made their way out of the realms of music publishing and into the world of record labels, and EMI, Decca and RCA all expressed an interest in signing him for an LP, which subsequently emerged on RCA entitled "20th Century Musical Man".
That somewhat daring album title alone hints towards the expectations being pushed on the artist. It's highly probable that RCA thought they had another Bowie on their hands, or at the very least an Elton John figure who could emerge from the music biz backrooms to dazzle the world. In the event, interest was low and the album sold very poorly, and RCA noted the losses made and failed to pick up the option on any follow-up releases.
