"On the skyline, the tall ships sail by..."

All 'Hands' on deck as Phil Beer’s tall story sets sail... the multi-instrumental musical wizard from top English acoustic roots band Show of Hands is a man with two missions - to shed the pounds and sail the seas.  Based in Exeter, Phil has toured for more than 15 years with singer-songwriter Steve Knightley in an award-winning double act.  He has now swapped the Albert Hall to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, leaving Devon for the Baltic in summer 2009.  The above title is a lyric from Show of Hands - have a listen to their folksy magic. 

At the start of Show of Hands' recent spring tour, Phil announced he was going on a five-month sponsored slim, weighing in at 18st 9lbs at the first gig in Leicester.  His slimathon, enthusiastically backed by SoH fans, followed the news last autumn that Steve’s young son Jack had leukaemia – a diagnosis that forced the frontman out of the autumn tour, which was then kept on the road by Phil and regular guest musician Miranda Sykes.  Fans, especially those from the supporters’ group Longdogs, raised thousands of pounds for the charity CLIC Sargent (Cancer & Leukaemia in Childhood) and happily Jack is now on the road to recovery.  Said Phil, "I wanted to do something personally with this in mind so half the money raised from the slim will go to the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, where young Jack is being treated." 

Phil, who has already lost 1 stone 5lbs, says the remaining money raised will be split between the Alzheimer’s Society and MS Research.  He has also revealed there is an end game keeping him motivated as he counts the calories – to crew in the famous Tall Ships' Races in 2009.  "Obviously I will need to be slimmer and fitter to be accepted but it’s a lifelong ambition of mine. Everyone has a dream – and that’s mine.  It would mean taking eight weeks out of Show of Hands' festival season but anyone who knows how much I enjoy performing live music will realise that only something very special would take me away from it." 

Phil’s hope, should he reach his goal, would be to help crew the Pegasus, a 74' rigged wooden cutter built in Bristol, in an expedition taking in twelve countries and 4,500 nautical miles between June and August '09.  Designed by top naval architect Ed Burnett and built by the Bristol Classic Boat Company, Pegasus will leave Salcombe on June 21st and ply 1,000 miles of waters to Gydnia in Poland.  The first leg of the actual race is Gydnia to St Petersburg, followed by a non-racing stretch of the voyage to Turku in Finland.  From there the second leg of the race heads across the Baltic Sea to Klaipeda in Lithuania where the final crew parade, prize-giving and race events take place.  Then Pegasus heads home via Sweden and Denmark. 

Up to 100 vessels, crewed by more than 5,000 people from some 30 countries will take part in the challenging, high-profile event.  Phil, who has his own small craft which he sails around the River Exe or to Show of Hands’ riverside studio, says: "There is another connection in as much as Diggory Rose, the son of our late friend and folk singer Tom Rose, will be skipper of Pegasus."

Owned by the Island Trust, who promote sailing opportunities for disadvantaged young people, the Pegasus will be officially launched by broadcaster and journalist Polly Toynbee on Thursday, May 22nd at Redcliffe Wharf, Bristol - with music provided by Phil.