Phil Palmer, a life as a (guitarist) midfielder

«Phil, do you remember that night? It was us, Ron Wood, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and that super drummer, maybe Phil Collins.” “No it was Roger Taylor, dear.” What might seem like a middle school joke, in which instead of French and German there are world rock stars, is a classic chat by Phil Palmer, whose autobiography has recently been translated for the Italian market Session Man – A life as a guitaristwith his wife Numa.

Any rock enthusiast (but actually also Italian music) should have come across his name at least once, printed among the credits of over 450 records since the beginning of the 70s. For the less attentive and for those too young to be familiar with his figure, Palmer could be defined as one of the silent witnesses of a beautiful piece of rock history. From his beginnings with the Kinks, his family of origin (Ray and Dave Davies are his uncles) to Dire Straits, through David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Eric Clapton and hundreds of others, Palmer has experienced the evolution of music firsthand rock of the last 50 years, marking it in a discreet way.

His discreet but fundamental presence in the recording sessions of some of the most important records in history reminds us that behind every great success there is often the work of exceptional musicians, perhaps little known to the general public only for the fact of having chosen to remain in the shadow. A situation that, over time, could also become frustrating. Not for Phil. «Absolutely not, I immediately realized that I preferred that type of work rather than being in front of the spotlight. As you can see, even on the cover of the book I hide behind the guitar. There are those who are born for one thing and those for the exact opposite.”

Exactly like that of many of his colleagues most exposed to the media, the story of his life is one that never sleeps: endless journeys to every corner of the world, collaborations with all or almost all of the youth idols, sensational encounters and various misadventures. All inevitably seasoned with the clichés that life on the road brings with it. «I have experienced much more than I could have dreamed of and continue to do so today. I ended up in shocking situations and I clearly savored the rock'n'roll life described in industry books, but I always managed to stop at the right moment, because I have always been a solid person.”

Photo: Mick Hutson/Redferns via Getty Images

Of course it's hard to imagine one school of rock better and crazier than that of the Davies brothers. «The best possible. My Uncle Dave would go around pawn shops looking for guitars sold by disgraced musicians. Among those, he had found a Telecaster, which in reality at the time due to legal problems Fender could not call in any way, which he gave to me as a gift. Over time I discovered it was a collector's item, for experts a Nocaster precisely because of the cause linked to its production in the early 1950s. I still use it today. It's the one I used on Bad Love by Eric Clapton.”

When he went on tour with the Kinks, Phil had just turned 20: «In America they were achieving sensational success and they asked me if I wanted to accompany them as a guitar technician and drivers occasional. Suddenly I found myself in New York, catapulted into a world I had only known through images and with a successful group to boot. For the first time I realized that I didn't really know the people I was with. In England they were one thing, there they were completely transformed. It seemed scary to me, I ended up doing the same things.”

For much of the book when referring to Clapton, even though they are now dear friends, Palmer calls him God, as if he were still in Swinging London in the early '60s. «Yes because I still remember all the time I spent at 17 learning the solo of Badgesperhaps the thing that more than anything else pushed me to become a musician. There was nothing outside of him. Then in '88 I was playing with Paul Brady and at a certain point God appeared. I couldn't have known it, but a short time later I would find myself in the studio recording Journeyman and to play with him at the Royal Albert Hall, in the concerts which were later published in 24 Nights».

One of those evenings, Phil understood that Clapton was not only a guitar genius, but a man of rare sensitivity. Palmer's father had never fully accepted his son's choice to become a musician and had always been a father-colonel. «One evening Clapton told me to invite my parents, because they couldn't miss an opportunity like seeing me play at the Albert Hall. He sent for them in a limousine and let me play a solo, which had never happened before. In the end my father came backstage and we hugged perhaps for the first time.”

Clapton stops for a while and Palmer is recruited by Mark Knopfler for the Dire Straits album On Every Street and for the subsequent tour. It is what will give him the fame he never really sought. He tours the world in packed arenas, but has one regret: «When Clapton started looking for musicians for his Unplugged he called me, but I had already given my word to Mark. I would probably still play with him today.”

Phil works tirelessly from one part of the world to the other and his name stands out above all in the works of George Michael, of whom he becomes the reference guitarist in the studio and live. Then, after playing in the backing band of Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee concert (“The realization of a dream, Brian Wilson went down and Paul McCartney went up”), in 2005 he was asked to organize the celebratory concert for the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster , a mammoth event with the greatest protagonists of the iconic guitar invented by Leo Fender. Everyone expects Clapton, Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck, he brings Brian May, Gary Moore and David Gilmour.

«Clearly the first two names I thought of were Mark and Eric, but they were busy on tour. It was a big disappointment. We tried to put together as many eras as possible with the best of what we could get. The same was true for Beck too. Jeff was simply the greatest of all. You ask anyone, they will name Hendrix, but shortly after they will reflect and mention the name Jeff Beck. Also because Jimi didn't have time to bring his style to what he had in mind, Jeff did. Hendrix himself went crazy for him and Eric always revered him. Or Brian May, certainly not famous for using the Strat, but whom I invited anyway that evening: for him Jeff was everything (May dedicated the song to Beck in '98 The Guv'nored). Playing with Gilmour was an indescribable experience: a moment later he is the typical English gentleman, a second later he attacks the pedals and creates a world that you didn't think could exist before.”

Amy Winehouse was also present that evening, certainly not going down in history for her guitar skills. «I didn't choose it, I found it absurd that it was there, because it was completely out of context, even though I adored it. The promoter wanted to increase the appeal of the evening. On the other hand, he was already a superstar. He arrived very late, so much so that we were in a panic, but then he gave an amazing performance.”

In Italy, Phil has found the classic place of the soul. Here at the end of the 90s he met his second wife Numa, an artist with whom he is in complete symbiosis, and dozens of artists to whom he lent his precious services, from Eros Ramazzotti to Pino Daniele through his friend and best man Renato Zero. A relationship, the one with our country, which however began well before, with the splendid work done there A gloomy day by Lucio Battisti. In fact, the solo contained in it is his With the pink ribbonconsidered by many to be the most beautiful in the history of Italian pop.

«The first time I realized I had come out of the shadows was in Italy. People stopped me for the Dire Straits experience, but then they immediately told me about that song. Renato Zero is the greatest performer I have ever known, while Pino, well, a giant soul and a visionary musician. We were very good friends, I miss him a lot.” Perhaps to convince me to go and see him, many people spoke to me about Ramazzotti as a great guitarist. Having spent a lot of time on it, I venture the question: «No, it's not (laughs). He has a lot of guitars and maybe he says he is, but he isn't.”

In the end you feel like asking him if, after forty years of playing other people's pieces, he hasn't found a sort of secret formula to identify with music written by others. «There isn't a formula, but clearly over time you refine tricks and arrive at certainties. I found myself in the right place at the right time, it's undeniable. But on my side I had such a high speed and ability to perform that it allowed me to work in the often crazy times required and with various genres. I never heard a piece before having to play it and this guaranteed me the spontaneity that those who called me required. Only when I started working with Clapton did I understand that I could start contributing actively to a piece that was being born. Before, I simply performed, adding the element of surprise.”

Today Phil is a happy man, without major regrets: «I made my mistakes and I tried not to repeat them. In my time, the school was really similar to the one described in The Wall. My music teacher said that music was a waste of time.”