Phil "The Collector" Swern (born Anthony Philip Swern, 30 June 1948) is an English radio producer and music collector, who earned the nickname "The Collector" from working on ''

Sounds of the 60s ''Sounds of the 60s'' is a long-running Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2 that features recordings of popular music made in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on 12 February 1983 and introduced by Keith Fordyce, who had been the firs ...

'' with

Brian Matthew Brian Matthew (17 September 1928 – 8 April 2017) was an English broadcaster who worked for the BBC for 63 years from 1954 until 2017. He was the host of '' Saturday Club'', among other programmes, and began presenting ''Sounds of the 60s'' in ...

. Born in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, London, he was formerly a record producer and songwriter, and has also written for television. He produced ''

Pick of the Pops ''Pick of the Pops'' is a long-running BBC Radio programme originally based on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Radio 2) from 19 ...

'' for

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has produced the show along with Tom Du Crozfor Radio 2 since 1997. He has also produced ''

'' for Radio 2 since 2007 and formerly produced the Saturday night '' Bob Harris Show'' for the same station, also producing Harris's Radio 1 shows in the early 1990s. He additionally devises the questions for the ''

PopMaster PopMaster (briefly known as Celebrity PopMaster from 2007–2008) is a popular music quiz on the ''Ken Bruce Show'' on BBC Radio 2 that has aired on weekday mornings since February 1998. It usually takes place at around 10:30 every weekday. The qu ...

'' quiz on Radio 2's '' Ken Bruce Show''. Swern co-wrote the quiz show ''Pop the Question'' with

Jeremy Beadle Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE (12 April 1948 – 30 January 2008) was an English television presenter, radio presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years appeared ...

and co-created fellow quiz show ''

That's Showbusiness ''That's Showbusiness'' is a game show that aired on BBC1 from 20 May 1989 to 8 July 1996 and hosted by Mike Smith. Format In the first three series, the game was played with two teams of three with team captains Kenny Everett and Gloria Hunni ...

'' with screenwriter

Jeremy Pascall Jeremy Pascall (Born as Jeremy James Zuppinger, 1946 - 30 Aug 2001) was an English screenwriter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He specialized in writing about humour and rock music, starting his career at the magazine ''New Musical Express' ...

. His first record production work was

Horace Faith Horace Faith (born Horace Smith, Jamaica) was a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his cover of the Checkmates, Ltd. song, "Black Pearl", which reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970. Released by Trojan Records (TR 7790), ...

's recording of "

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by ...

" for

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck t ...

in 1970. He went on to produce for many other musicians, including

the Pearls The Pearls were an English 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons (née O'Brien). They released a total of 12 singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Char ...

Polly Brown Polly Brown (born 18 April 1947), also known as Polly Browne, is an English singer from Birmingham. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey H ...

and

R&J Stone R&J Stone were the English/American husband and wife musical duo of Russell Oliver Stone and Joanne Stone. The pair were originally members of James Last's British Choir for a number of years. They had a hit single in the mid 1970s with their s ...

, whose "

We Do It "We Do It" is a song written by Russell Stone, who was the male half of the husband and wife duo R&J Stone. It was produced by Phil Swern, and became a hit in 1976, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a top 5 hit in Australia. ...

", released in 1976, reached number 5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Swern has the world's only complete collection of every

UK Top 40 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

chart hit A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

since records began in 1952. His extensive work within the music industry led to him being awarded a

BASCA The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

Gold Badge Award in October 2010.

References

External links

*
45cat list of singles producer credits45cat list of singles composer credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swern, Phil 1948 births Living people English record producers English songwriters People from Ealing English radio producers BBC radio producers BBC Radio 2 presenters