Phil and John was a contemporary Christian music duo from Mansfield who recorded and toured throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[1]
Phil and John were Phil Baggaley and John Hartley, childhood friends who first started playing together at the age of 13.[1] Their performances, which included an appearance at the Greenbelt festival in 1989,[2] typically incorporated music and comedy.[1] Although no longer performing and recording as a group, both remained within the music business: Baggaley went on to establish Christian record label Gold Records,[3] while Hartley moved to Nashville, Tennessee and became director of A&R for Worship Together Records.[4]
Whilst known for contemporary worship music as Phil and John, the duo also recorded secular music as "The Wood Thieves".[1] Their most notable release in this capacity was a single with The Grimethorpe Colliery Band and was a response to announcement of the closure of Grimethorpe Colliery.[5]