Fil Campbell

Interview recorded on Thur 30th June 2011

Well this week I had the pleasure of meeting with musician ,songwriter and great singer Fil Campbell and percussionist Tom McFarland, both who took time out of their busy schedule to come to Youghal and sit in with me for an hour to talk about music,song’s and life’s great mysteries. Fil has to date recorded  over five albums mixing many old songs with her own compositions which give the listener a great choice of sounds to listen to and to be carried away on. To top it off she presented her own radio and TV shows in Ireland

Fil Campbell grew up in Belleek in Co. Fermanagh in the North of Ireland. She was brought up on the folk songs that were popular in Fermanagh and Donegal and spent her childhood immersed in music. With both ceilidh bands and singers in the family, music was all around and performance was part of everyday life, both at home and at school. She started singing semi professionally while still at school, returning to full time performing in the 1990s after a spell working as a music publicist and radio presenter for BBC Northern Ireland

Fil Campbell is an Irish singer from Co. Fermanagh who mixes traditional and contemporary Irish songs with some of her own compositions has appeared on countless radio and television programmes at home and abroad, has toured extensively, and has presented her own radio and TV shows in Ireland. She has recorded 5 CDs to date: 3 recordings of original and contemporary material, followed by 2 charming CD collections of popular Irish folk songs from the 30s and 40s. These recordings were the focus of a TV documentary series in Ireland in 2006 called Songbirds which profiled the lives and music of women singers from the early 20th century. Fil both performed in and narrated this documentary series which is already being seen as a valuable contribution to Irish traditional music archives

Fil has been working as a full time performer since the late 1980s. She toured extensively throughout Europe, Ireland and the UKin the 90s, building up a strong and loyal following on the folk circuit, mainly across Germany, Holland and Belgium, accompanied by her husband and musical partner, percussionist Tom McFarland.

Shane Supple interviews Fil Campbell by Shane Supple on Mixcloud