British Born, South African based Country Singer Songwriter Phil Gregory returns with a brand new single ‘Holding Candles’ – touted as one of his finest to date. ‘Holding Candles’ is the latest release following on from his previous single ‘Nowhere For Our Love to Hide’ that has been playlisted on high rotation on over 17 stations in South Africa including prominent plays and interviews on OFM, Mix FM, Algoa FM, RSG and many more.
‘Holding Candles’ is the first of 2 singles that will be part of an EP to be released in early 2022. Since retiring and pursuing a full time music career, Phil Gregory has had incredible success with his first new full-length album ‘Good Intentions’ which was received with open arms. The first single ‘Names’ was voted one of the SA Top 50 songs of the year 2020 on Mix FM.
Phil Gregory comments on ‘Holding Candles’
“Inspiration behind the song was a response I got to a question I asked a friend, who had been left by their partner of many years. I asked if they still loved the other person after everything they had been through and they said “Sadly Yes I do.” It really made me think about the cruelty of one-sided love and basically never being able to move on. Holding Candles for someone is an old fashioned phrase, but hopefully everyone will understand the sentiment”.
Due to the restraints of lockdown, ‘Holding Candles’ took 6 months to record, bouncing song ideas, and trying to coordinate recording vocals at studios in South Africa along with crafting the song remotely with writing partners Billy Gregory and Harry Knowles (from the band Crystal Tides) in the UK.
Difficulty delivering the right vocals without his team to bounce ideas off, Phil notes it was a frustrating and confidence destroying period and he almost gave up on 2 really amazing songs. Not willing to give up on it, Phil re-recorded his vocals and eventually the songs came to life.
Phil Gregory reflects
“The fact that we have been able to do what we love doing, whilst so many people have suffered far worse than a delay and a lousy vocal performance, gets everything into perspective and made me appreciate these latest tracks a bit more than I probably otherwise would have.”
Born in the 1950’s Phil grew up with a mixture of music (Country, Rock & Roll & Pop) that has subsequently influenced his very British style of Country Music.
You can download / stream Phil Gregory’s “Holding Candles” HERE.
Watch this space for updates in the Music News category on SA Music Zone.
To stay in the loop with all things SA Music, Subscribe to our newsletter.
Looking for something to do? Check out our Upcoming Events section or the SA Gig Guide.
Want to explore the SA Music Scene? Check out our Artist/Band/Group Profiles section.
Want to discover fresh music? Follow our editor's 2025 playlist on Spotify.
