Phillip Boa
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|German musician and songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Phillip Boa
| image = 13-07-20 Amphi Voodooclub Phillip Boa 08 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Boa performing in 2013
| birth_name = Ernst Ulrich Figgen
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|18 January 1963}}
| birth_place = Dortmund, Germany
| origin =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| genre = Independent
| occupation = Musician, songwriter, composer
| instrument = Vocals, guitar
| years_active = 1985–present
| label = Cargo Records, Universal
| associated_acts = Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub, Voodoocult
| website = {{url|phillipboa.com}}
}}
Phillip Boa (born Ernst Ulrich Figgen;{{Cite web |last=Kalitschke |first=Martin |date=22 November 2012 |title=Boa und die Beatles |url=https://www.wn.de/freizeit/ausgehen/musik/boa-und-die-beatles-2023040 |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=Westfälische Nachrichten |language=de}} 18 January 1963) is a German independent musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist and composer. The musical style followed by Boa and his band Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub was described in a review by NME as "a cross between B52's and Captain Beefheart".{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} The style of his lyrics is a mix of irony, love songs, sarcasm and is often of bizarre and deranged content. Boa has written over 400 songs, and 21 of his studio albums made it to the top 60 of the charts.
Career
In 1985, he founded the independent band Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub. With their album Hair and the single "Container Love", they experienced a commercial breakthrough and international recognition in 1989.
Boa's music is influenced by British punk rock{{cite web|url={{allmusic|pure_url=yes|id=mn0001285376|class=artist}}|title=Phillip Boa |first=Craig |last=Harris |work=AllMusic |accessdate=5 July 2013}} and new wave; its style swings between pop and avantgarde. A continuous charasteric are the catchy and melodic choruses, interrupted or alienated by atmospheric shifts. Thereby the voice of band member Pia Lund and Boa's own throaty singing contrast diametrically. After his most successful album so far, Boaphenia (1993), Boa made a deliberate musical cut to focus on a Metal project when founded the heavy metal band Voodoocult, consisting of members Dave Lombardo (drums), Chuck Schuldiner (guitar), Waldemar Sorychta (guitar), Mille Petrozza (guitar) and himself as vocalist.
The autumn of 2006 saw Boa and his Voodooclub start their Remastered tour. They consequently only played songs from the three re-published albums Copperfield, Hair and Hispañola. Moreover, since 2001, they play two or three annual Christmas concerts at the Leipzig Moritzbastei fortress. On 3 August 2007, the album Faking to Blend In was released on Motor Music.
In 2009, the Voodooclub teamed up with Can drummer the late Jaki Liebezeit, who played percussion and drums on their album Diamonds Fall. The album Loyalty brought them a commercial comeback in Germany (No. 13 in the album charts) and some other countries.{{which|date=February 2017}} The album was produced by David Vella and Brian Viglione,{{cite web|url=http://www.sonic-seducer.de/index.php/CD-Rezensionen_Reviews_Plattentests_..B..C../Phillip_Boa_And_The_Voodooclub_Loyalty_-_Rezension_Review_Kritik.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130705150443/http://www.sonic-seducer.de/index.php/CD-Rezensionen_Reviews_Plattentests_..B..C../Phillip_Boa_And_The_Voodooclub_Loyalty_-_Rezension_Review_Kritik.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 July 2013 |title=Phillip Boa And The Voodooclub – Loyalty |first=Peter |last=Heymann |work=Sonic Seducer |language=German |accessdate=5 July 2013}} who also played drums and other instruments on the album. Loyalty was mixed by Ian Grimble and mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios.
In 2014 the studio album Bleach House was released on Cargo Records, which reached place 7 in the German album charts, the best chart position in the history of the band. The album was produced by David Vella on Malta and was mixed in London, at the Konk Studios London by Dougal Lott. It was mastered by Fred Kevorkian in the New Yorker Avatar Studios.{{cite web|url=http://www.cargo-records.de/de/item/74073/artist/boa_phillip_amp_the_voodooclub/artist_details.76.html |title=Boa, Phillip & The Voodooclub |publisher=Cargo Records |accessdate=3 July 2014 |language=German}}
After many intensive years and more than 2 million sold albums, the single collection Blank Expression – A History of Singles 1986–2016 was released on 16 September 2016 on Capitol Records/Universal Music. It reached rank 8 in the German album charts. Apart from the most important singles, the collection included also twelve new songs from the album Fresco – A Collection of 12 New Songs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioeins.de/veranstaltungen/konzerte/phillip-boa-and-the-voodooclub0.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161002163836/https://www.radioeins.de/veranstaltungen/konzerte/phillip-boa-and-the-voodooclub0.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 October 2016|title=Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub|website=radioeins.de|language=de|access-date=8 February 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-314266|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts|website=offiziellecharts.de|language=de-de|access-date=8 February 2017}}
Reception
"Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub belong to the most prestigious German bands, which is also recognized from international critics and fans." (ARD Germany's and the world's largest public broadcaster).{{Cite web|url=http://programm.ard.de/TV/mdrfernsehen/rockpalast--phillip-boa-and-the-voodooclub/eid_2822911888245412|title=Rockpalast: Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub|last=Germany|first=programm.ARD.de – ARD Play-Out-Center Potsdam, Potsdam|website=programm.ARD.de|access-date=8 February 2017}}
Phillip Boa was in the top 20 of the survey "Made in Germany – The Most Influential German musicians" (laut.de).{{Cite news|url=http://www.laut.de/News/Made-In-Germany-Die-einflussreichsten-deutschen-Musiker-26-03-2011-8055/Seite-7|title=Made In Germany: Die einflussreichsten deutschen Musiker – laut.de – Seite 8/25|newspaper=laut.de|access-date=8 February 2017|language=de-DE}} Furthermore, he stands as one of the sharpest observers of our society and a distinguished songwriter in Germany, with "a cynical-poetic view, full of mysterious metaphors and sharp wisdom." (NME)
Several of Boa's albums have reached the top 30 of the German Media Control Charts. In 2012, British music journalist John Robb called Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub "one of the best German bands of the last three decades".{{Cite news|url=http://louderthanwar.com/phillip-boa-the-voodooclub-big-berlin-gig-and-new-single|title=Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub : big Berlin gig and new single! - Louder Than War|date=7 December 2012|newspaper=Louder Than War|access-date=8 February 2017|language=en-GB}}
In their song "Wir sind die Besten" (We are the Best), German band Die Ärzte sing about Phillip Boa, depicting themselves and Boa as the last true musicians.
Discography
File:Voodoocult.png in 1995]]
= Studio albums by Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!width="200"| Title !style="width:5em"| Official German Charts |
|---|
| align="center"
| 1985 |align="left"| Philister
| — |
| align="center"
| 1986 |align="left"| Aristocracie
| — |
| align="center"
| 1987 |align="left"| Copperfield
| 47 |
| align="center"
| 1988 |align="left"| Hair
| 26 |
| align="center"
| 1990 |align="left"| Hispañola
| 14 |
| align="center"
| 1991 |align="left"| Helios
| 32 |
| align="center"
| 1993 |align="left"| Boaphenia
| 15 |
| align="center"
| 1994 |align="left"| God
| 23 |
| align="center"
| 1995 |align="left"| She
| 32 |
| align="center"
| 2000 |align="left"| My Private War | 23 |
| align="center"
| 2001 |align="left"| The Red | 59 |
| align="center"
| 2003 |align="left"| C 90 | 46 |
| align="center"
| 2005 |align="left"| Decadence & Isolation
| 40 |
| align="center"
| 2007 |align="left"| Faking To Blend In
| 59 |
| align="center"
| 2009 |align="left"| Diamonds Fall
| 45 |
| align="center"
| 2012 |align="left"| Loyalty
| 13 |
| align="center"
| 2014 | align="left"| Bleach House
| 7 |
| align="center"
| 2016 | align="left"| Fresco
| 8 |
| align="center"
| 2018 | align="left"| Earthly Powers
| 3 |
| align="center"
|align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
= Solo album =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!width="200"| Title !style="width:5em"| Official German Charts |
|---|
| align="center"
| 1998 |align="left"| Lord Garbage
| 22 |
= Studio albums by Voodoocult =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!width="200"| Title !style="width:5em"| Media Control Charts |
|---|
| align="center" |
| align="center"
| 1994 |align="left"| Jesus Killing Machine
| 43 |
| align="center"
| 1995 |align="left"| Voodoocult
| 57 |
= Samplers, live albums and re-releases =
- 1986: Philistrines (Red Flame, UK)
- 1989: 30 Years of Blank Expression (DiDi, Greece)
- 1991: Live! Exile On Valletta Street (Polydor)
- 1994: Hidden Pearls (Fanclub Release)
- 1996: Hidden Pearls & Spoken Words (Fanclub Release)
- 1997: Fine Art On Silver Best Of (Motor Music)
- 1997: Aristocracie Remastered (Indigo)
- 1998: Master Series Best of (Re-release "Fine Art On Silver") (Motor Music)
- 2001: Singles Collection 1985–2001 Best of (RCA/BMG) #28
- 2005: BOA Best Singles Best of Remastered (Polydor/Universal)
- 2006: Copperfield Remastered (Polydor/Universal)
- 2006: Hair Remastered (Polydor/Universal)
- 2006: Hispañola Remastered (Polydor/Universal)
- 2011: Helios Remastered (Vertigo/Universal)
- 2011: Boaphenia Remastered (Vertigo/Universal)
- 2016: Blank Expression: A History Of Singles 1986–2016 Best Of (Universal) #8
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{cc}}
- {{Official website|http://www.phillipboa.com}}
- [http://www.voodoophenia.de/ Official archive]
- [http://www.facebook.com/phillipboaandthevoodooclub Phillip Boa and the Voodooclub] at Facebook
- [http://www.laut.de/wortlaut/artists/b/boa_phillip/ Phillip Boa at laut.de] {{in lang|de}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boa, Phillip}}
Category:21st-century German male singers
Category:German heavy metal guitarists
Category:German male guitarists
Category:German heavy metal singers