Big Fish

Phil Harrison and John Mansell both moved to Crete from the UK some years ago.. Having found each other in a music shop, they started playing together as ‘Big Fish’.

Phil’s career has involved collaboration with all sorts of other artists including The Scaffold, Diana Rigg, Peter Hamill, Barbara Dickson, Jake Burns & Dave Knopfler (not to mention the UK Scouts and Guides Orchestra). He was also a member of the UK band ‘The Korgis’, who had a couple of hits in the early 80′s.

John is a multi-talented instrumentalist who has been picking banjo since he was no bigger than one himself, playing lead guitar since he discovered girls and bouzouki since he discovered Greece.

The Harrison-Mansell ‘Big Fish’ project has various programmes available. They are:

• A jazz duo (or sometimes trio): piano, classical guitar (and bass).

• A ceilidh and traditional music band: two-piece with banjo, mandolin, Irish bouzouki and guitars.

• The Big Fish Rock n Blues Revue: 5 or 6-piece (depending on who is around) playing high-energy covers from the 60s and 70s (and sometimes the 90s and 30s).

• They also perform in concert playing original music and songs of which they have to date released four CDs. The latest is ‘Live and Learn’. You can hear some extracts here. CDs are available from harrison.os@gmail.com

• The latest ‘Big Fish’ incarnation is a co-operative venture with two excellent and well-respected Cretan musicians, Zacharis Spyridakis (lyra) and Yiannis Papatsannis (percussion).

Watch this space!