Phil Coulter reacts to Jade Thirlwall sample: “I am in grave danger of becoming cool”

21 July, 2024

Phil Coulter and Jade Thirlwall

A track co-written by Phil Coulter in 1967 is having a renaissance after it was sampled in Jade Thirlwall’s debut solo single.

The former Little Mix star dropped ‘Angel of My Dreams’ on Friday (July 19), and sampled Sandie Shaw’s ‘Puppet on a String’.

The song was written by Coulter and songwriting partner Bill Martin and rose to prominence when Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967.

Coulter, who has won five Ivor Novello awards, and worked with the likes of Sinéad O’Connor, Cliff Richard and Boyzone, said he was “flabbergasted and surprised that I am part of this whole operation”.

Phil Coulter
Phil Coulter pictured with Cliff Richard, Cilla Black, and Bill Martin celebrating ‘Congratulations’ winning the British pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, 1968. CREDIT: John Downing/Daily Express/Getty Images

Speaking to BBC News NI, Coulter explained he first became aware of Thirlwall’s single through his family.

“They said the record is getting reviews left, right and centre,” he said. “They said it’s going to be the song of the summer. Now I would love to tell you that I’m on speed dial with Little Mix and all of those hot producers, but in fact, I was completely unaware until one of my kids and grandkids told me.”

The songwriter, who “made a point of listening to the song” after discovering the sample, added: “It’s very unusual. I have six kids – it didn’t happen too often that they would bask in the glory of their dad having music in the charts, in fact, they would have been embarrassed, they would have preferred if I was an accountant.

“At this stage, if this does become the big hit of the summer, I am in grave danger of becoming cool. Secretly they might have been pleased but they didn’t express that too often, so I suppose now at this advanced stage for me to be seen to be trendy and cool, is something that I embrace.”

He went on to explain that he was not involved in the process of sampling the ‘60s song.

“What would have happened was, in putting together the record and the mix, her producer, who is some current hot shot who has lots of hits in current times, have decided between the two of them that ‘Puppet on a String’ was going to work at the start to set some kind of mood.”

Coulter has now become a fan of Thirlwall, and has been “talking her up to all of my circle of friends and acquaintances”.

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