Phil Mellen is BlackSheepLad. In his teens, twenties and thirties Phil played and sang in various bands (Rainmaker, Serious Hat Band, Excalibur, The Grapefruit) to little success. So he settled into a successful 25 year career in education. But in March 2020 he became ill with Coronavirus and this led to some ongoing health issues and redundancy. The period of imposed isolation and inactivity lead to a burst of songwriting inspired by lockdown, love, mortality and binge – watching zombie TV programmes! Phil sings and plays guitar, drums, keys, bass and various ukuleles. His influences include John Bramwell, Prefab Sprout, Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, Ben Folds, Elbow, Cherry Ghost, Lloyd Cole and Neil Finn.