New Year's OBE 'a pleasant surprise' for Stoke Hammond media production company CEO

Now CEO at TBI Media, Phil Critchlow from Stoke Hammond began as a trainee at the BBC working across various channels. He then moved to Unique Broadcasting, rising to director of programmes before founding TBI in 2006.

Since then, the company he founded in his back garden in Stoke Hammond to create ‘Content That Makes A Difference’ has won over 180 awards globally in virtually all genres of radio, and in music, factual and event television.

Amongst other things TBI has become well known for its ambitious, very large scale multi-platform live productions for the BBC such as ‘D-Day 70 Years On’ (Royal Albert Hall), ‘World Cup 66 - Live’ (Wembley Arena) and ‘Crown Imperial – Sky TV’ (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). More recently TBI has also worked with global brands from Red Bull to TikTok to AO to deliver televised live streamed events and podcasts.

Phil has also been a passionate contributor to the wider media sector serving as a founding director, vice chair and then chair of trade body AudioUK. Over 10 years as chair, the voluntary role allowed him to oversee successes including the opening of BBC Radio to more competition and the establishment of the Audio Content Fund in UK commercial radio.

He's keen to underline that TBI was born at home in Stoke Hammond:

“It was 2006 that I left a director role at UBC Media to set up TBI, and the first thing I did was build a garden office to do that in, behind the house in Stoke Hammond that we built in 2000.

"And so, we spent the next three or four years making programmes for broadcast in the back garden, and particularly in the early years had lots of encouragement and support from friends in the village.

"Eventually our portfolio got to the size that it needed to move to offices in Great Titchfield Street, and now Charlotte Street in London. Obviously over the last 10 months I’ve been back in the garden again, and whilst I don’t miss the commute I certainly do miss the contact with the team!"

Inevitably – particularly in the current world - this is a moment for reflection :

"I’ve been incredibly lucky to have been able to work with many of the artists I used to spend endless hours trying to copy on the piano or guitar, either in the practice rooms at school or playing gigs with local bands in Cumbria.

"So, when I was later able to work with artists ranging from Elton John to Paul McCartney to Quincy Jones, to more recently producing sessions for broadcast with Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, of course I’d reflect on the days when I was discovering how music worked.

"In fact you’d be amazed by the similarities between my first experience ‘promoting’ a local band for a school concert and more recently selling 10,000 tickets at Wembley Arena. There’s fundamentally a stage that needs sound and lights, passionate people who want to be on it and passionate people who want to be there. It’s just a question of connecting them all together.

Phil’s keen to acknowledge his dad Mike as a real influence.

He said: "Dad was always a huge influence on me musically. He’s a fantastic pianist and organist, and the years I spent singing in church choirs, where dad played the organ, undoubtedly gave me the musical confidence to later work with symphony orchestras from English National Opera to the London Symphony Orchestra to others across the world.”

And his dad’s influence didn’t stop there.

“When I was six, he helped me buy my first record, The Beatles’ Revolver. Over 40 years later I was lucky enough to produce a remake, for Radio 2 and BBC Television, of ‘Please Please Me’ the Beatles first album.

"It was famously made in a day and we re-recorded and filmed all the songs, played by various artists exactly 50 years later. As I drove to Abbey Road Studios early that morning, for what was to be a long but incredibly inspirational 16 hours working with 11 bands in ‘that!‘ room (Abbey Road Studio 2) I called dad and reminded him that, without that record, I probably wouldn’t have been there”.

When asked about his mention in the New Years Honours list Phil is relatively philosophical:

“2020 has obviously been a challenging year for everyone, and certainly for our events team at TBI, so when news of this arrived it was a huge and very pleasant surprise - as well as a real honour.

"One of my biggest passions is still spending time in my studio in the garden at home in Stoke Hammond, collaborating with various team members to wrestle a story told on radio or television into shape. And there’s no doubt that the support over the years from my family - wife Claire, daughter Emily and son Tom - as well as my friends and neighbours in the village, has been a critical part of any success the company’s had."

> Also in the New Year’s Honours list a British Empire Medal (BEM) was awarded to Geoffrey Dimmock for services to the community in Leighton Buzzard. Read more here...