Phil Collins was 18 when, with his friend and accomplice guitarist Ronnie Caryl, he accompanied American singer John Walker of the Walker Brothers on tour in Great Britain. The other two musicians were Gordon "Flash" Smith on bass (b. 1947, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland) and Brian Chatton, the ex-organist of the Warriors, the former band of Jon Anderson. When the tour ended, the four musicians decided to stay together and try their luck as a group, so they formed Hickory and recorded a single, "Green Light/The Key", released by CBS Records on 24 January 1969. This formation would eventually become Flaming Youth, when they met authors Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley who offered to record their album. The group signed with Fontana Records and recorded the album Ark II in 1969, which was ranked "Album of the Month" by the British music magazine Melody Maker. The band played at the London Planetarium for the launch of the album in 1969. After a few concerts, the group no longer managed to generate interest from both the public and the media, and despite the addition of a new musician, the organist Rod Mayall (b. Roderick Mayall, 19 September 1946, Macclesfield, Cheshire) (the half-brother of John Mayall), Flaming Youth disbanded. Through the years Caryl and Collins remained friends, and Caryl was best man at Collins's first wedding.[2] In 1970, they both auditioned for Genesis and whilst Collins obtained the job as drummer, Caryl was unsuccessful and after a brief stint with Mick Barnard on guitar, Steve Hackett was recruited as a permanent replacement lead guitarist for Anthony Phillips.
Caryl went on to play in some other bands, including Sanctuary in 1972, with whom he recorded an unreleased album. By the following year he joined the jazz rock outfit, Zox & the Radar Boys, including Peter Banks, Mike Piggott and Phil Collins.
Caryl moved to France in 1995 with his wife Melanie.
Caryl released two solo albums, Leave A Light On (1994) and One Step at a Time (2003).
Caryl died on 18 December 2023, at the age of 70.[4] His sister Zoe announced on Facebook that a memorial for him would be held 23 December in Saintes, France.[5]
