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Phil Sayer RIP

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Harlesden

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http://www.sayerhamilton.com/blog/

Due to a sudden and unexpected decline in Phil's health, Sayer Hamilton Ltd is temporarily closing for business with immediate effect, and Phil will not be returning to work.
Over the next day or so, we will be finalising invoices, and attempting to tie up loose ends, so that we can spend some time together as a family. Ellie, Alex and Ben will return to voicing in early May.
We will make sure Phil's material is archived, and will be happy to help out in locating existing audio for top-ups where necessary, but unfortunately none of us will be available to voice new material until further notice.
We recognise that this abrupt halt is not ideal for regular clients, and while Phil's retirement was on the cards for the near future, we had planned to wind down slowly in the next few months. Sadly, the choice is now out of our hands.
If you are a corporate client with an urgent need for a voiceover, please contact my agents, Marie-Claire or Olivia at Excellent Talent, who will be happy to help you.
Sincere thanks from Phil for your valued business over the last few decades. It's been truly wonderful to work with you all.

With all best wishes, Phil. Ellie, Alex & Ben x
 
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traji00

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Sad to hear this, having heard his voice for many years over the network. Thoughts with the family.
 

HarleyDavidson

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That sounds (no pun intended) very ominous.

The announcements will never sound the same.
 

Andyh82

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Sad news, Phil is *the* voice of station announcements as far as I'm concerned. It was a sad day when he was removed from all (?) of the north of England, firstly by Network Rail, then TPE and then by Northern.
 

HMS Ark Royal

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Sad news, Phil is *the* voice of station announcements as far as I'm concerned. It was a sad day when he was removed from all (?) of the north of England, firstly by Network Rail, then TPE and then by Northern.

British Steel Redcar might still have him as the announcer - as i recall, the announcement system was only disabled and is still in place
 

NoMorePacers

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So sad, it means that we will have to suffer those robotic 'Anne' announcements or whatever at stations now.
 

Andyh82

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So sad, it means that we will have to suffer those robotic 'Anne' announcements or whatever at stations now.

He doesn't do them live you know, he should still be heard everywhere he currently is, until such time as new recordings are required in such a volume that they need to change system.

"Anne" is the Network Rail voice, "Celia" is the posh lady that Northern now use, but was previously more associated with the South.

I'm guessing Hull use that ridiculous badly cut together voice that Transpennine Express use.
 
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westv

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I hadn't heard of Phil until I saw this thread but I hope the time he has left with his family is filled with love.
 

Bletchleyite

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So no change then, until new recording tech comes into play

I do wonder if AviaVox might spread into rail use. I guess it would require them to get a contract with Nederlandse Spoorwegen instead, and mainland European stations tend to have far fewer announcements than ours.

The difference with that technology is that it's based on phonetic speech fragments rather than whole words, so if something new is typed in it doesn't draw a complete blank.
 

HMS Ark Royal

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This is still very bad news indeed and is a sad time for all - particularly his family
 

DarloRich

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whilst i don't share or understand the obsession this board has with recorded announcements (preferring a "live" person) this news does seem very sudden, shocking, and sad for the people involved and it is worth remembering that this person isn't just a dismembered voice but a chap with family and friends who have my best wishes at what must be a bad time for them.
 

Barn

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I've always felt that Phil's voice manages to sound both authoritative and kindly at the same time - exactly what is needed.

Hearing the same voice in many different places reading out many different destinations allowed one to enjoy travelling to new and exciting places (they do exist in the UK!) and yet feel a reassuring sense of familiarity at the same time.

He is truly the voice of the railways. I wish him and his family some quality time together.
 
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backontrack

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I don't remember hearing one of his announcements, although I probably have before - I've mostly heard 'Anne'.
 

gimmea50anyday

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Rob is the station voice for TPE and Kath does most of the on board announcements (hence the nickname robokat for the PIS)

Rob was the competence manager for TPE south but has left recently due to ill health himself, it is therefore feasable that his voice will also be lost as the system will be updated over the next few years to reflect new TPE services
 

Crossover

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From this news article from last year, it was said he was recovering from oesophageal cancer so I wonder if it is related.

I think Phil Sayer may still be at some of the TPE stations
 

Andyh82

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Rob is the station voice for TPE and Kath does most of the on board announcements (hence the nickname robokat for the PIS)

Rob was the competence manager for TPE south but has left recently due to ill health himself, it is therefore feasable that his voice will also be lost as the system will be updated over the next few years to reflect new TPE services

In TPE's case it isn't the voice which is the issue, it's the system, the way individual words have been cut together rather than full sentences, and how middle of sentence and end of sentence versions of various words/phrases haven't been recorded, so it all sounds stilted and disjointed.

Recorded announcements are better than real live ones IMO as live ones tend to be muffled, inconsistent, only done when the announcer isn't busy doing something else etc etc.
 

Bletchleyite

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Rob is the station voice for TPE and Kath does most of the on board announcements (hence the nickname robokat for the PIS)

Rob was the competence manager for TPE south but has left recently due to ill health himself, it is therefore feasable that his voice will also be lost as the system will be updated over the next few years to reflect new TPE services

Perhaps they might do well to employ proper voice artists - I find both of them sound a bit rude and clipped, particularly the on-board one (no doubt they are both nice people, they just aren't voice-recording professionals). This did to me sum up the corporate attitude of the old TPE - but that isn't what the new TPE is trying to be, so perhaps something friendlier like the VT double-bill would work better?
 
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