MIDDLETON likes to boast about its boys (and girls) made good. And one of the town's finest is about to up the ante, by appearing on a TV programme called "I Want That House".
HOUSE hunting in Menorca... Phil Jones and his wife Babs in the TV programme I Want That House.
MIDDLETON likes to boast about its boys (and girls) made good. And one of the town&apos;s finest is about to up the ante, by appearing on a TV programme called "I Want That House".
The programme, which goes out today (Thursday) shows Phil Jones looking at £1M villas on the island of Menorca.
Phil, aged 54, was asked to take part in the show because someone knew he&apos;d rise to the challenge - as always.
Phil was brought up on the Langley Estate, where he lived with mum, Sheila, and dad, Phil, in Butterworth Drive. The couple also had two daughters, Kathryn and Beryl, who now live in Heywood.
The Langley lad attended St Dominic Savio School, Alkrington, and says he&apos;ll never forget teacher, Mr Campell, who used to shout: "You&apos;ll never make anything of your life, Jones."
Fortunately, Phil has proven Mr Campbell wrong.
Unlike some of his counterparts, the keen amateur footballer had always enjoyed literature and music and he loved Bernie Taupin&apos;s work - Elton John&apos;s former writing partner. So he tried his hand at lyrics himself. The result was a book of 30 compositions, called "Inside Looking Out".
Phil&apos;s first taste of success was discovering the book was stocked in Middleton Library.
Phil got good reviews, so he sold his Ford Anglia, for £60, and moved to London, teaming up with a friend, hoping they&apos;d make their mark in Tin Pan Alley - London&apos;s music publishing area.
But Phil soon realised the living would be precarious, so settled for a relatively sedate but secure job, as a compositor - a trade he&apos;d learned as an apprentice in Manchester&apos;s Ducie Street.
He then worked for several companies before setting up his own creative design studio and marrying Londoner, Babs.
Successful in business, Phil also found time to start a family. Daughter, Clare, aged 22, studied at Liverpool University and now works at London&apos;s Institute of Directors. Meanwhile, PJ (Philip Jnr.) aged 19, is studying criminology. His mum and dad will celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2005.
And Phil Snr. is now chairman of three successful creative design companies, producing concepts for football, athletics and boxing, in particular.
The dedicated Man U fan has stayed true to his roots, visiting his mum and family often. While he&apos;s in Middleton, he and his brothers-in-law get to talk football, then his sisters drag him out for a pint, or 10, at Tapio&apos;s.
Phil says: "I try to fit in an Old Trafford trip when I&apos;m home. When I was serving my apprenticeship, my job was to help print the Man U programmes when Law, Charlton and Best were there - those were the days!
"I was at Wembley, standing behind the goal, when Charlton, Best and a 19-year-old called Kidd scored and Man U won the European Cup.
"Brian Kidd was my hero then because he was from Collyhurst. Today, the equivalent would be Paul Scholes, as he&apos;s from Langley. What a great role model."
But the million pound question is... did Phil buy that posh pad?
He says no. Although he already has property on the Algarve, built to his specifications, he was keen to look around Menorca, but thought it over-priced.
He adds: "It was a bit "posey" for me - the yacht set - rather than ordinary people. Too posh - and I don&apos;t do posh!"