Paul's first appointment was as Co-Principal Trumpet in the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden working with great conductors such as Carlos Kleiber, Sir Colin Davis and Sir Georg Solti.

In 1980 he relinquished this position to concentrate on work with his group, the English Brass Ensemble and to perform as a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the London Sinfonietta.

Throughout the 1980's Paul travelled extensively with these chamber groups, performing at many musical centres throughout the world. His enthusiasm for contemporary music was reflected in the work of the English Brass Ensemble whose focus was performing contemporary brass repertoire. The ensemble commissioned and premiered many new works and worked with leading composers such as Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Gunthur Schuller, Witold Lutoslawki and Elliott Carter.

In 1984 Paul was a prize winner at the Toulon Prix de Concours, a major international trumpet competition which laid the foundations of his career as a soloist. He has since performed the solo repertoire with many of Britain's finest orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, London Mozart Players, Britten Sinfonia and the Orchestra of St John's.

In 1995 he was appointed Principal Trumpet of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and during this period he had the opportunity to perform many of the great orchestral works. Paul is now actively involved in almost every aspect of musical performance: chamber music with the English Brass Ensemble and the Fibonacci Sequence: orchestral music as a member of OSJ, Britten Sinfonia and the London Mozart Players: commercial music, having performed on many film soundtracks with icons of popular culture such as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Bob Geldoff: solo repertoire, performing in recitals with pianist Juliet Edwards and teaching, as Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Paul also edits two series of brass music for Brass Wind Publications: the English Brass Collection consists of new works for brass ensemble and the Paul Archibald Collection consists of new additions to the solo repertoire. He is also Musical Director of the RCM Zone One Band, a championship section band that regularly participates in concerts and contests throughout the UK.

Paul also runs three brass courses throughout the year, at the Dartington International Summer School, Aberystwyth Musicfest and the Benslow Music Trust. He is also the Artistic Director of Brass Classics, a recording label featuring the colourful world of the brass repertoire and its performers. His discography includes 'Joie de Vivre' and Divertissement with Juliet Edwards (piano) and Maxwell Davies’ 'Trumpet Sonata' recorded with Juliet for the composers own label, Max Opus. As a conductor Paul's discography includes 'Proclamation', with the International Celebrity Trumpet Ensemble and 'Hodie Gloriosa' with the London Mozart Players Brass Ensemble