Cook's Tours

Throughout his 44 years in the entertainment industry, Malcolm Cook met and worked with some of the biggest names in show business -- Eden Kane, Cilla Black, Billy Fury, Tom Jones, Gene Pitney, Del Shannon, Gerry & The Pacemakers, P.J. Proby, the Kinks, Glen Campbell, Roger Whittaker, Rudolf Nureyev, Alvin Stardust, Bad Manners, Canned Heat, the Ronettes, Kris Kristofferson, Tammy Wynette . . . the list goes on and on. In this humorous, fast-paced biographical account, Cook lifts the lid on what it takes to keep a show on the road and artists and audiences happy. It's all here: transport problems, unscrupulous promoters, run-ins with East German police, hassles with the Mafia, tea with the Duke of Norfolk, the wind-ups, the laughter, the heartbreak and the tears. Along the way, the author also includes vignettes of some of the prime movers and shakers of British showbiz including Brian Epstein, Arthur Howes, Hal Carter and Michael Levy to round off this unique insight into what really goes on behind the scenes.

If at some time you have enjoyed a trawl through my disorganised memoirs of musical endeavours, and I know some folks have, then you may well enjoy a new book that I have just finished reading.

The author is someone I have known since my teen years, and he has had a long and successful career shepherding flocks of rock-and-roll performers, singers, musicians and ballet dancers through the ordeals of touring, here in the UK and overseas. Hearing that he had a book coming out, I knew that I would have to buy it, of course – but, equally, of course, I knew that you buy your friends' books out of a desire to encourage and support them, but frankly it sometimes turns out to be a waste of money. In this case, I could not have been more wrong! Malcolm Cook has created a really 'good read' that kept me turning the pages, sometimes laughing aloud at the antics of the artistes and the reactions of various Jacks-in-Office – always good for a chuckle, that lot! It certainly brought back a lot of memories for me... It's the inside story, and it's a damn well told one. Thanks, Mal!

Chris Hughes' blog (December 2011)

Over my thirty plus years of broadcasting I've had the pleasure and privilege in may cases of talking and meeting some of the greats from the world of music. Many of the interviews are made available through press contacts, publicists, managers and one of the most important when artists are playing venues up and down the country would be the tour manager.

Believe it or not, but his job is one of the most demanding you could ever come across. Not only are they responsible for transporting the artist/s to the appropriate venue, but consider other tasks like arranging accommodation, dressing room facilities, stage lighting, show timing, sightseeing, security, stagewear neatly pressed and ironed, food made available sometimes before, during and after performances, travel arrangements, driving, contacting promoters on a daily basis.

One of the best tour managers I've ever worked with is Malcolm Cook. Malcolm's folks originally came from the North East of England from the mining village of Boldon near South Shields, although he was born in Islington in London. It was however in 1962 that he began a life in the entertainment world as road manager for pop star Eden Kane and had his first taste of 'on the road' showbiz. He has just released his first book relating to the ups and downs of moving 'the stars' around the world and it is a 'sheer fascination' of rock and roll, country, pop and ballet stars encounters.

Cast your mind back to the halycon days of artists like Billy Fury, Joe Brown, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Gene Pitney, Marianne Faithfull, The Ronettes, P.J. Proby, Alvin Stardust, Long John Baldry, Cilia Black, Helen Shapiro and many more and Malcolm has worked with them all and naturally has appropriate stories to tell. He gives an insight into looking after country stars like Glen Campbell, Billie Jo Spears, Kris Kristofferson, Tammy Wynette and Don Williams and explains what it was like working with Rudolph Nureyev and the Stars of the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet. There are some brilliant anecdotes as to last-night tour performances and behind the scenes fun with for me one of the funniest was setting up Ben E King thinking he had to have a special passport to cross over the border into Scotland. (The tears rolled down my face).

It's a no punches pulled account of a lifetime spent travelling with some of the great artists of our time and a book that will 'entertain' you from start to finish. Not surprisingly, he also gets a few things off his chest as to the 'good to work with' and, as he describes them, the 'pain in the butt' artists.

For me it's a magic read that I found impossible to put down, especially when the chapter on Kris Kristofferson appeared... it seems Malcolm kindly left out my biggest 'gaff' in an interview with a legend. Well Done that man!!

Brian Clough, euVue (January 2012)

A regular contributor to The Beat in the past, Malcolm Cook often linked current events with recollections from his life as tour manager to the biggest names in pop music, always promising/ threatening to publish his complete memoirs one day. That day has now arrived and Cook's Tours details a fascinating journey from the early 60s into the New Millennium, looking behind the scenes on package tours I had enjoyed from the front stalls.

Working with a variety of artists, from Eden Kane and Gerry & The Pacemakers, to Motown's premier acts, Gene Pitney, Glen Campbell, and even Rudolph Nureyev, Cook experienced life at all levels, from dodgy B&Bs, roadside cafés, and uninsured bangers to luxury limousines, five-star hotels and restaurants worldwide.

Every act has a different tale to tell, and each one is told in a manner that conveys the pleasure he derived from his life. Each chapter details an artist, or genre, often confirming the likeable character behind the mike was genuine, but also features a number who were very different. Interspersed throughout the memories, Cook recalls many of the sexual encounters he experienced along the way, and other perks of the job!

A thoroughly enjoyable read, exactly how I imagined the finished publication would be. Well done, Malcolm!

Jim Stewart, The Beat (February 2012)

A showbiz tale worthy of the description 'un-put-downable'! Not the usual banal biography drafted by a 'ghost writer' but a brilliant recollection of personal stories from the past 44 years, written by a man who has done it and seen it all in the crazy world of showbusiness... It is a joy to read.

Encore (March-April 2012)

Malcolm Cook spent 44 years in the music and entertainment business working with the likes of Eden Kane, Shane Fenton, Billy Fury, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Del Shannon, Heinz, The Ronettes, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash. Now retired, this book of his memoirs is arranged in chapters each relating to one celebrity. This compartmentalisation means that it is very easy to read in small bites of a chapter or two at a time. Not that you will put it down for long, as Malcolm has fascinating and amusing tales to tell about most of his charges.

Seeing life on the road from the viewpoint of a manager gives it a different angle and a story that's rarely told, and Malcolm is well aware that it is his clients that readers are likely to be most interested in. This enthralling read is decorated with many photos and has separate indexes for names, song titles and films/shows. It is therefore easy to find the brief mention of a Marvin, Welch & Farrar tour with The Supremes and Labi Siffre, and the final Jet Harris & Tony Meehan tour on a bill with Gerry & The Pacemakers and Del Shannon. Jet never actually played, failing to turn up for the opening night and leaving Tony to rework the act and pick up the tour later in Dublin.

Two of the chapters I found most absorbing were about Shane Fenton and Alvin Stardust, in particular Bernard Jewry's transition from Shane to Alvin and his dedicated work ethic. Best of all though are the tales surrounding Malcolm's time with David Garrick which took him to Berlin and then beyond into East Germany.

Alan Taylor, Pipeline (Spring 2012)

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