Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and a founding member of the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

. He is nicknamed "Cookie" by friends in the punk music scene.

Early life and career

Cook was raised in Hammersmith and attended the Christopher Wren School, now Phoenix High School, London in White City Estate,

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, where he met Steve Jones. The pair became friends, and while skipping school, in 1972–1973, Cook and Jones, along with their school friend Wally Nightingale, formed a band, the Strand. Within the next three years the Strand evolved into the Sex Pistols. Cook's early influences included

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, ska and

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

acts like

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, T. Rex,

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

and

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

, in addition to drummers Kenney Jones of

the Faces Faces are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. They were formed by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces; Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass, ...

Paul Thompson Paul Thompson may refer to: Education *Paul Thompson (professor) (born 1951), British management professor at the University of Strathclyde *Paul B. Thompson (philosopher) (born 1951), American philosopher at Michigan State University *Paul H. Tho ...

of Roxy Music, Al Jackson Jr. and Mitch Mitchell of

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. Cook is portrayed by Jacob Slater in the 2022 Craig Pearce –

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

FX biographical drama miniseries ''

Pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

''.

Later career

After the Sex Pistols suddenly broke up after their final concert in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on 14 January 1978, Cook and Jones initially worked on the soundtrack to

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

's film, ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'', also known as ''The Great Rock and Roll Swindle'', is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex P ...

.'' The two also recorded a few songs using the Sex Pistols name, Cook singing lead on the album version of the song " Silly Thing". The pair then started a new band, the Professionals, with Andy Allan. Allan caused some legal problems; he played bass on "Silly Thing" and the first few Professionals recordings, but had no

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

and had been neither credited nor paid. Consequently, the

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Cash Cows'', which featured the Professionals' track "Kick Down the Doors", was withdrawn. Cook and Jones played together on

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

' solo album, '' So Alone''. They released four singles, recorded a self-titled LP that was shelved until 1990, and released '' I Didn't See It Coming'' in November 1981. The band's American tour to promote the album was cut short when band members Cook, Paul Myers, and Ray McVeigh were injured in a car crash. While the Professionals did return to America in the Spring of 1982 after recovery, Jones and Myers' drug problems further hampered the band's prospects. They declined an opening spot offer on tour for

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, and broke up. In the early 1980s, Cook, along with Jones, discovered the English new wave girl-group

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

. Cook helped the trio record their debut single, " Aie a Mwana", and acted as a producer on their 1982 debut album '' Deep Sea Skiving''. In the late 1980s, Cook surfaced with the group Chiefs of Relief with former

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

guitarist Matthew Ashman, and, after a period out of the music industry, played with

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Before joining Def Le ...

in the 1990s. He also played on the Edwyn Collins song A Girl Like You, beginning a longstanding association with Collins as a session musician. Cook reunited with the surviving Sex Pistols in 1996 for the '' Filthy Lucre'' world tour. The Sex Pistols, including Paul Cook, played a gig for the 30th anniversary of '' Never Mind The Bollocks'' at the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

on 8 November 2007. To meet demand, six further gigs were added, including two on 9 and 10 November. In 2008, the Sex Pistols appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival as the headlining act on the Saturday night, the Peace and Love Festival in Sweden, the Live at Loch Lomond Festival in Scotland, and the Summercase Festival in Madrid. Cook drummed with Man-Raze, which also featured Phil Collen from

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

and their friend Simon Laffy who used to play in Collen's pre-Leppard band, Girl. They released a debut album ''Surreal'' in 2008, and toured throughout the UK in late 2009. In 2011, Cook joined Vic Godard and Subway Sect, and renewed his collaborations with Paul Myers from the Professionals. Cook has worked with Godard, on and off, for the past two decades. They toured throughout 2012 and, in March 2012, recorded ''1978 Now'' with Collins. In celebration of the release of a three disc set (''The Complete Professionals'') by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

for 16 October 2015, Cook, with Tom Spencer filling in for Steve Jones, reunited with the Professionals for a concert at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

. In January 2016, the band announced a three show tour for 17 to 19 March. A joint headline show featuring Rich Kids was announced at London's

O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...

for 16 May, then rescheduled for 23 June at the Academy Islington, due to the ongoing structural work at the venue. On 30 October 2018, Cook and Steve Jones joined

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

and Tony James, formerly of

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

, for a free entry performance at The Roxy in Hollywood,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, under the name Generation Sex, playing a combined set of the two former bands' material. The band reunited in 2023 for a European tour that included several festival appearances.

Personal life

Cook lives in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

with his wife, Jeni Cook, formerly of

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

, and their daughter, Hollie Cook, a solo musician. Cook also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for Hollywood United.Hollywood United
Cookandjones.co.uk. Retrieved on 12 May 2012.

References

External links

Kick Down the Doors – Cook 'n' Jones website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Paul 1956 births Living people Sex Pistols members 20th-century English drummers 21st-century English drummers English male drummers English punk rock drummers English male songwriters Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Musicians from the London Borough of Barnet People from Shepherd's Bush People from Hammersmith Man Raze members Hollywood United F.C. players Virgin Records artists Warner Records artists Subway Sect members Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality