Paul Cook’s post-Pistols band the Professionals were once, rather surprisingly, on the cover of Smash Hits - “the pinnacle of our success!” – and they’re including the 100 Club on their upcoming tour, the location of another career highlight. He talks to us here about how the first time he played live was also the Pistols’ first appearance (Saint Martin’s College of Art - “utter chaos”), how their old Denmark Street rehearsal room is now an AirBnB (Rotten’s cartoons still on the wall), old punks in the audience, Danny Boyle’s TV series and the very slim chance of a reunion (“never say never”). But much of this is about climbing through back windows to see bands in the early ‘70s, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Queen and Mott the Hoople among them. And seeing Alex Harvey on the day the whole of Scotland descended on London for the match against England at Wembley.
The Professionals are playing four UK dates (and often chuck in a couple of Pistols' tunes):
https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/the-professionals-1-1
Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free - access to all of our content, plus a whole load more: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear
Get bonus content on PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In praise of Bernard Cribbins, Clive James and the noble art of guitar-smashing
Why half the people at a gig don't really want to be there
Dave Grohl reaches ‘Meldrew age’, Be Here Now’s 25th birthday and the sex life of Dave Davies
How much of ‘Indie’ is just shoes and hair?
Chris Blackwell remembers the “underdogs, rejects and misfits” he signed to Island Records
Danny Baker and Graham Gouldman at our live McCartney 80th birthday special!
Paul McCartney in the Park: our 80th birthday special (Part One!)
What links The Day Of The Jackal, Supertramp, the Sun and James Callaghan?
The new Elvis movie and why we loved it
Why music is largely about everything but music
Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp and how to ‘rockwash’ your tarnished reputation
Has any actor played a rock star convincingly?
You spent HOW MUCH on speakers?
Can bands still “sell out”? - plus 50 years of Exile On Main Street and RIP the iPod
The world’s rarest records and the sartorial splendour of the satin tour jacket
Kate Rusby (12) bought Bon Jovi tapes on hire purchase from Casa Disco in Barnsley
It’s our fantasy seven-decade Queen’s Jubilee line -up!
You’re either a t-shirt act or a non t-shirt act: discuss
Which band played the Old Grey Whistle Test and was then completely forgotten?
‘Streaming Killed the Skit Track’ plus Toastface Grillah and the Sgt Peppermill
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Superfancast
Derringer Discoveries - A Music Adventure Podcast
One Song
Bandsplain
Every Single Album