Cook da Books (also known as Cook the Books, Big in France and Da Books) were a British new wave band from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, formed in 1980. The band were signed to indie labels throughout their career, and much of their music was politically charged, though they also contributed music to popular film soundtracks. They released two albums and eleven singles before splitting up in 1988.

History

Cook da Books formed in 1980 in

Fazakerley Fazakerley is a suburb of north Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 16,786. Description Fazakerley is in north Liverpool; neighbouring dist ...

composed of former members of pub/cabaret circuit groups The Dogems and Brooklyn, two bands not connected with the city's punk and new wave scene, but competent musicians with close harmonies gained from the Hilda Fallon Roadshow days, similar to other local bands such as Our Kid. The initial line-up was Kevin Kunky Kelly (Guitar/vocals) Peter "Digsy" Deary (vocals, guitar), Owen Moran (bass, vocals), Tony Prescott (keyboards), and John Legget (drums). They initially gained attention with their acclaimed and politically charged debut single "Piggie in the Middle 8", with provocative lyrics about the

Toxteth riots The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community. They followed the Brixton riot earlier that year and we ...

. The band's manager played a demo to well-known reggae producer Dennis Bovell, who had recently produced a number two record with

Janet Kay Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actor and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit "Silly Games". Biography Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a rehea ...

's "

Silly Games Silly may refer to: Places * Silly, Belgium, a town * Silly Department, a department or commune of Sissili Province in southern Burkina Faso Music * Silly (band), an East German rock group from the 1970s * The Sillies, an American punk rock b ...

", upon which he agreed to produce the track at his Studio80 in London.Leonard, Marion & Strachan, Rob (2010) ''The Beat Goes on: Liverpool, Popular Music and the Changing City'', Liverpool University Press, , p. 56 A further deal was reached with Probe Records to release the record in the emerging independent market. This was the first record ever released on the Probe label, which went on to find success with many other artists following this release. Local photographer John Stoddart was enlisted to produce the artwork for the 7" & 12" sleeves. After this first band session, Stoddart went on to photograph many bands, most notably

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

through their major success. The single brought them to the attention of musician

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist. He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and ...

, who included three tracks by the band on the soundtrack to the French film ''

La Boum 2 ''La Boum 2'' is a 1982 French teen romantic comedy film directed by Claude Pinoteau and starring Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, and Sophie Marceau. Written by Danièle Thompson and Claude Pinoteau, the film is about a girl who falls in love wit ...

''.Marx, David (1985) "The Year of Da Books", ''Debut'', Issue 10, p. 54-55 The film includes a scene with the band playing "Your Eyes", which was a hit in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and the Philippines, selling over 900,000 copies and earning the band a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. It brought the band international recognition, while remaining relatively unknown in their home country and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. There followed further live shows including high-profile supporting tours in the UK and USA with

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Coli ...

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

and

the Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

, among others. They established a recording and rehearsal space in central Liverpool during the Virgin records deal. However, following the demise of the deal their manager, John Smith sold this on to another Liverpool band, Echo & the Bunnymen. The band recorded two further sessions (in 1983 and 1984) for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show, and one for

Simon Bates Simon Philip Bates (born 17 December 1946) is an English disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular pres ...

. They appeared on the BBC TV show ''

Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 198 ...

'' in 1985. In 1984, they contributed the demo version of "Piggy In The Middle 8" to Ronnie Flood's ''Jobs For the Boys'' compilation album, released to highlight the lack of employment available in Thatcher's Britain, particularly Liverpool.Mann, Billy (1985) "An LP That Works", ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', 2 February 1985, p. 15 Though the soundtrack to ''

'' was released on Polymer Records, and they were also signed to 10 Records (part of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

), Cook Da Books remained fiercely independent throughout their career, running their own label, Kiteland Records. According to the band themselves in an interview with ''Explicit'' magazine in 1983: "Being independent means that we've got the freedom to choose whatever we want, have whatever product we want marketed when we want". In 1985, they sang the song "Spartakus", written by Cosma, for the soundtrack of the French sci-fi cartoon TV ''Les Mondes Engloutis'' (''

Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea ''Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea'' ( French: ''Les Mondes Engloutis'', "The Engulfed Worlds") is a 1985-1987 French animated series created by Nina Wolmark. The series consists of 52 episodes, each between 20 and 25 minutes in length, div ...

''). That year they performed a concert with

at the Gammage Performing Arts Center in Arizona. After Prescott's departure, the remaining three members became simply 'Da Books', and re-emerged a year later with a cover of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

's "

Living for the City "Living for the City" is a 1973 single by Stevie Wonder from his ''Innervisions'' album. It reached number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the R&B chart. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 104 on their 2004 list of th ...

", released on

Probe Plus Probe Plus was a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who describes the label as "Music to drive you to drink".De Burgh, Simon (1991) 'Probe Plus Records', ' ...

. They also recorded "The Lookout Is Out" with new lyrics (based on the melody of "Asterix est là" by

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgium, Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi". Bi ...

), the theme song for the 1986 animated film '' Asterix in Britain''. Singer/guitarist Peter "Digsy" Deary went on to front Smaller, featuring his brother Stephen on drums, which had UK hit singles in 1996 and 1997 with "Wasted" and "Is", and was celebrated in the

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

song " Digsy's Dinner" from their debut album ''

Definitely Maybe ''Definitely Maybe'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchel ...

''. Oasis's

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

was also a guest on Smaller's 1997 album ''Badly Badly''.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 978 He then fronted The Sums in the 2000s.Wright, Jade (2008)
Digsy and the Sums on the joys of Paperback Writer
, ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

'', 17 January 2008, retrieved 2011-02-19 In 2012, Digsy and Owen were the subject of a documentary entitled ''We Wouldn't Want to Knock It'' by Liverpool filmmakers Daniel Draper and Frankie Cowley.

Style

The band were compared to

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

, U2, and Squeeze.Tamarkin, Jeff (1985)
Joan Armatrading/Cook Da Books, Radio City Music Hall, New York
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', 11 May 1985, p. 45

Discography

Albums

*1983: ''Outch'' *1989: ''Big Dreams'' (as Da' Books)

Singles/EPs

Chart placings shown are from the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. *1982: "Piggie in the Middle Eight"/"Turn to Black" (No. 18) *1982: "Rich Men Don't"/"Low Profile" *1983: "Piggie in the Middle Eight"/"I Wouldn't Want to Knock It" *1983: "Your Eyes" (No. 1) *1983: "Low Profile"/"Rich Men Don't" (No. 13) *1983: "I Wouldn't Want to Knock It"/"Up in Smoke"/"In da Papers" (No. 20) *1984: "Caress Me Like a Flower"/"Say Something Good" *1984: "Golden Age"/"Soho" *1985: "You Hurt Me Deep Inside"/"Piggie in the Middle Eight"/"Low Profile" *1986: "Living for the City"/"All I Want is Everything"/"How Could You Be So Low"/"Giving Up the Acid"/"England May as Well Be Cuba" *1986: "The Lookout Is Out" (theme song for the animated film '' Asterix in Britain'')

Compilation appearances

* "This Is Not the Time" (included on ''Crackin' Up at the Pyramid'' compilation) (May 1982) * "Get It Together"/"Your Eyes"/"Silver Man" (included on ''

'' soundtrack LP) (France: Philips, Germany: Carrere) * "Piggie in the Middle Eight" (new version) (''

Jobs for the Boys This is a list of ''Yes Minister'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister'' episodes. Thirty-eight episodes were made in total, running from 1980 to 1988. This includes a one-hour special that aired in 1984. All other episodes were a half-hour in length. ...

'' compilation (Natalie Records) (January 1985)

References

External links

Unofficial fan page for Cook Da Books
* * * {{Authority control 1980 establishments in England 1988 disestablishments in England English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 People from Fazakerley