Phil Cool on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Phil Cool (born Philip Martin; April 1948)
[Neville Thurlbeck]
"Phil Cool reveals why he’s ready to bow out of touring "
''Wales Online
Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd.
History
The ''Western Mail'' was fo ...
'', 29 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.[York Membery]
"Who'd have thought it... Phil Cool is not at all averse to verse"
'' Daily Express'', 11 February 2013; retrieved 19 May 2013. is a retired English comedian,
impressionist and musician. He starred in his own television series ''
Cool It'' (1985–1990), ''Cool Head'' (1991) and ''Phil Cool'' (1992), and performed as a touring comedian until his retirement in 2013.
Early life
Born in
Chorley, Lancashire,
[John Anson]
"Funnyman Phil Cool to bid farewell to fans on final tour"
''Lancashire Telegraph
The ''Lancashire Telegraph'', formerly the ''Lancashire Evening Telegraph'', is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire, England. It is edited by Karl Holbrook. There are around twenty towns in the area, including Blackburn, B ...
'', 22 February 2013; retrieved 19 May 2013. Cool discovered that he had a skill for pulling faces when he was a 12-year-old at school.
Once he left school he worked briefly in a warehouse and as an
electrician
An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...
before turning professional as a comedian and impressionist.
Career
Whereas many of his impressionist peers concentrated on mimicking the voice of the target and changing in and out of a succession of make-up and costumes, Cool instead placed an emphasis on thrusting his eyebrows, lips and even, seemingly, his ears into the positions required of the part.
Cool's debut television appearance was in the short-lived comedy show ''Rock With Laughter'', it was around this time that he made a career-defining performance at
Jasper Carrott
Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor and television presenter.
Early life
Born in Shaftmoor Lane, Acocks Green, in Birmingham, Carrott was educated at Acocks Gr ...
's Folk Club "The Boggery". Carrott was impressed with Cool's act and decided to take an active hand in furthering his career. In 1983 he appeared as a regular on the ''
O.T.T.'' spin-off ''
Saturday Stayback'' and, in 1984, he became one of the voice artists for the
satirical show ''
Spitting Image
''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...
'', impersonating
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...
,
Holly Johnson
William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...
and
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
for the first two series. It was during his time on ''Spitting Image'' that a producer for the BBC spotted him, and got him work on ''
Pebble Mill at One
''Pebble Mill at One'' is a British television magazine programme that was broadcast live on weekdays at one o'clock on BBC1, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the Peb ...
''.
After the success of these appearances, he was given his own series called ''
Cool It'' (
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
). The first series of ''Cool It'' was repeated within a matter of months. There was a tie-in video release of the best moments of ''Cool It''. The second series aired in 1986 and was also produced by Jasper Carrott. The BBC released another video ''Cool It Too''. Cool recorded an album on
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 (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
called ''Not Just a Pretty Face'', and a book titled ''Cool's Out''. In 1987, he performed at ''
The Secret Policeman's Third Ball
''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...
''. The third and final series was broadcast in 1988.
In 1989 he appeared in the mini-film ''Night of the Comic Dead'' alongside
Frank Carson
Hugh Francis Carson KSG (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was a Northern Irish comedian and actor from Belfast. He was best known for being a regular face on television for many years from the 1970s onwards, appearing in series su ...
,
Karl Howman
Karl Howman (born 13 December 1953) is an English actor and voice-over artist. He is best known for playing Jacko in the sitcom ''Brush Strokes'' from 1986 to 1991, Mulberry in ''Mulberry'' from 1992 to 1993 and Buster Briggs in ''EastEnders'' f ...
and
Howard Lew Lewis as part of A Night of Comic Relief 2. His third video, ''Cool 'N' Hot'', was filmed live at the Royal Leamington Spa Centre in 1989. In 1991 he moved to
ITV and made a series called ''Cool Head'' (
Central Television).
In the same year Central released a video showcasing some of the best moments of ''Cool Head''. A year later he made another series for Central that was entitled ''Phil Cool'', recorded at the
Belgrade Theatre in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
. This turned out to be Cool's last series for television.
In 1992 Cool teamed up with Jasper Carrott and toured the country with their "Carrott & Cool" show. The "Carrott & Cool" tour was the subject for one episode of ''A Day in the Life'' for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
in 1993. The episode took a behind-the-scenes look at the show and tour. He had a brief comeback in 1997 when he released his fifth official video, ''Classic Cool'' (this has been reissued on DVD), but in August 2000 his career had to be put on hold when he suffered a heart attack, which left him in hospital for eight months.
After making a full recovery he returned to the stage with a new show in 2002, and in 2003 he revived his touring partnership with Carrott. He is now a resident in
Chipping, Lancashire. In addition to his solo gigs, Cool toured in 2008 with
Ken Nicol, performing as Nicol and Cool, providing a blend of music and comedy impressions. Nicol and Cool toured with folk rock group
Fairport Convention as a support act for Fairport's 2009 winter tour. They released an album, also called ''Nicol & Cool''.
Cool's most recent television and film work has been an appearance on ''
Today with Des and Mel
''Today with Des and Mel'' was a British television chat show hosted by Des O'Connor ('' Des O'Connor Tonight'') and Melanie Sykes. The show featured celebrity guests, phone-in competitions and chat between the hosts. It was produced by Car ...
'' in 2006, being interviewed as part of the BBC's ''The Story of Light Entertainment'' and appearing in the movies ''Upstaged'' (2005) and ''The School That Roared'' (2009).
Cool's autobiography, ''Phil Cool Died Here (And Lived To Tell The Tale)'', was followed by a book of '
Art Brut'-inspired sketches of children.
In 2013 Cool began a farewell nationwide tour, declaring it would be his last because he had "just had enough of all the travelling".
Legacy
Writing for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2003, author