Atlantic Records UK President Ben Cook Steps Down Over Run DMC Costume

Caitlyn Hart — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:23:04 +0000

Atlantic Records UK President, Ben Cook, has announced that he is stepping down from his position. The announcement comes after Cook wore an “offensive” Run DMC costume to a party, seven years ago.The executive admitted that he caused offence by dressing up as a member of Run DMC, for a birthday party. In a statement, Cook said: “While my intention was to honour a musical hero, I recognize my appearance was offensive and I made a terrible mistake.”

His statement continues, “Seven years ago, at a birthday party where guests were asked to come dressed as their favourite musical icon, I came as a member of Run DMC. Late last year rumours began to circulate about my appearance at that event, many of which are simply untrue.

“As a consequence of this, I readily agreed to disciplinary actions by my employer last year. Since then however, allegations surrounding the party have continued to be made against me. I have therefore come to the conclusion that I should make this statement and step down, with immediate effect.”

Warner, Atlantic Records’ parent company, issued the following statement: “Ben Cook is leaving Atlantic UK and this will be his last week in the office.” It has been revealed that Mark Mitchell, co-president of Parlophone, will replace Cook, on an interim basis.

Cook has served as Atlantic Records’ UK President for 12 years and was appointed president, in 2014. Cook has discussed how devastated he is: “that this mistake has caused upset and has called into question my commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, values which I have championed throughout my career. I have learned a great deal from this event and will resolutely continue to champion these values moving forward.”

Cook started his career at Ministry of Sound, where he was behind some chart-topping hits such as Eric Prydz’s multi-platinum ‘Call On Me’ and Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’.

After joining, Asylum, an Atlantic subsidiary, in 2007, he worked with Wiley, which saw him take hits like ‘Wearing My Rolex’ to number two. Cook also helped build the careers for some of today’s biggest stars, including Rudimental, Charli XCX and Anne-Marie. Along with Ed Howard, Cook also signed Ed Sheeran to an album deal, in January 2011, after noting how the star’s No. 5 Collaborations Project EP had reached number two in the iTunes charts as an independent release.

Cook’s seven-year tenure as president of Atlantic Records saw the label’s share of the UK album market increase to 7.9%, which is in no small part due to Sheeran’s success. The label was also home to big-sellers by Bruno Mars, Clean Bandit and Migos.

David Guetta and Run DMC to Co-Headline Isle of White Festival 2017

William Almond — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 19:29:14 +0000

The 2017 Isle of White Festival, which will take place between the 8^th and the 11^th of June, will be co-headlined on the 8th by David Guetta and Run DMC, as reported by NME. They will join the already announced headliners Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart. Bastille, George Ezra, Rag’n’Bone Man and Jack Savoretti are all also on the bill.

Run DMC became the first rap artist to receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy earlier this year, and while they have been officially broken up since the death of Jam-Master Jay in 2002, Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels have re-united for a handful of gigs between 2012 and 2014. Simmons, a founding member of the iconic hip-hop collective, sounded excited and paid tribute to UK music fans in a statement, via Metro, saying, ‘We absolutely love playing in the UK, it’s always such a great reception. You guys rock! To be given the chance to play such an iconic UK festival is huge and we’re really looking forward to it!’

Guetta, meanwhile, has not released a album of wholly new material since 2014, but has still been heavily involved in remixes and has released a host of singles, including his latest ‘Shed A Light’ which features contributions from Robin Schulz and Cheat Codes.

Festival promoter John Giddings said of the line-up, ‘The Isle of Wight Festival has always been known for its variety in music and this year is no different. To have the world’s first and most inspiring hip hop group headlining alongside one of the world’s biggest electronic DJ’s is fantastic. I’m also really excited about George Ezra, Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Bastille and Jack Savoretti. Again there’s something for everyone. I know the crowds at the festival are going wild for all the acts, not just the headliners.’

Giddings must be delighted to have any line-up, let alone this stellar offering, to announce as there were fears the festival would not go ahead at all in 2017 due to concerns over costs and poor ticket sales. Music fans can definitely breathe a sigh of relief at this news, after an agreement was reached between festival organisers and the council. This would not have been the first time the festival was shelved, having begun in 1968 and running for three incarnations until 1970, the festival was brought back in 2002. In 2016, the festival packed in 58,000 fans who saw acts including Status Quo, Faithless, Stereophonics, The Who and Ocean Colour Scene.

Early Bird Tickets for the festival are available now and range in price: children go free; a Friday ticket will cost you £60; single day tickets for the weekend are £80; full priced weekend tickets go for £175 but students (£155) and Teens (£125) get a discount on what promises to be a spectacular event.

The co-headliners join a whole host of acts that have already been announced, a full list can be found below:

Arcade Fire

Rod Stewart

David Guetta

Run DMC

George Ezra

Bastille

Rag’n’Bone Man

Jack Savoretti

mxdwn.co.uk » Run DMC

Atlantic Records UK President Ben Cook Steps Down Over Run DMC Costume

David Guetta and Run DMC to Co-Headline Isle of White Festival 2017