WELCOME TO COOPER S
HERE'S A LARF WITH COOPER S
NEWS, REVIEWS Pt 1
WIRRAL INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL 2002
RAVES FROM THE GRAVE
AREA 51
THE BAND - good, bad and the ugly!
CAUGHT IN THE ACT!
STOP PRESS
MP3 DOWNLOADS
PHOTO GALLERY....
NEWS, REVIEWS Pt 2
PISTON POWER ARCHIVES
Links for Cooper S
Message Board
Guestbook
Cooper S Live...have you seen them. What do you think?
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Halfway House - 18th May 2001
Another Friday night and another gig at Wirral's best live venue - The Halfway House. It was nearly a four piece appearence tonight, with Paul, the drummer, unavoidably called away and was unable to make the show. At the last minute - almost literally - a stand in drummer was found, the outstanding Mick Ryan (Rhino to his pals) came along for the night. The problem was that he had last played with the band as a stand in over three years ago, so he had no idea what the set was or how Cooper S played the songs. But, regardess he stood in manfully and apart from a couple of timing errors he did a great job. The Halfway was surprisingly quiet at around 9pm - unusual when Cooper S are playing - but getting onto 10pm the place had filled up as usual. The band kicked off wiith the quiet 'Driftwood' - an easy start for them and a chance for Mick to get the feel, and then onto 'Changing Man' folowed by an enthusiastic 'Substitute'. There would be no chance to play any original stuff tonight, shame, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. By this time the band were working up a sweat, with Mark leading the front well, Ged scything through his guitar parts, Pete enjoying himself with nostrils flaring, Brian was hidden behind the P.A stack so we couldn't see him (probably with his usual big smile), and Mick, arms flailing hitting his skins and gradually losing any inhibitions. The band continued through 'Stuck in the Middle', 'One' and many others - getting tighter as the drummer got into the set. They finished on the medley of 'Let Forever Be/Get Back/Get Your Rocks Off' and then an encore of 'Everybody Hurts'. So well done to Cooper S and the stand in drummer.
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Halfway House - 16th April 2001
 "They have a great choice of numbers from The Beatles to Slade right up to Travis and every song had the place dancing and singing along with every chorus. Lucy In The Sky was superb, absolutely the best rendition ever and nearly brought the house down with people on chairs and tables singing along to every word. The sound and the lights were excellent and helped as the band built up a tremendous atmosphere that just kept building with every number. Mark is a natural frontman and the band is just so good on every number and so tight that they can't go wrong. GO AND SEE THIS BAND!! "
THE BUZ MAGAZINE (MAY 2001)
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The Kings, Bebington - 28th May (pm)
 The second bank holiday afternoon session of the year for Cooper S at The Kings in Bebington was a resounding success. Cooper fans were there in plenty enjoying both the sun in the King’s beer garden and S’s music delivered to their usual high standard. A few new songs were blended into the first set including a fine version of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run and the new Travis single, Sing. The band kicked off with Driftwood, one of their fans favourites. Lock it Inside and Holy Joe, two of the bands own songs followed and deservedly brought some of the loudest appreciation from the audience. Cooper S are still one of the few local bands to include their own material and they should be congratulated on demonstrating their fine song writing talents. It soon became apparent to the more observant fans that keyboard player Brian was not in peek condition and his usual smile and energy was missing. It later turned out that he had some sort of virus and would be out of action for possibly a few weeks! So watch out for some changes to the band's set while he recovers. For those who haven’t been there, The Kings is a good venue and well worth a visit – especially on a sunny afternoon.
Reviewed by Head Gasket
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The Swan, Prenton - 15th June 2001
 This was a good gig for Cooper S, who played exceptionally well and recieved a great response from an enthusiastic audience. The band has had to rearrange their set due to the continued absence of keyboard player, Brian - still struck down with a particularly nasty virus - but they played on a 4 piece. Some songs ahve been dropped for the moment, and others adapted to fill for the keyboards. The pub was quite full and the band played louder than the last time they were there. Travis' newie 'Sing' got them off to a flyer and their version of 'One' by U2 was excellent. They also played a couple of new additions to the set - 'Born to Run' and the closer 'Suspicious Minds'. The band worked up a real sweat and the audience joined in loudly with 'Sit Down' - the song and not a request! They recieved two encores and were really up for it and if licensing hours were longer I'm sure they would have played on. Good gig. |
Rock Ferry Fete - 16th June 2001
Funky Monks, Co.UK., Two Hats and Cooper S filled the bill for this all afternoon open air show. Rain and bad weather had been forecast, but all held off and the afternoon started quite pleasant and warm. It was along afternoon, particularly for Cooper S, whose members arrived at around 12 noon and stayed for the duration. Funky Monks got things underway with a good hour long set of covers, including a few Tom Jones ditties and finished on their own version of Mustang Sally. Co.UK. were next on, but it was much later than the planned schedule which had thrown the order of appearences right up the swannie. They played an excellent set of songs, which included REM, The Jam and Paul Weller. It must be said, that at this time the clouds had gone a dark shade of grey and it was getting cold - especially for those which had been around for a few hours. This probably reflected in the small number of people which were watching and was no way a slur on the bands. By the time Cooper S got on stage it was even colder and the wind was picking up. They played a good set and managed to atract some more people to the stage area. Singer Mark, was in particularly fine form - both vocally and verbally - and cheered up the chilly audience. They played a set similar to The Swan the night before and, considering the temperature, went down well. By the time their set was over, so was the fete - so unfortunately, Two Hats didn't manage to perform and were able to get home quickly for a hot bath and a warm snifter! Congratlations on the day went to all the bands, to EMS Solutions for providing the PA, to the audience for sticking around, Stuey for mixing Cooper S, and to Rachael and her friend, Cerys for blowing thousands of bubbles in front of the stage when Cooper S were playing - it looked really good!
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Iron Door Club - 23rd November 2001
 The Iron Door Club, smack in the middle of central Birkenhead, is almost a throw back to the good old days of live music venues which you would find everywhere. The bands play in te basement area which is fitted out almost like The Cavern of yesteryear, but today it is probably Wirral’s premier live gig club. Always a good atmosphere, always a full house and always a good band playing. Friday was no exception with the performance of Cooper S as part of the Guitar Festival. Cooper S - Mark Saunders (guitar/vocal), Gerry Lennon (guitar), Brain Prendegast (keyboards, (Pete Sommerville (bass), and Paul barlow (drums) - is very popular on the local gig circuit and also its many shows throughout the UK. A full house saw the band kick off in its usual loud style with a series of covers taking in Travis, U2 and The Stereophonics, much enjoyed by the crowd who were soon up dancing and jumping about. The one thing about Cooper S which is obvious when you see them is that they are such a tight band, playing the songs with venom and turning cover versions into their own versions, a fact which has made it
such a popular act encouraging fans to return time and time again to their shows. The band mixed their set with a series of original numbers, including Holy Joe, Lock It Inside and That’s Alright. Halfway through the
set, guitarist Gerry Lennon broke some strings and was fortunately rescued by the timely appearence of a spare Les Paul. This didn’t stop the enjoyment of the band and the audience, both of which continued to grow more and more enthusiastic as the set progressed. Singer, Mark Saunders quietened the mood down momentarily when he performed a solo version of the old Chris Farlowe hit, Handbags and Gladrags, before they started rockin’ again. The show lasted around 90 minutes and ended with their own version of the Elvis classic Suspicious Minds (Cooper S style!). This had the crowd jumping around madly and singing along with it. All in all, a really good show by Cooper S and the Iron Door audience, thoroughly enjoyable and a worthy addition the International Guitar Festival.
Quotes from the night
The Guitar Festival is a highlight for every musician in Wirral either watching the performances or playing. Playing the Iron Door Club to another full house proves how popular live music is in the area and it was pleasure for Cooper S to take part. - Gerry Lennon, Guitarist, Cooper S
“Great...good show great venue...great festival” - Mark, Singer, Cooper S
"A really good show, loud, sweaty and above all live. Cooper S never fail to deliver the goods when it comes to rock music, they are a top class band playing top class music" - Jim Rogers, Cheshire |
The Buz - Wirral's Music Guide
 | If you are looking for gigs to go to in Wirral or simply looking for a gig for your band, the best index of finding out what's happening in the area is by getting a copy of The Buz magazine. It's out monthly and can be found in all good venues around Wirral where music is played. Why not have a look at The Buz web site for an up to date picture of what's happening in Wirral.
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The Halfway House - 19th January 2002
 You get the feeling that the hangover from Christmas and New Year finally disappeared, when Cooper S played The Halfway House on saturday. It was a tight, packed house on a night when the central heating only added to the warm (phew!!!) atmosphere. The audience was up for the gig, and the band were certainly up for it. No great surprises in the set, with the addition of the Kate Bush song, Wuthering Heights,played in an almost heavy rock style. The band and the audience connected straight away, receiving rich applause for every song, which now includes a good, soulful version of Handbags and Gladrags. They mixed up the covers with some original material which went down equally as well as each other - it’s amazing how many people actually sing along now to the original stuff. All in all, a good introduction back to The Halfway House for Cooper S in what promises to be another full house set of gigs at Wirral’s best pub venue. |
Congratulations, Mark and Jane
 Warmest congratulations to Cooper S singer, Mark, and his partner Jane on the arrival over the Christmas period of his son, Kian Aaron. The little chap is doing fine and has almost spoken his first words much to the annoyance of daddy, when little Kian uttered "Michael Owen". Mark is very proud because Kian is defintely a better dribbler than most of the current Everton squad.
Update June 2002: Baby Kian made his gig debuts at the Rock Ferry and Tranmere shows accompanied by Jane - the start of a new duo parhaps? watch out Mark if he asks for a minidisc for his first birthday! |
Rock Ferry/Tranmere - June 2002
| The weather for once stayed bright and in the case of Tranmere, absolutely stonking hot! This time of year brings the enevitable outdoor gigs, and June produced two - Rock Ferry Fete and the Tranmere Alliance. Cooper S played at both, together with a host of other local talented soloists and bands, including No1 Beatles, Mark Kenny, Alan Armstong, Paul Kappa Band, Insanity Beach and Co.UK - to name just a few. At Rock Ferry, It was a chance to test the E.M.S p.a to the full as Cooper S belted out mostly familiar parts of their recognised set, but also to add some originals and some new stuff. Appreciative audiences clapped and relaxed in the warm sun - unlike last year when audiences froze in the chill winds. In fact by the time Cooper S hit the stage at Rock ferry there was a chance of serious crowd trouble - we had trouble in finding a crowd! Similar show at Tranmere - except for a large crowd attracted by the hot weather - half hour set which was well recieved by the audience. All in all good work outs for Cooper S and all the acts. |  |
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Iron Door Club - 3rd August 2002
 This is not a review of the gig as I couldn’t get there, but to say this is a strange one is certainly an understatement. By the way, if anybody wants to do a short review please email it to us, it would be appreciated. The gig at the Iron Door Club on Saturday wasn’t a Cooper S show - the local press had them playing The Halfway House - which they weren’t, and The Iron Door Club - which they weren’t also! However, not to disappoint people a show was arranged and it was to feature members of the current Cooper S line up and former members of the original Cooper S and The Pictures. It was a loose jam session, nothing too serious. The band for the night - they were called Coventry Climax (sounds like a poor Midlands based porno movie company) - and featured Gerry (Cooper S Mk 1/2, The Pictures), Tony (Co.uk - Cooper S Mk 1, The Pictures), Mark (Cooper S Mk1/2) and Peter Thomas (Cooper S Mk 1,The Pictures). They played a mixed set of the old and current band sets, which included Losing My Religion, One I Love and Rocks. Nothing else to tell, so if you were there, write about it! That’s about it folks unless someone in the audience can update this review. |
Mersey Clipper - 16th August 2002
 The Mersey Clipper is now firmly back on the Cooper S gig rota. The Clipper offered a charged and steamy venue for this Friday night gig. Mid summer gigs can attract poor attendance but not so when Cooper S are involved. A near full house enjoyed the two set entertainment from start to finish. Lead singer Mark soon made his presence felt, opening with the bands excellent rendition of Travis’ Driftwood. The band is always highly professional and this gig was no exception with excellent sound balance from the start. Even lead guitarist Ged Lennon’s broken string half way through the first set did not delay proceedings unduly. Pete and Paul’s driving rhythm moved things along smoothly with Brian’s keyboard adding subtleties that always characterise the Cooper S sound. All the Cooper S favourites were there including Local Boy in the Photograph, Sing, the superb Last Night by the Strokes, Lucy in the Sky, Money, the hypocritus Wuthering Heights, Handbags and Gladrags plus a liberal sprinkling of the `S`s excellent self-penned material – now available in MP3 form on the internet (see MP3 download page on this web site). Cooper S always play a number of their own distinctive songs setting them apart from many other local bands who rely solely on covers. They have many fans across Wirral and there were clearly several new ones as a result of this excellent gig. The band rocked and so did the audience who eventually left for home or other late night venues well pleased with what they had heard |
Halfway & Clipper - January 2003
 Cooper S are "back" in 2003 with elements of a new set. Wirral’s premier band rocked into 2003 with a superb version of The Who’s "The Seeker", The Beatles "Dear Prudence" and Bowies’ "Starman". And this is just the beginning with more new material on the way over the next month or two. Taking in The Halfway House gig on the 24 January and also the Mersey Clipper gig on Saturday the 1st February, it is clear to see Cooper S are as popular as ever with packed houses both times. Not only that but a new cool look for excellent lead singer Mark with pulled down woolly headgear resembling Enrique – or is it Eminem? As for Ged, Pete, Paul and Brian - they remain unchanged and untouched by the vagaries and transience of fashion. Musically, the sound is as tight and as powerful as ever. One of my favourites at the moment is the Cooper S self penned song, Underground. This is becoming a local rock classic and is now hugely popular with their many fans. I understand that Cooper S are to play the Buz Awards at Pacific Road in March. A great platform for the band to demonstrate what will (hopefully) be a set of their own excellent material.
Reviewed Tragic Sally
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Buz Awards - Pacific Road March 8th 2003
 Well done Cooper S - Buz Best Band Award Winners 2003. Congratulations to Mark, Paul, Brian, Pete and Ged. The award is a thoroughly deserved recognition of a really excellent band, your efforts and total commitment over the past years. The night – Saturday 8 March 2003 – and a packed Pacific Road enjoyed a great night of entertainment by a selection of the hugely talented artists and bands of Wirral. The Buz awards are the result of three months of voting by the public – the peoples choice. Artists appearing included Wings tribute Wingspan, Peter Casino, Emma, Justine, Jade Tremarco, Ad Lib, Gary Murphy, Tequila, Rigsby’s Cat, Mark Lacey, Kappa, Soul Patrol and, of course, Cooper S. The logistics of ensuring that so many acts can set up and play on time is extremely complicated but by and large it went well with just a few technical problems with monitors and mics. Billy Butler hosted the main proceedings in his usual flambouyant but down to earth style describing Wirral’s music scene as probably the finest in the North West – many would agree with that. In total nine awards werel sponsored by venues or companies and congratulations to all the winners. Keyboard player Brian Prendergast accepted the Best Band award on behalf of Cooper S. Brian was genuinely excited and delighted by the award and warmly thanked the many Cooper S fans and all those who had voted and supported the band over the last few years. Nice one Brian. As for the Cooper S set itself, the band came on at 12.00 and played five songs, four of which were their own including my favourite, Underground. There are Cooper S mp3 downloads available (see link from main page) for anyone interested in listening to their self penned songs. Cooper S and indeed all the performers did an excellent job on the night – well done to everyone. Congratulations the Buz staff for this excellent event which ran yet again with the minimum of disruption. The behind the scenes work and worry involved in staging a lavish annual award event is substantial but I think everyone would agree that the end result was a fantastic tribute to the music scene in Wirral. It was also a sad occasion with the recent loss of one of Wirral’s greatest young music fans, Nikki Griffiths at the age of 23. Her friend, Ken Heath, in a moving tribute to Nikki spoke for many in the room. A friend of many and a well-known supporter of the live music scene Nikki will be sadly missed. So with 2003 well underway we can look forward to another year of musical excellence. It is really encouraging to see so many fine young performers coming through and with many excellent venues prepared to give youngsters the opportunity to develop their talents live music in Wirral can only continue to grow.
Tragic Sally – March 2003 |
Halfway House - 29th March 2003
 My first Cooper S gig for about 4 months, and it was award winners all the way - the Best Band of the Year at the Best Venue of the Year. Quite a packed house in the newly refurbished Halfway House, gone was the old stage area, replaced by a more open space look. Some new tunes added to to the set took up the opening part of the gig, Dear Prudence and The Seeker, before a couple of standards and then Lock It Inside - a Cooper S original. Perhaps it was my absence for such a long time, but I felt that the band never really kicked off tonight - though everything they did was greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Mark thanked whoever was in the audience for thier votes for the award, and it appears that Brian's popularity with the crowd has risen even more. For me, not one of the best gigs to remember, a good, solid performance, but you can't have peaches and cream all the time.
Reviewed by Maddie 30th March |
Zak Kops Award...
 At a recent gig held at The Iron Door Club in Birkenhead, Cooper S drummer, Paul Barlow, donated his Buz Band of the Year Award - a for charity. It was snapped up by Zak Sterling of Toothfairies (aka Phil S) fame and fortune, who paid out the princely sum of fifteen pounds to grab hold of this eye catching piece of memoribillia. It now adorns a prize position according to Zak - "it has pride and place in my toilet!" |
Liverpool Echo.....
 The Liverpool Echo (April 2nd) carried a good article about the dual role of Cooper S guitarist, Gerry Lennon. It appeared under the heading of Another Lennon Makes His Mark - here are some extracts: "A cousin of ex-Beatle John Lennon is a musical star on both sides of the mixing desk. Gerry Lennon runs his own musical PA and lighting business in New Brighton, and his band Cooper S has just won the Buz Award as Wirral's best group of the year. All the band, including ex-Christians drummer Paul Barlow, write material for five piece Cooper S, which was formed in 1999." |
Cavern link for Cooper S...
 The world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool has a nice and informative web site to check out, and one which has just added Cooper S to its 'Hall of Fame', well, maybe not 'Hall of Fame' exactly but certainly to its large artistes profiles section. This is an option bands can take advantage of once they have played at the club. The Cavern Club website - well worth a look! |
Link to local scene
The web site for the Wirral International Guitar Festival has a very good reviews section called Local Scene. It features articles, photographs etc on gigs for a number of local bands fwhich have played around the area over the past few months. Click on the link a go check it out! |
Iron Door is live...
 The Iron Door Club in Birnhead is amongst the regions top live spots for bands to perform, and one which Cooper S always looks forward to playing. It's true to say that it has a great and brave policy of only having bands on their bill - no duos, no backing tapes etc. The start of May saw a wonderful performance by the Bristol (almost!) based band, Never The Bride, which gave a stunning performance of mostly original material (see links page for web site). One thing this band and most of the others which perform on a Thursday have in common is Gerry Lennon, from Cooper S and EMS Solutions, who mixes the sounds for the bands. He is also responsible for the installation of the superb sound system which now places the club's pa amongst the best in the region. The Iron Door is soon to expand its operations for bands through a new web site which can update visitors about what's happening at the club. Though not live yet, the link below will take you to the under construction page - keep watching this space. |
Lou's a real Merseybeat....
 It's good news for one of the Cooper S extended family members, the man in question is Lou Rosenthal, with the news that he has become a member of legendary band, The Merseybeats. Lou is one of the best drummers around and played for many years with The Pictures, and he has also sat in on several occasions with Cooper S. So it's well done Lou...enjoy the gig, guess it must have been all that Wishin' and Hopin.'
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In the press....
| It's not a review of the band,but just thought it that this colourful advert would be really nice to replicate as it appeared in the Wirral News recently. It advertises a few of the bands which are appearing at The Iron Door Club in Birkenhead. |  |
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News, Reviews Part 2...
This particular section is getting very large so rather than delete stuff, we are introducing a second part called, yep! you guessed it....News, Reviews Part 2.... Please click on the link below or go to the navigation bar to the left of the screen - see you there in part 2.... |
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