Paul Cook

Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and a founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is nicknamed "Cookie" by friends in the punk music scene.

Cook was raised in Hammersmith and attended the Christopher Wren School, now Phoenix High School, London in White City Estate, Shepherd's Bush, where he met Steve Jones. The pair became friends, and while skipping school, in 1972–1973, Cook and Jones, along with their school friend Wally Nightingale, formed a band, the Strand. Within the next three years the Strand evolved into the Sex Pistols.

Cook's early influences included Motown, ska and glam rock acts like David Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music and Slade, in addition to drummers Kenney Jones of the Faces, Paul Thompson of Roxy Music, Al Jackson Jr. and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Cook is portrayed by Jacob Slater in the 2022 Craig Pearce – Danny Boyle FX biographical drama miniseries Pistol.

After the Sex Pistols suddenly broke up after their final concert in San Francisco on 14 January 1978, Cook and Jones initially worked on the soundtrack to Julien Temple's film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. The two also recorded a few songs using the Sex Pistols name, Cook singing lead on the album version of the song "Silly Thing". The pair then started a new band, the Professionals, with Andy Allan. Allan caused some legal problems; he played bass on "Silly Thing" and the first few Professionals recordings, but had no recording contract and had been neither credited nor paid. Consequently, the Virgin Records compilation album Cash Cows, which featured the Professionals' track "Kick Down the Doors", was withdrawn. Cook and Jones played together on Johnny Thunders' solo album, So Alone.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.