Mick Cooke - TRUMPET - Bass

Service 22 Operated by Banchory

1st September 2001

The first band I was in was a heavy metal band called Terra Firma. Well, we were Terra Firma until September 1988, when we became simply 'T.F' (we formed in the summer of '87). Our first gig was at the church youth club, where we performed several rock classics segued together, including AC/DC's 'The Jack', and 'Smoke on the Water'.

The second gig was at a drop-in centre for the unemployed in Dundee called the Grey Lodge. The playing was a bit better, but the sound was terrible. Everything kept feeding back. It wasn't helped by the fact the sound guy was collapsed by the side of the stage due to excessive consumption of Greenmantle, while his girlfriend attempted to give him oral pleasure. Our sound was the last thing on his mind. The gig ended with my brother Alistair, the drummer, knocking over one of his cymbals, which then collided with bassist Kenny Reid's arm, causing severe laceration and lots of bleeding. Alistair and Kenny then both jumped off the stage and chased a guy who had been heckling the entire gig- including shouting 'fuck you' into the microphone during the audience participation section of 'The Jack'- with the intention of bringing him to harm. They didn't catch him however.

Over the years, T.F developed something of a reputation among discerning pubescent heavy metallers. We even got reviewed in Rhythm magazine, by a guy called Simon Braund, who described us as 'rambling, shambolic and cringingly pretentious'. By this time we had discovered prog rock and all its trappings. We used to play long sections of music in 13/8 time, and wonder why half the audience left.

In 1990, T.F became the Tropical Fishes, and were fast becoming something of a white-boy funk band, influenced heavily by heroes of the Dundee music scene some 20 years previous, The Average White Band. We had a keyboard player, and a horn section. We'd play to packed houses in the likes of Casper's and McGonogall's. By '91, Baggy had reached Dundee, and Tropical Fishes were infected by the new sound. But singer Michael 'Diggy' Dignan, a die-hard eighties fan, simply wasn't a fan of the new musical trend. This, combined with the impending further education of Alistair and Kenny, proved too much for the longevity of the band. On 10th July 1991, the Tropical Fishes, formerly T.F, formerly Terra Firma, played their last ever gig, to a packed Bar Chevrolet. Never again were this group of friends to play together on songs such as 'Funky Camel', 'Looks Like Snow' or 'Grimmond is Dead'. It was the end of an era.


Belle & Sebastian According to Mick:

"Better than a kick in the balls with a diver's boot "