Double Bill by Bill Cotton
This is the story of the legendary band leader, Billy Cotton and his namesake son, Bill Cotton Jnr who became Managing Director of BBC Television. Bill Cotton not only looks back on these golden years, but also on his relationship with his father.
A neat title for an absorbing book incorporating the history of post-war Britain's entertainment industryCotton is the son of bandleader Billy Cotton, an irascible character whose show business attainments were largely matched by his sporting prowess. His son writes about his often exasperating father with humour and patent love and affection but not ignoring paternal warts like a four-year affair with his band's young female singer. Of even greater interest is Cotton's account of his own career that has encompassed song plugging, music publishing and hilariously bluffing his way as leader of his father's band when Cotton Senior was recuperating from a nervous breakdown. Most fascinating are his recollections of his time with BBC TV heading its light entertainment department and being instrumental in the introduction of hit shows like Six Five Special, Juke Box Jury and the now politically incorrect Black And White Minstrel Show, to say nothing of fostering the careers of the two Ronnies, Terry Wogan, Morecambe and Wise and Cilla Black. Yet Cotton did not approve of all of Auntie's ways or of John Birt. Double Bill is one of the best show biz tomes about the heyday of British entertainment from somebody at its centre before the present doldrums set in and deserves high sales during the pre-Christmas period.
Bill Cotton had an extraordinary impact on the face of the British entertainment industry, his numerous achievements garnering him first an OBE and to follow a CBE, a Gold Medal from the Royal Television Society, and a prestigious Fellowship of BAFTA. Throughout his career, as a music publisher and producer, head of Variety and Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC, and then as Controller of BBC1, and finally Managing Director of Television at the BBC, he influenced the careers of a whole host of legendary performers, from Vera Lynn and Cilla Black to Morecambe and Wise, the Two Ronnies, Terry Wogan and Mike Yarwood.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781841153278 |
| ISBN 10 | 1841153273 |
| Title | Double Bill |
| Author | Bill Cotton |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Year published | 2000-10-05 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |