A Lifetime in Music with producer Mark Cooper & Jill Furmanovsky
In celebration of her first retrospective at Manchester Central Library, music photographer Jill Furmanovsky is joined by long-term friend and former head of music at the BBC Mark Cooper comparing stories of their life in the music industry.
Mark Cooper began his career as a music journalist in the pages of Record Mirror, Q and Mojo and was BBC Studios’ Head of Music from 1999 to 2019. As the founding producer and presiding spirit of Later.. with Jools Holland, Mark booked and shaped the programme for 26 years without missing a single recording. From Stormzy to Björk, from Smokey Robinson to Norah Jones, from Sir Paul McCartney to Mary J. Blige, from Britpop to trip hop, the programme welcomed musical legends alongside the next generation of superstars including Adele, Ed Sheeran and Amy Winehouse. He also led the BBC’s TV coverage of Glastonbury from 1997 until 2020 and executive produced over 250 BBC music documentaries. His book, Later…with Jools Holland: 30 Years of Music, Magic and Mayhem, is published by HarperCollins.
‘It was Mark who had to explain to Jay-Z why he couldn’t just do his numbers and split, who told Seasick Steve why he had to play ‘Dog House Boogie’ on the Hootenanny and persuaded Johnny Cash that he simply had to come in, even when The Man in Black wasn’t feeling well.’ Words by Richard Williams.
For the last 50 years, Jill Furmanovsky has been photographing music’s greatest icons. Covering live performance to location and studio her subjects have ranged from a pre-teen Michael Jackson to Billie Eilish on the Glastonbury stage. Jill’s retrospective ‘Photographing the Invisible’ at Manchester Central Library until June 24th, displays some of her most famous works and hidden gems from her extensive archive.
Attendees will be able to view the exhibition following the talk before the library closes at 8pm.
Booking Required
