ben

Bentley Cooke
Drums
Lap Steel
Piano
Accordian
Violin
(I play it all, me)

Name - Ben "Bentley" Cooke
Age - 28
Birthplace - Adelaide, Australia

Drink - Icy Vodka mixed with Irn Bru, Tizer, Lucozade, etc - any colourful cans of fizzy pop that remind me of my childhood (which was very happy indeed - unlike my life at this particular moment sat in a stuffy office at the BBC. I'm still looking for that elusive can of Quatro, mail me if you know where to find them).

Food - English Breakfasts - I still love English Breakfasts which I believe to be far superior to Irish ones although some clever bastard I met in Seattle reckoned that if you have Hash Browns it becomes American Breakfast or brunch whatever they call it - I beg to differ as Hash Browns are NOT what makes an ENGLISH BREAKFAST. I usually stay British but sometimes I may have an amalgamation of 3 different nations in my fry: - that is 1 large fried egg, 2 bacon, 2 normal (not pig's tail) shaped cumberland sausages, mushrooms fried almost to death, half can of beans, 2 tomatoes from a can, 5 slices of Warbuton's bread (toasted), most importantly a half bottle of HP Sauce. If I'm feeling multicultural I might have 2 hash browns and a white (not black) pudding to remind me of my auntie Minnie from my ma's side back in Dublin.

Discovery of 2006 - Salvia (The Diviner's Sage) - hilariously still legal in the UK - if you've got a Dr Hermans in your city go and knock on and buy some Salvia - it's by far and away the strongest thing on this planet - like sniffing Medicinal Ether - it transports you to some place beyond explanation. Imagine seeing string theory in process. No come down, �20 and you're in Realm 23 having no recollection of what a human-being is; never mind the planet earth.

Songs - Magnet - Yo La Tengo - at the moment this gorgeous cover of an NRBQ song is something else for me - I only heard it at Colm's flat a few months back when we did our gig in Brixton and it's by far and away my favourite song of the last year. I'd reccommend it to anyone who likes country/pop in the vein of Jens Lekman, Magnetic Fields, Wilco, etc. How can you blame the Yanks for getting us involved in Iraq when they make music as nice as this.

Film - Riff-Raff, You can stick Godfather and Citizen Kane up your ring-piece coz I love Ken Loach films Riff-Raff especially - the characters in his 90's films are my favourite alongside Raining Stones and My Name Is Joe, Riff-Raff is the best he's done in my opinion just for the dialogue - cream of British acting - makes me proud to come from this sceptered isle. "He only wants a fuckin' squat."

Book - 100 Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I don't really think you need to read any other book than this - maybe Rotten's biography would be a close second but for something to this - it's not good to talk about something as enormously gigantic as this in such a small space and do it justice - so I won't.

Actor/Actress - Scarlet Johansson - sweet lord she's probably a bit too good looking for her own good. I can't even type anything when I think about her . . .

Girl of Summer - "Kasia-Kasia Cooke." My wife is still better than Scarlet Johannsson - Scarlett may be the most attractive Western woman in celebrity but I bet she doesn't know the difference between Rye Vodka and Potato Vodka - my Kasia does. Kiss it, Scarlet - you're out of here.

Place - Pomona Palace, Manchester

Artist - Goya coz he took the piss and painted the Spanish aristocracy like they really were - in-breds gurning away with no grip or knowledge of reality. He got away with too I think.

Likes - Pineapples - if it weren't for them I'd have no faith in fruit at all.

Dislikes - Strawberries, these things grew in my garden when I was a nipper and I really hated them, they taste so tart and I wish I could have grown up in Australia or wherever they grow pineapples (which I like - see above)

TV - Til Death Us Do Part, I like this coz even though Alf Garnett was racist and talking absolute shite at least he was funny which a lot of these people aren't Hitler, Le Pen, Oswald Mosley - so if you're gonna be a bit right wing and out of order, at least do it in a funny Jewish-Cockney accent.

Nite out - Pomona Palace

Shop - Dr Hermans

I Love the Smell of - petrol, sea, perfume (various types)

Message to the People - Don't be nice to people all the time, they won't appreciate it - and let's face it - it's easier to be nice than it is to be horrible isn't it? - so why not challenge yourself and tell them to "fucking do one!" instead of licking everyone's arse 24/7. Peace.