Brought up in a village in the north east of England, Helen McCookerybook’s horizons were expanded by listening to the John Peel show. Always interested in drawing, she would listen to the show, doodle, and daydream about escaping to a place where all that music came from. After attending a Foundation Course in Art at Sunderland Polytechnic, she moved to Brighton Art College to what was then the only Fine Art Printmaking course in Britain. This coincided with the emergence of punk, and encouraged by fellow squatters she joined the emerging punk scene, her first band being ‘the worst band in Brighton’ according to a local promoter. This band, Joby and the Hooligans, was mentored by the late Vi Subversa of Poison Girls. None of the guys were keen on playing bass, so McCookerybook picked it up and taught herself how to play, which was a life-changing move. After the demise of the band, Helen formed The Chefs with guitarists Carl Evans and James McCallum, and drummer Rod Bloor, and the group brought out first two tracks on the Vaultage 79 compilation and then an EP and single on the local Attrix label. The single, 24 Hours, came to the attention of BBC Radio One’s John Peel. The Chefs recorded several sessions for Radio One before disbanding in 1982. Later that year after working with Lester Square – The Monochrome Set) and Mike Slocombe – Dance on a Telephone), on a cowboy/western set of songs, Helen and just the horn players from the new band were offered a support gig in west London with The Monochrome Set, and decided to go it alone as Helen and the Horns, with Helen McCookerybook shifting from bass and vocals to guitar and vocals, an unusual ‘no-bass and no-drums’ format. They played everywhere, from student balls at the Café Royal in London, to packed out punk gigs in the shires. Once more, they were frequent Radio One ‘sessioneers’ – recordings available here) signing to RCA in 1995 with whom they released two singles. They then released an album on their own label before disbanding amicably. Helen And The Horns still play the occasional gig
mccookerybook.com