I don’t mean to be rude, but...
Simon Cowell bestrides TV like a colossus, with hit shows on both sides of the Atlantic. TV executive George Mitchell charts the rise of the controversial performer and producer and reveals a surprising Aberdeen connection
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IT WAS A TV assignment I wasn’t looking forward to with much enthusiasm. As co-executive producer of the National Television Awards, my task was to secretly put together a seven-minute film profiling Simon Cowell’s career.
It would be played at the glittering awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Trevor McDonald, and broadcast live to up to 10million viewers on ITV1 as we surprised Cowell with a special recognition award.
But what was there to say about the enigmatic workaholic famous for wearing his trousers too high who has pocketed millions by humiliating deluded wanabees desperate to be rich and famous? A classic case, surely, of the smug picking the sores of the unfortunate on peak-time Saturday night TV on shows like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent?
As I worked on the film, interviewing on camera important industry figures like Piers Morgan, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John, I realised I had got him all wrong. Mr Nasty had become Mr Saturday Night, producing must-watch TV for millions.
I had come to mock but stayed to marvel. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I freely admit that I looked to Cowell for inspiration when coming up with the format for a charity Christmas carol contest I am producing in Aberdeen on Sunday, December 6. Any similarity between ITV’s The X Factor and Queen’s Cross Church’s The Xmas Factor is entirely intentional.
How could it be that a man from pop music, who started in the mailroom of a record company, had accidentally drifted into television and in just a few years had become the best-known and highest paid figure in the business in both Britain and America with a clutch of surefire hits like The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, American Idol and America’s Got Talent?
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who knows a thing about music and talent shows, is unstinting with his praise. Presenting Cowell with his special recognition award, he gushed: “He has changed the course of TV as we know it. He understands how to look after artists, how important music is and is also one of the finest people to work in TV and music.”
Britain’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, who in his previous life as red-top tabloid editor had observed Cowell for two decades, had a different slant: “Simon is impossible to work with. He’s obviously got a stupendous ego; he’s smaller than me, and utterly obnoxious in the way he treats his fellow-judges.”
But joking apart, Morgan, fast becoming one of TV’s hottest properties himself, shrewdly analyses Cowell’s success: “He is not just successful here. He is revered as a god-like figure in TV in America.
“He likes to produce theatrical TV. He is always thinking like a producer. He is successful both as a star of the show and as a producer, and that makes him a rare talent.”
But does Cowell exploit vulnerable youngsters hooked on fame? And is it the sizzle, not the sausage, that he is selling with clever marketing tricks?
Piers Morgan believes not: “In America, the winner of the X Factor had a number one and they had never seen the X Factor in the States; they had judged her purely on her singing ability.”
But are Simon’s cutting one-line put-downs unnecessarily savage?
Morgan springs to his boss’s defence again: “Simon is very careful. When he feels the contestant is particularly insecure or vulnerable, he will always stop things and move on to the next one.”
Despite his massive exposure, Cowell remains an enigma. He was the first “victim” of the re-launched This is Your Life two years ago when Trevor McDonald surprised him in an ad break of American Idol.
During the show, Simon revealed that for the first few years of his life he thought his nanny was his mother. Next morning, the producer phoned Cowell to say they would take that bit out.
“Oh no,” said Simon. “Definitely keep that in.”
When Cowell stepped up to receive his special recognition award at our ceremony, he said his success had made him “more spoiled and more shallow, but I have loved every single minute of it. It’s the best job in the world.
Elton John, who has watched as Simon captured America, sums it up best. “People love to hate Simon Cowell. But they love watching him. He knows what makes good TV. That is why he has become such a TV superstar.”
THE Xmas Factor will be held at Queen’s Cross Church, Albyn Place, Aberdeen, on Sunday, December 6, at 7pm. It is a novelty Christmas concert at which six talented Aberdeen singers will compete in a lighthearted carol competition.
There will also be an outstanding showcase of local musical talent including Albyn School Ensemble, The Concert Band of Aberdeen Grammar School, and the Deep Blue barbershop quartet.
It will be a great Christmas night out for all the family. Everybody welcome.
Tickets cost £5 (includes mulled wine and Christmas pies). Concessions are £3.
Tickets available from Bruce Miller’s (keyboard dept), Union Street, Aberdeen, or Queen’s Cross Church office (Tuesday-Friday mornings).
TV cameras from Aberdeen College will be recording the performances.
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