Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Ed Sheeran’s record label boss steps down over ‘offensive’ Run DMC costume

Ed Sheeran’s record label boss steps down over ‘offensive’ Run DMC costume (Ian West/PA)
Ed Sheeran’s record label boss steps down over ‘offensive’ Run DMC costume (Ian West/PA)

Atlantic Records president Ben Cook has resigned from his role over a historical “offensive” appearance where he dressed as a member of Run DMC.

The music boss, who is credited with launching Ed Sheeran’s career, announced his departure having made the “terrible mistake” seven years ago at a party.

Cook said in a statement that he was previously reprimanded by the label for dressing as a member of the American hip-hop group, but that new allegations about his appearance prompted his departure from the label.

Cook said: “It is with great sadness that today I announce I am stepping down as president of Atlantic Records, UK.

“Seven years ago, at a birthday party where guests were asked to come dressed as their favourite musical icon, I came as a member of Run DMC. Late last year rumours began to circulate about my appearance at that event, many of which are simply untrue.

“While my intention was to honour a musical hero, I recognise my appearance was offensive and I made a terrible mistake.

“As a consequence of this, I readily agreed to disciplinary actions by my employer last year. Since then however, allegations surrounding the party have continued to be made against me. Moreover, they have been used against a wonderful company and the label I love. I have therefore come to the conclusion that I should make this statement and step down, with immediate effect.

“I am devastated that this mistake has caused upset and has called into question my commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, values which I have championed throughout my career. I have learned a great deal from this event and will resolutely continue to champion these values moving forward.”

Cook said that it has been “an incredible privilege to have worked with the immensely talented artists, managers and team at Atlantic and the wider Warner family”.

Stormzy
Stormzy (Ian West/PA)

He added: “I unreservedly apologise to anyone who has been hurt.”

Cook was at Atlantic for 12 years, first working at the label’s sister company Asylum Records, where he discovered Sheeran and, along with colleague Ed Howard, gave him his first record deal.

Cook was promoted to Atlantic’s president in 2014.

Over the years he has also worked closely with music stars including Clean Bandit, Rudimental and Anne-Marie.

Cook also helped to bring grime star Stormzy to the label last year as part of a joint venture with the rapper’s own Merky Records outfit.

A statement from Warner Music, the parent company of Atlantic, said: “Ben Cook is leaving Atlantic UK and this will be his last week in the office.”

Parlophone co-president Mark Mitchell will step into the leadership role on an interim basis following Cook’s departure.