From music journalist in the 1970s, to head of music television at the BBC, Mark Cooper is to talk about his career at a special evening on the Isle of Wight.

Mark Cooper is at Dimbola in Freshwater on Wednesday, August 23, where he will talk about his 26 years with Later… With Jools Holland, and his TV career.

He exec produced more than 250 music documentaries and led BBC TV’s coverage of Glastonbury, and now he has written a book, Later…with Jools Holland: 30 Years of Music, Magic and Mayhem.

For 26 years, Mark attended every single recording of the show and its New Year’s Eve sister show, Jools’ Annual Hootenanny.

Mark Cooper and director Janet Fraser Crook came up with the idea for the show in 1992 - a ground-breaking concept at the time.

Filmed ‘in the round’, the studio was full of different musical artists on different stages with the action switching from one to another.

Dr Brian Hinton, chair of Dimbola, will be interviewing Mark.

Mark said: “I look forward to returning to the Island to share stories about everyone from Leonard Cohen to Jay-Z and from Seasick Steve to Christine and the Queens as they seized their moment in the gladiator’s ring of the Later studio.”

Tickets are available from Dimbola reception, or call 01983 756814 and pay over the phone.