Jeff Dunn (Mantas) checks in:

“Today sees the end of an era. My good friend Eric Cook lost his battle with the most vicious enemy. This is the second friend I have lost in the last 3 months to this disgusting disease. We traveled the world together and went through so many things, good and bad, but always remained friends. For those of you who don’t know, Eric was Venom's manager and fought hard to see the band rise to the heights that it did, working tirelessly behind the scenes.

“I have no words to express my sadness at the time of this news and can only offer my sincere condolences to his wife Carol and their two children and his brother Ged.

“Taken far too soon, rest well my friend.”

Eric and his brother Ged founded Demolition Records in 2000 and was home to David Lee Roth, Twisted Sister, The Quireboys, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P., and others.

In addition to managing Venom, Cook created Blast Recording Studios in 2010 in Newcastle, a state of the art recording complex that recorded bands like Take That, The Artic Monkeys, and Twisted Sister.

 As recently as 2013, Cook was representing Andy Taylor (Duran Duran, Rod Stewart), Tolga Kashif (classical musician) and Richard Wisker (BBC actor).