An English Astrophysicist and former musician, Professor Brian Cox is someone we'd all love to sit down for a good chat with. Here's what happened when Yours did exactly that...
Feed your mind
I’ve been on the road for months with my Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey world tour and the UK run is
now underway. It’s a tour everyone can enjoy; a story of how we came to be and what we can become. I always emphasise this, especially when I go to schools, that the most important thing is to be interested and curious and ask questions. No one starts out understanding black holes or Einstein’s theory of relativity but pretty much everyone has the capability to do it, if they want to.
Family comes first
I’ve just got back from two-and-a-half months in the US and Canada. I enjoy touring abroad but I really miss Tetley tea and Indian food! I always make sure school holidays with my family (his son George and his American wife, Gia Milinovich) are free.
As with all 13-year-olds, George is interested in everything, from music to science. I was the same growing up, I wasn’t single-minded on astronomy, I was interested in music too, the more subjects the better.
Health is wealth
It’s a joke with my friend Robin Ince, my co-presenter on the Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage, that I look young. He calls me The Stepford Physicist. But I work out every day. I’m lucky that my tour assistant is a boxing trainer and so we find a piece of grass and box with pads. Or I run. It’s a lovely way to see cities. I love food and wine but I try to balance it – everything in moderation.
Music is a big part of my life
Going to live gigs had an enormous impact on me in my teens. I was a keyboard player for the pop band D
We always do an annual charity show and we’ve held it at the Royal Albert Hall for a few years. They are fun, big shows and raise money for educational charities. But the benefit is that I invite my favourite bands. So we’ve had Duran Duran, New Order and The Cure. I played Love Cats with Robert Smith. It’s my show and I take advantage of my position!
Give back to the next generation
I lecture in physics at Manchester University. I always say my students are probably a bit starstruck for the first few minutes, but then they are there to learn physics and they’re extremely serious about the subject. It doesn’t take long before they tell me: ‘I can’t read your writing’!
I still consider television to be a part-time activity as most of my life I am an academic. I sometimes get confused with the actor Brian Cox who’s in the TV series Succession. I’ve met him, and he said the same. Sometimes people are disappointed, and sometimes they’re relieved...