Mick Cockroft, who has died aged 66, was a well known and popular host and
manager in Pattaya’s night-life scene. From the mid 1990s until shortly
before being struck by sudden illness in June 2009, he rapidly became famous
for introducing a friendly and pub like atmosphere into gay night spots
which he ran with great success.
Mick
Cockroft
1943 - 2009
Latterly, for more than seven years until his illness, he was the evening
bar manager at Le Cafe Royale where his relaxed manner and open door manner
brought him many regular patrons. He was also a successful comedian and
excellent showman who hosted almost all of Le Café Royale’s charitable
fundraising and big scale anniversary parties.
Mick, from Halifax in England, was a Yorkshireman through and through. He
was born in 1943 and subsequently attended the local grammar school. His
father was a local farmer and Mick was involved in delivering milk and
helping out from an early age. He left school at age 15 and spent much of
his adult working life as a bus and coach driver.
A man of high intelligence, Mick might easily have made the grade at
university, but he revealed that he had enjoyed every day of his working
life on the buses. He also took up, very successfully, speedway
competitions, an interest which lasted until well into his forties. His
other interests included quizzes and crosswords and, later in life, golf and
tenpin bowling.
Having taken early retirement in England in 1993, Mick started taking
regular holidays to Thailand. After one such visit, he was offered the job
of manager at the popular night spot Charlie Boys in Pattaya. Here he
introduced marketing strategies which have since been followed up at many
other venues, including discount tickets, competitions and lucky dips.
Subsequently, Mick was in post as evening bar manager at Le Café Royale and
prided himself on never missing even one day through illness. But he was
struck down by an unexpected embolism or blood clot earlier this year and
was hospitalised in Pattaya and then Bangkok. A decision was taken to have
him medically evacuated to UK in August but he died following a relapse at
Calderdale General Hospital in Halifax on September 7.
Mick’s father died last year aged 93 and he is survived by his mother 97 who
lives in a care home in the UK.
One of his closest friends, Barry Kenyon, the British Honorary Consul for
Pattaya, said: “Mick and I were regular golf partners for many years and I
experienced in his company some of the most enjoyable days out I can
remember. To me and to so many other people in Thailand and in the UK, Mick
is simply irreplaceable and we shall feel his loss deeply for the rest of
our lives.”
