Malcolm Scott: Tribute to a man who made things happen
‘UNWAVERING SUPPORT’: A celebration of Malcolm Scott’s life will take place on October 19
By Phil Ascough
Funeral details have been announced for a much-loved entrepreneur who made a difference to business, sport and the arts in his Hull and East Yorkshire home.
Mourners will have the chance to bid a final farewell to Malcolm Scott at Chanterlands Avenue Crematorium at 1.30pm on Wednesday, October 19.
Malcolm’s wife Alison said it will be a humanist service in the large chapel and will be open to all who knew her husband and who want to join a celebration of his life. The family are also planning a gathering after the service and will confirm details nearer the date.
Malcolm, who died recently after a short illness, was the man who tried to buy the Humber Bridge. The man who admitted he didn’t know a great deal about music when he built a recording studio. The man who had no background in hospitality when he opened a café and arts venue.
But all of those ventures made a difference because, above all, Malcolm Scott was a man who made things happen.
Chatting to his wife, Alison, on the eve of her appointment with the undertakers to plan Mal’s funeral, we spoke of his unwavering support for their children, Mikey and Ellie. He was the same with others, only perhaps a little less patient.
If Mal sensed what he considered to be unnecessary hesitation when boldness was required, he was never shy to urge people to take a punt. Ask the government, who he challenged over the Humber Bridge debt. Ask the people behind UK City of Culture, who he persuaded, quietly and politely, to recognise local talent.
His bid for the Humber Bridge in 2011 was a key factor in reducing the tolls. Fruit Trade Music recording studio was a cultural pioneer when it opened in Humber Street the same year – the city had other studios, but nothing in such a central location and with such a commitment to supporting local talent. Kardomah 94, which opened in 2014, was the pint-sized, independent arts hub the city centre had been longing for. Music, theatre, poetry, exhibitions, and great pizza and cake.
If it hadn’t been for the brain tumour which slowed Mal down and forced the closure of Kardomah in 2019, I’d have confidently backed him to promote the first Hull gig on the moon.
PIONEER: Malcolm Scott got things done
When I got to know him during the 1990s, he was all about business as the founder of Scotts Chartered Surveyors, the pan-Humber commercial property agency which he founded in 1990 and handed over to his colleagues ten years ago.
In a highly competitive sector, Mal stood out for his professionalism and his personality. The brand had impact, with its striking black and white logo, but he was never too precious about it, instead harnessing it to have a bit of fun.
Contacts across the regional business community could look forward to receiving a series of festive gifts emblazoned with an alternative take on the Scotts logo. I still have the Scuffs shoeshine kit from “polished performers” who promised “commercial property and leather buffing expertise”.
Other giveaways included Scottch whisky miniatures, Scoffs Christmas pudding, Snotts tissues and, in 1999, the ingenious Swatts, designed to protect us all from the dreaded millennium bug.
Mal’s desire to help others in business led to him becoming a key figure in the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, where he served as president from 2007 until 2008. His commitment to improving the city centre – and in particular the evening economy – saw him play an influential role in establishing Hull Business Improvement District, which was the first BID in Yorkshire and such a success that Leeds, Sheffield and York are among the cities to have followed in its footsteps. In 2016, Mal was the first winner of the lifetime achievement category at the HullBID awards.
As a big sports fan, Mal organised a coach trip to Birmingham to watch Hull City at Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup. It was January 2, 1999, and Alison has a picture of him somewhere with a stack of mince pies which he distributed on the trip.
The previous year, with Scotts having just acquired their offices in Alfred Gelder Street, Mal created the ultimate World Cup party destination. Before the furniture and fittings went in, he borrowed a few TV sets from a local retailer, filled some plastic dustbins with ice and even erected some goalposts. Then he invited allcomers to bring a bottle, watch the games and test their skills in a penalty shoot-out.
We promoted it on the front page of the Hull Daily Mail’s business section with a picture of Mal kissing a carboard cut-out of the trophy.
Mal was also passionate about Hull Kingston Rovers, serving as a director for a time, and helping with the club’s acquisition of the stadium.
EVENTS: Fruit Trade Music
In November 2013, we used the club’s new function suite for an event to promote my Never Mind the Tigers Hull City quiz book as part of the Humber Mouth Literature Festival. We assembled former Premier League referee Keith Hackett to talk about his You are the Ref books and board game, Guardian journalist Dave Simpson to cop some grief from Hull City fans for his Leeds United book The Last Champions, and local author and playwright Dave Windass, who read from a collection of football fiction.
It was a cracking evening, but Mal exercised caution and common sense and drew the line at the suggestion we invite the Hull City Supporters Trust to promote the “No to Hull Tigers” campaign.
By then Mal had built a decent track record for staging events, and it all began with the opening in February 2013 of Fruit Trade Music, a recording studio in a former Fruit Market warehouse.
Mikey ran the show, armed with his Honours Degree in Music Tech from Stafford University, and worked with his Dad on creating a recording studio where the main doors folded back and passers-by could watch what was going on. One of the viewing windows was the glass door from a washing machine, positioned at child height, a few feet off the floor.
Next came Fruit Trade Music Club, a concept which aimed to attract the mature music lover who appreciated original tunes and good food. Cabaret with a kick. Opening night at The Royal Hotel in July 2013 featured the melodies of Happy Endings, steel blues from Half Deaf Clatch and rock from The Blackbirds and Kismet Riding. Mal called on his business connections to support the venture, and secured sponsorship from the Institute of Directors.
The gigs settled at a permanent home in July 2014 in Kardomah 94. Such a versatile venue, the Chamber of Commerce used it for a business briefing by City of Culture CEO Martin Green. We also chose it for the launch of Pale Blue Dot, a play by the Ensemble 52 theatre company which won funding in the first round of our Chamber Culture Fund – a scheme introduced after we consulted with Mal about how business and culture could work together.
The theme across both Fruit Trade Music projects and Kardomah was to provide a breeding ground and launchpad for local talent, from performers to production staff and the many backroom roles – costume, marketing, event and artiste management, you name it.
In that, it was consistent with Mal’s business career. The testimonials and tributes have been too numerous to mention, Alison taking comfort from a “non-stop stream of visits and calls” and social media posters eager to show their affection for Mal and acknowledge the impact he had on their careers and lives.
Mal dropped out of the public gaze with the closure of Kardomah in 2019 and the lockdowns of 2020. He would have made the perfect interviewee for our Chewing the Fat series, a first veteran from my business lunch columns of the 1990s.
The form in those days was for me to interview a key figure from the business community over lunch, usually in a swanky restaurant, the likes of Pearlman’s or the Beverley Arms Hotel at their peak, and pay the bill. Mal turned the tables, took us to the Wassand Arms off Hessle Road for fish and chips and a pint of mild each, and insisted on paying. It was memorable, and it was classic Mal.