London: Simon Cowell`s elder brother Tony has said that the music mogul is known as `Mr Pop` in the family.
The 51-year-old X Factor judge was given the name by his mother Julie Brett following the massive success of the popular music act Robson and Jerome`s 1995 single `Unchained Melody`, which was released by Cowell, reported Contactmusic.
"Our family pet name for Simon is `Mr Pop`, it`s the name our mum coined for him years ago when we all had to suffer listening to Robson and Jerome being played all day, every day on the radio back in 1995. But I salute my `Mr Pop`- I`ve never seen anyone who can pack so much work into 24 hours," said Tony, an entertainment correspondent.
Since achieving chart success in the 90s, Cowell has gone on to conquer music and television, managing a succession of chart-topping acts and creating the hugely popular talent shows `The X Factor` and `Britain`s Got Talent`.
He has been dubbed `Mr Nasty` by viewers of his talent shows because of his harsh comments to hopefuls.
Julie Brett had said previously that her son was very competitive when he was a child and she thinks this is what fuelled his career ambitions.
"He was a difficult child, he knew what he wanted and sent you crazy getting it. He was one of those children who made up their mind from an early age and was very competitive as a child," said Brett.
PTI
