- Title: Touts On Tour
- Date: 6th December 2004
- Summary: 'Little Al' Coulston and Phil 'Slim' Cooper are two of the most successful ticket touts. From Wimbledon to Ascot, Henley to the Rolling Stones, they are forever hot on the trail of fans in need of tickets. Slim and Little will guarantee to get a punter into anything, just so long as the punter - or 'Hillman' as they call them - is prepared to pay well over the odds - could be as much a 'McGarret' - £50; 'Half a Stretch' - £60; or could even be as much as a 'Carpet' - £300. Touts on Tour follows Al and Slim as they sell tickets and invitations to must-see sporting and social events around the globe. Describing themselves as ticket brokers 'trading in the entertainments business,' 'Little Al' touts under the business name of First Class Entertainment and Slim as Harley Street Ticket Brokers. Slim and Little Al have been raided by the police on more than one occasion but neither of them has a conviction or criminal record to their name. Both practice their own version of the futures market - gambling on a ticket being worth well above its face value in three, four or six months time. If they guess wrong then 'business is on the floor', but when they get it right the rewards can be huge - Slim alone made £30,000 profit from the last Rolling Stones' world tour. Touts on Tour follows Slim and Al as they try using their dark arts to achieve the impossible - getting a punter and his date into the Royal Enclosure at Ascot. Later the same summer the two touts struggle to come to terms with the consequences of being banned from coming within half a mile of Wimbledon during the tournament. But all the while the lure of the Rugby World Cup in Australia beckons. The tournament has been billed as a ticketing bonanza, the touting event of the decade. But with the Australian authorities deporting foreign touts, will the sell-out tournament really turn out to a pot of gold, or for once will the touts go belly up? Meanwhile, back in London, 'Little Al' is giving over more and more of his time to his new business venture, a karaoke sports bar in Wembley, as he contemplates getting out of the touting game altogether. If there is one thing Slim and Al fear with a passion it's the rise of the internet and the devastating impact on their business of online ticket trading through sites like eBay. Back from Down Under with his tail between his legs Slim contemplates the end of the glory years of touting, yet another victim of the IT revolution - 'Standing outside Hammersmith Odeon, has been replaced by the silicon chip.'
- Description:The story of three of the biggest hitters in the business over the touting year.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Entertainment
- Producer:Hardcash Productions Ltd.
- Programme Episode:Episode 1
- Transmission Date:06/12/2004
- Rights:Worldwide
- Decade: 2000s