‘Imelda Marcos’ Beckhamand his of soccer boots
WITH her dedication to fashion, you’d expect shoes and boots to be pouring out of Victoria Beckham’s cupboards and wardrobes.
But it seems her husband David also has a touch of Imelda Marcos about him. The former Philippines first lady famously amassed thousands of pairs of shoes, while Beckham has an equally impressive collection of football boots.
‘I have so many pairs – over a thousand,’ Beckham, 41, admits in an interview on today’s Desert Island Discs, going out at 11.15am on BBC Radio 4. ‘I keep them in storage in boxes.’ Asked by presenter Kirsty Young if his collection of footwear rivals that of his wife, he says: ‘It does actually.’ Beckham also speaks about his early taste for eyecatching fashion – aged six he chose a garish outfit for a wedding. He says: ‘I had two options. Just a normal suit or burgundy velvet knickerbockers with white tights and white ballet shoes and I chose that. I felt great. My dad looked at me as if to say, “Really?”’
In the wide-ranging interview, he discusses the ‘tough love’ of his father Ted. Beckham was just seven when his dad would take him out to practise his football skills at a park near their home.
He says: ‘There was a goal over there with no net and he would say, “Okay, hit the crossbar” and we would do it for hours.’
Looking back to when he first began dating the then Spice Girl Victoria Adams, he says: ‘I had an amazing bright blue BMW. We used to sit in a car park and we used to kiss and spend time together.’