Beckham not biggest fan of Spice Girls music
BRITAIN: They may be one of the most famous couples in the world, but there is no place on David Beckham’s desert island for any of his wife’s songs.
The former Manchester United and England football star, 41, snubbed Victoria’s music, whether as a member of the 1990s Spice Girls pop group or her later solo career.
Instead, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John and Michael Jackson were among his eight choices for today’s 75th anniversary edition of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4.
Maybe it shows that Becks is not the romantic we thought – all the more so as he told presenter Kirsty Young that the early stages of his courtship with Victoria Adams were conducted in the car park of a Harvester pub north of London.
At the time he was living in Manchester and playing for the club, while Adams was in Hertfordshire.
‘‘At the beginning of our relationship her manager, Simon Fuller, was very protective of the girls,’’ said Beckham.
‘‘He wanted to keep it quiet. So every time we went on a date, we just used to sit in the car park and talk.
‘‘At this time I had an amazing bright blue BMW that I’d spent my whole pay packet from Adidas on. I was still living in lodgings, so I’d drive down and pick her up. We then used to sit in this Harvester car park and kiss, of course, and spend time together.’’
They married in 1999 at Luttrellstown Castle, just outside Dublin. Their marriage was dogged by rumours of trouble, including the claim Beckham had had an affair with his former personal assistant.
‘‘Of course you make mistakes over the years and we all know marriage is difficult at times and it’s about working through it,’’ Beckham told Young.
‘‘Whenever we’ve come up against tough times, we know each other better than anybody else. So we talk.
‘‘People have talked about, ‘Do we stay together because we are a brand?’ Of course not. We stay together because we love each other. We stay together because we have four amazing children.’’
Beckham also discussed his relationship with his parents, particularly his father, Ted, who assumed a controlling role over his son’s early career.
‘‘If I had a bad game, he would go through every minute on the way home.’’
Even when Beckham had become England’s most famous player, praise from his father was very stinting.
‘‘I knew my dad would always be proud of my achievements, but the only time he turned round to me and said, ‘Son, you’ve done really well,’ was when I got my 100th cap for England.’’
– Sunday Times