‘He was Sky Blues through and through’... tributes to Voice of Highfield Road
TRIBUTES have been paid to the man dubbed ‘The Voice of Highfield Road,’ Jim Twyneham, who has died age 67.
The former stadium DJ and matchday announcer, whose distinctive gravelly voice earned him a late night presenting slot on Mercia Sound, passed away on Tuesday following a short battle with cancer.
Jim’s first game as stadium announcer was a 1-1 draw with Everton on August 30, 1986, and he voice of Coventry City on matchdays. I’ll always be thankful to the club for helping me fulfil a dream because, as a lifelong Coventry City fan, that’s what it has been.”
Former Sky Blues boss John Sillett led the tributes, saying: “What a lovely, lovely man.
“He was a man you’d always like to bump into because he was always interesting and always polite in the way he went about things. He never bullied you into wanting something and was always patient, and I thought of all the men that worked at Highfield Road he was as nice as any man on the staff there.
“He had a very distinctive and wonderful voice. I always thought what a super job Jim did for the football club. It’s very sad news and my thoughts go to his family.”
Former City chairman Joe Elliott said: “Jim had a very long association with the club and was an iconic figure at Highfield Road.
“Whenever a team scored against us he always made it perfectly obvious in his voice that he wasn’t happy that someone had got a goal against the Sky Blues. He just seemed to put the right emphasis in his voice to capture the feelings of every Coventry City fan. He was a brilliant guy, lovely fella’.”
BBC radio presenter Stuart Linnell said: “I worked with Jim at Highfield Road where I did the on-the-pitch announcements and Jim was in the DJ box.
“Way before that I was at Mercia Sound and the former Sports Editor of the Coventry Telegraph, Ken Widdows – who was Jim’s friend – asked me if I’d ever thought of Jim for the radio with that voice?
“It was a case of not seeing what was there in front of you, so we put him on late night at the weekends and it was a brilliant slot for him. People loved it. He played laid back, relaxing and romantic music.
“His voice was so gravelly and so deep it would make the speakers in the studio almost tremble. It was just an amazing voice. He was Sky Blues through and through.”