Fan-tasy football!
MANY football fans are pleased to discover that their teams have celebrity supporters. West Midlands clubs have had some interesting ones during my time in this region.
When I first settled here with ATV I used to see several stars at Birmingham City. Topping the bill were ELO’S Jeff Lynne and the Move / Wizzard singer Roy Wood. I used to see Jeff and Woody in the famous old social ‘D’ club at the ground. Despite living in California for a long time, Jeff has always been a close friend of Birmingham’s greatest player, Trevor Francis.
Shortly afterwards, Jasper Carrott hit the big time and became the best known Bluenose. For a while he was also a club director.
Jasper used to tell some jokes about the Blues in his very funny shows. For instance, he’d say he was chatting to the person standing to him at St Andrew’s – and had yell at the top of his voice (because he was so far away!). When David Sullivan bought the club (he was associated with the soft-porn industry) Jasper claimed Blues were selling match programmes wrapped in brown paper envelopes. Hilarious!
In more recent times, famous Blues fans have included David Harewood (Homeland etc), Colin Buchanan (Dalziel and Pascoe), top chef Glynn Purnell and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
Aston Villa, of course, can’t be beaten when it comes to celebrity fans as they have the future king in HRH Prince William. There’s also former prime minister David Cameron and former governor of the Bank of England Lord Melvyn King. Fans from stage and screen include season ticket holder David Bradley (Angus Filch in Harry Potter / Walder Frey in Game of Thrones) and Citizen Khan creator Adil Ray. Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler is a life-long Villa supporter, while one of the world’s greatest violinists, Nigel Kennedy, wears the team shirt on stage at many of his international concerts.
Wolves have some legends as well. The club’s vice president is Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. Also a big fan is the ELO and Move drummer Bev Bevan. Both Plant and Bevan were regular players in my ATV All Stars charity football team that raised thousands in the Seventies and early Eighties.
The late England women’s cricket captain Rachael Hayhoe-flint was a director while other celebrity Wolves fans include Noddy Holder and Dave Hill of glam band Slade, TV presenters Suzi Perry and Jacqui Oatley and singer Beverley Knight.
Cannock funnyman Ian ‘Sludge’ Lees, who sadly died nearly four years ago, always mentioned Wolves in his acts.
West Bromwich Albion’s most famous fan is comedian Frank Skinner who I have spotted over the years sitting with TV and radio presenter and Baggies fanatic Adrian Chiles.
Other famous Baggies supporters include Sir Lenny Henry, from Dudley, actress Dame Julie Walters,
from Smethwick, and former world boxing champion Ritchie Woodhall.
Coventry City’s well known fans include singer Vince Hill and TV presenter Richard Keys. Formula One’s Eddie Jordan attended matches as a good friend of former chairman Bryan Richardson. Former world 5,000 metres record holder David Moorcroft is a top Coventry man while Westlife’s Brian Mcfadden is said to follow the Sky Blues.
Further east in the Midlands,
Derby County claim Ilkeston-born actor Robert Lindsay, the late Tim Brooke-taylor and the late actor
Kevin Lloyd (Tosh Lines in The Bill). Kevin had the Derby squad paying tribute when he was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1992. Original TISWAS star and ATV sports presenter Trevor East is from Derby and followed the Rams.
Nottingham Forest’s fans include England fast bowler Stuart Broad and golfer Lee Westwood, while I am sure ice-skating legend Christopher Dean (of Torvill and Dean fame) was a Forest follower.
I am proud to be included in the Leicester City list that has the likes of Engelbert Humperdinck, Gary
Lineker, Kasabian singer Tom Meighan, world snooker champion Mark Selby, and X Factor winner
Sam Bailey. Two Foxes no longer with us are snooker’s Wille Thorne and actor Bill Maynard.
In my first season in Birmingham I found myself at the Stoke City League Cup celebration dinner in London sitting with my boss, the great Billy Wright, on a table with music composer Tony Hatch and his then wife singer Jackie Trent, a Stoke fan.
There are many more famous fans of Midlands clubs that I do not have space to mention!