Christmas crooner Kamara delivers a special gift
The popular Sky Sports man is bringing festive joy with an album of winter hits, writes Jim White
It is the musical moment the world has been waiting for: Chris Kamara has released an album of Christmas songs. Though what is perhaps more astonishing than even that news is the fact that the man widely known for his comical inability to tell us what is going on when reporting from football matches for Sky’s Soccer Saturday, is no fool when it comes to holding a tune. You may think this unbelievable, Jeff, but Kammy can sing.
The album came about after he appeared on the celebrity version of the television talent show All Together Now (Kamara appears on a lot of celebrity shows). He was surprised – given that he had not won – to receive a call a couple of days later asking him if he fancied recording an album. He assumed it was a wind-up, that one of his Sky colleagues – Jeff Stelling maybe, who seems to greet everything Kamara does with a raised eyebrow – was calling to take the mickey. But this was a serious offer. So it was that.
After taking a few lessons to refine a voice that until then had been confined to belting out karaoke tunes to entertain the regulars in the bar he owns in Tenerife, the record button was hit. Backed by a big band, he warbles seasonal standards such as Let It Snow, Winter Wonderland and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
As an idea it is not as ridiculous as cynicism would insist. The ambition of the record company is that the genial fellow off the telly you cannot fail to recognise will serve as the perfect, won’t-scare-the-horses Christmas present for dads and maiden aunts alike. It may actually work.
Though whether it does or not, Kamara’s foray into crooning reinforces something that has long defined the intersection between sport and music: many a sportsperson harbours a secret ambition to be a pop star, while almost every pop star would much rather have made their name playing sport.
You only have to tune into the current series of celebrity X Factor to see the truism in action.
Rugby stars Ben Foden, Thom Evans and Levi Davis have been shoehorned into a wannabe boy band. In the process they are demonstrating that egg chasers’ choreographed talents do not end with the rolling maul.
Nor are they alone: Petr Cech is an accomplished drummer; Alexis Sanchez a handy pianist; former England cricketer Mark Butcher has developed a postplaying career as a more-than-listenable singer songwriter. That is without even mentioning the splendidly coiffured duo Chris Waddle and Glenn Hoddle, who developed a whole new genre of pop back in the Eighties when they scored chart success with Diamond Lights: mullet rock.
And, as every Soccer Aid game featuring Olly Murs insists, the traffic in the other direction is no less significant. Many a pop star, from Rod Stewart, through Mick Hucknall to Noel Gallagher, would cheerfully swap their success in music for the chance to turn out, just once, for their favourite football team. Julio Iglesias actually went one better: in the rare spare moment between fathering nine children, he played in goal for Real Madrid’s reserves. Michael “MC” Harvey of So Solid Crew, too, was a regular for Lewes and AFC Wimbledon in non-league.
And I remember watching Louis Tomlinson, at the height of his success, playing in a reserve game for Doncaster. His name on the teamsheet drew more than 5,000 excited young fans to watch, though the “one direction” he was heading in was not often towards goal.
It was noticeable when he arrived at the Keepmoat Stadium that Tomlinson was wearing headphones, to put himself in the psychological zone by listening to motivational numbers. Sadly, since that appearance seemed to mark both the beginning and the end of his Doncaster career, we can only speculate if, were he to play for the club again any time soon, Chris Kamara would be on his playlist.
You may think this is unbelievable, Jeff, but Kammy really can sing