Every step you take in this job is a pleasure ... I’ll really miss it
He may not be able to sing Fields of Gold, but Sting lookalike Chris McGuinness can certainly get you safely across the Tyne. But now he’s calling it a day, reports KRISTY DAWSON
ASHIELDS Ferry skipper who has delighted customers with his uncanny resemblance to Sting for more than three decades is set to retire.
Chris McGuinness is renowned for being the spitting double of the Wallsend-born singer. The 63-yearold got to meet the musician when he turned up at the Shields Ferry during a visit in 2010.
Chris, from South Shields, has worked on the on the cross-Tyne ferry service since 1991. He will bid farewell to his beloved job on June 1, after 33 years.
He said: “I’ve loved my time at the Shields Ferry and I’m going to really miss it. It’s been such a big part of my life and an absolute pleasure to work there.
“The fact I look like Sting is something I’ve had some great fun with too, and it has attracted a lot of attention. It’s something the customers love, and the ones who do realise that I look like him are always fascinated.
“I’ve made great relationships with my colleagues and customers, and many of them I am delighted to call lifelong friends. I’m going to miss them immeasurably, but the time feels right to move on.”
Chris got to meet Sting in April 2010 when he turned up out of the blue at the Shields Ferry during a visit to the North East to show an American music producer the sights of the River Tyne.
He said: “When the real Sting hired the Shields Ferry in 2010 I thought it was a wind-up at first. He was great. He said I looked like his brother, and I said ‘get away, I look like you, man’. It’s a great memory for me.
“I’ve done Sting lookalike work in the past, too. I was in a lookalikes agency which got me some gigs in London and on the south coast. One was a Quadrophenia tribute. I was even offered some work over in California but at the time work commitments meant I didn’t go.”
Chris’ knowledge of the river and the vessels, his rapport with customers, and his skill in training new recruits, have made him a brilliant Ferry captain. He will be a big miss to the large number of customers who have got to know him over the years – and been wowed by his incredible likeness to Sting.
Chris said: “Driving a Shields Ferry is the best job in the world, especially on those early summer mornings when you see the sun rising over the River Tyne. I’ve always said to the other crew, ‘you just can’t beat this.’
“I became a ferry skipper after I used to commute on the service every day and those journeys inspired me to work there.
“I was working as a traffic warden in North Tyneside. I caught the ferry every day from South Shields and I just had his determined feeling that the ferry was the job for me.
“I had a stint checking Metro tickets, and then applied for the ferry crew, which I got, and the rest is history. My entire career path was set.”
Nexus, the public body which runs the Shields Ferry, has described Chris as a “great character” who has provided “outstanding service”.
Kevin Leonard, customer service operations manager at Nexus, said: “Chris is a legend at the Shields Ferry and he’s going to be a big miss.
“He’s given outstanding service. His knowledge of the River Tyne and the ferries is second to none. Chris has got a brilliant rapport with people and he’s been so good at training new members of the ferry team.
“His uncanny likeness to Sting has been the source of much merriment and fascination over the years. He takes it all in good humour, which is a measure of what a brilliant guy he is. We wish him all the best for his retirement.”
Chris plans to spend more time with his wife Roz and their golden retriever Rannoch. The couple have a VW camper van and they plan to tour the UK in it.