‘Imelda Marcos’ Beckham – and his 1,000 pairs of soccer boots
If you thought women got a kick out of shoes, wait till you read this...
WITH her dedication to fashion, you’d expect shoes and boots to be pouring out of Victoria Beckham’s cupboards and wardrobes.
But it seems her husband David also has a touch of Imelda Marcos about him. The former Philippines first lady famously amassed thousands of pairs of shoes, while Beckham has an equally impressive collection of football boots. ‘I have so many pairs – over a thousand,’ Beckham, 41, admits in an interview on Desert Island Discs, to be broadcast at 11.15am today on Radio 4.
‘I keep them in storage in boxes.’ Asked by presenter Kirsty Young if his collection of footwear rivals that of his wife, he says: ‘It does, actually.’
Appearing on the edition marking the 75th anniversary of the programme, Beckham speaks about his early taste for eyecatching fashion – aged six he chose a garish outfit for a wedding.
He says: ‘I had two options. Just a normal suit or burgundy velvet knickerbockers with white tights and white ballet shoes, and I chose that, believe it or not. I felt great. My dad looked at me as if to say, “Really?”’ In a wide-ranging interview, Beckham discusses the ‘tough love’ of his father, Ted. Beckham was just seven when his father would take him out to practise his football skills at a park near their home in Essex. He says: ‘There was a goal over there with no net and he would say, “OK, hit the crossbar”, and we would do it for hours.’ The former England captain reveals that when he won the treble in 1999 with Manchester United – the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League – his father never congratulated him.
He adds: ‘I knew my dad would always be proud of my achievements, but the only time he said, “You know what, son, you have done really well”, was when I got my 100th cap for England. The only time… It makes me emotional. Probably because everybody wants to make their parents proud.’
Looking back to when he first began dating the then Victoria Adams, who had found fame in the Spice Girls, they would meet in a car park to keep their romance from the public eye. Beckham says: ‘I had an amazing bright blue BMW. We used to sit in a Harvester car park and we used to kiss, of course, and spend time together.’
Beckham did not select a Spice Girls hit to take with him on the desert island. Instead his choices include Ella Fitzgerald’s Every Time We Say Goodbye, which reminds him of his grandfather. His luxury item is one of his England caps.