‘I thought the offer to make an album was a wind-up’
Ex footballer and pundit Chris Kamara talks to Lucy Mapstone about becoming a singer
Chris Kamara isn’t too fussed that he’s raised a few eyebrows with the announcement of his debut album.
The footballer-turned-tv star and pundit, beloved for his colourful commentary, enthusiastic reporting and comical gaffes on Sky Sports, is releasing a Christmas record, adding jazz crooner to his already brimming CV.
For many up and down the country –f or those who know him best for his bumbling sporting errors and uttering his “unbelievable Jeff!” catchphrase to his Soccer Saturday co-star Jeff Stelling, or his hosting Ninja Warrior UK, or even his years as a tough-tackling midfielder – it was certainly a bit of a bizarre one.
But, having displayed his vocal abilities on a celebrity version of BBC1 talent show All Together Now last year, it was a bit of a no-brainer for Kamara to get behind the mic and show the world his more soulful side.
“Once people hear it, they just love it, they absolutely love it, which is crazy,” Kamara insists, shrugging off any bewilderment that came after the announcement of his big band and swing-flavoured festive LP.
“The feedback is only negative from the people who haven’t heard it, so as soon as anyone hears it, it just changes their mind straight away.”
The TV personality, 61, says he is “too long in the tooth” to get too bothered by criticism, adding that he prefers to “treat everything with a positive” whenever he can, although his wife Anne was a bit on the fence at first.
“My boys are great, Ben and Jack, they’re fantastic and they go, ‘Oh yeah go for it dad, we always love everything you do’. Whereas my wife is the one person in the family who keeps my feet on the ground and goes, ‘Oh, what are you doing now? Why are you doing that, you’re opening yourself to criticism’.
“But I know she has heard the final result and she’s pleased for me now.”
For all his confidence in his abilities, Kamara did feel dubious initially about taking the musical plunge.
“When I got the opportunity to sing with a 22-piece big band I’m thinking, ‘Right, flippin’ hell, these people have done the Royal Albert Hall and the London Philharmonic. This is how low they’ve come now with me singing in front of them,’” he jokes.
Kamara was approached by a record label earlier this year after appearing on All Together Now, where he sang a rousing rendition of Your Song by his idol Sir Elton John.
“They thought my voice would be perfect for a swing album,” he says, adding: “I did think it was a wind-up initially.
“I said, ‘This is Ant and Dec at their best, they’ll jump out at me.’”
But it was not a wind-up, and several months later he has recorded a festive album of nine Christmas classics, including Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Walking In A Winter Wonderland and Frosty The Snowman.
There is also one original song – title track Here’s To Christmas, written especially for him by Kelvin Andrews and Richard Scott, who has worked with Michael Buble and Robbie Williams.
Having been compared to the likes of Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble by those close to him (“it’s crazy innit!” Kamara laughs), there have also been reports that he could be going up against a new posthumous track by George Michael for this year’s Christmas number one.
The Christmas theme is one that is particularly poignant to Kamara, given that he only started to really celebrate the holiday season later in life.
He says that the season was difficult for him when he was younger, “because my parents didn’t have a lot of money”.
“My birthday is on Christmas Day, so to get one present, never mind two – one Christmas present and one birthday present – didn’t happen very often. In fact, it might never have happened at all, that I can remember.
“And then of course I was a professional footballer from the age of 16 until I was 38,” he adds.
The Middlesbroughborn sports star started his football career playing for Portsmouth before moving on to teams including Swindon Town, Stoke City and Leeds – then moving into management.
“I had 22 years of playing football on Boxing Day, so I was never really in the party mood on Christmas Day because I was either in a hotel getting ready for a game or going to bed at 10 at night to prepare for the next day.”
He adds with a smile: “I’ve made up for it since I retired, I have to say.
“But now Christmas means so much, now we’ve got grandkids and our own kids, we always make sure they have a fabulous Christmas. Christmas is all about family.”
“I had 22 years of playing football on Boxing Day, so I was never really in the party mood on Christmas Day”
● Chris Kamara’s Here’s To Christmas is out now.