Arsenal fan Baxter Dury, son of the legendary Ian, remembers his hero worship of Pat Jennings.
From a dislike of Chelsea players to the hero worship of Pat Jennings, Baxter Dury takes a walk down a football memory lane
"I hate flying and he made not flying pretty cool," Baxter Dury, son of the legendary Ian, said of Dennis Bergkamp. Having been a lifelong Arsenal fan, treating the skies with trepidation is just one of the reasons the singer-songwriter related to his club's former striker. And with Dury about to release new single 'Trellic' before kicking off a UK tour at the end of October, skysports.com was happy to hear more of his football memories.
Arsenal
I was an Arsenal fan from the beginning. My old man was a West Ham fan and we were at loggerheads about the whole thing. But I was also brought up next to QPR. I keep it quite secret, but I like them. And, my son, who is an amazing footballer, is a Liverpool fan. Because he is my son, I can't help but like Liverpool as well.
Watford v Arsenal
Maybe John Barnes was playing for Watford. It was in the Eighties sometime and I think Watford won the game. It was at Watford. It was intimidating, but you didn't notice because you expected it to be intimidating.
Pat Jennings
He was why I became an Arsenal fan. He was influential when I was at school in the late Seventies. He scored that goal from a kick out of his hands. The Arsenal kit was amazing as well. It looked brilliant. Later on, I was a massive Dennis Bergkamp fan. I hate flying and he made not flying pretty cool.
Chelsea players
I just don't like Chelsea. I really hate them. They have also got a weird fanbase. They are either high toffery or really horrible cockney types. I shouldn't be saying this because I'll get my knees sewn together. But there is something in the way that team has developed which is reflected in the players.
The Maggots
It was before I moved to London and we lived in Tring. I'm not joking, we won all the local tournaments. I was the goalkeeper, obviously, obsessed with Pat Jennings and our striker had one leg. He had two legs, but one was a prosthetic limb. It was a really rudimentary one, which he could just take off. It meant he was a brilliant player, but could also freak everyone out by taking his leg off. He used to use that trick quite a lot. We got loads of attention and we were in the newspaper.
Football with dad
I think my dad did a ceremony at West Ham when I was really young. I remember sitting in a box and watching dad go into the middle of the pitch and talk to everyone. I didn't go to West Ham much with my dad. He was always pretty busy.
Living vicariously
I'm a bit heartbroken by the state of Arsenal. But what is weird is that it has transferred to my son. I saw him become absolutely heartbroken about Fernando Torres going from Liverpool to Chelsea. It reminded me of when I was young. It was weird when I saw it happen. My son could not understand Torres' betrayal.
New single 'Trellic' is released on 17th October. For more details, visit www.baxter-dury.com
