Fujiya & Miyagi

Dave Best from Brighton-based outfit Fujiya & Miyagi gets all nostalgic for police horses and Charlie Nicholas.

Dave Best from Brighton's Fujiya & Miyagi gets all nostalgic for the smell of police horses and Charlie Nicholas

Krautrock influenced Fujiya & Miyagi remain the finest musical ensemble named after a character from Karate Kid in the whole of the country. Perhaps even the world. But enough of false praise. Fans of Can and Neu! will be well aware of the Brighton-based outfit who, legend has it, met while playing football but the rest of you need to catch up. New album Ventriloquizzing came out to critical applause earlier in the year, while current single Sixteen Shades Of Black And Blue was released on March 14th. A cult band if ever there was one, Fujiya & Miyagi deserve a wider audience for their hypnotically enchanting sound but for now, we'll settle for Dave Best's Football Firsts as he recounts his Arsenal heaven and hell.

Arsenal

My dad and sister are Arsenal fans and my nan is too. She used to go to Highbury in the 1930s with her dad when she was a little girl. They lived round the corner from the ground. She told me all about Alex James, Eddie Hapgood and Cliff Bastin. My dad used to take me to Highbury and we didn't miss a home game for about five years during the Don Howe and George Graham era. Walking up the steps towards the North Bank was the most exciting feeling. When I first starting going we stood in the Junior Gunners section, but when I got older we watched from the North Bank, in front of a barrier so we didn't get caught up in the crowd surges. My son supports Arsenal too, although he's only ten weeks old and hasn't had much say in the matter.

Arsenal 2 Watford 4

It was at home to Watford. We lost 4-2 and John Barnes scored a hat-trick. Alan Sunderland had a back-heeled goal disallowed. It's still a mystery to me why it was disallowed. We sat in the East Stand. I remember crying my eyes out at the final whistle.

Charlie Nicholas

My favourite memory of Charlie Nicholas was during a north London derby against Spurs. He played a one-two off Gary Mabbutt's shins and scored. Practically every other kid at my school supported Spurs so beating them made the following Monday a lot more enjoyable. Arsenal weren't the most glamorous team in those days but Charlie added a sparkle to proceedings. I thought David Rocastle was a very special player too.

Justin Edinburgh

I don't know why but I took a dislike to Justin Edinburgh who played for Spurs. He just seemed a bit pointless. I've never been much of a fan of Teddy Sheringham either.

The smell of police horses

My first memories are all mashed up together and it's hard to separate them as I was quite young at the time. It probably would be the smell of police horses mixed with hotdogs outside Highbury.










Champions League final defeat I'm not sure which came first but the FA cup defeats to York, Walsall and Wrexham were pretty bad. The worst heartache though was the Champions League final. If Lehmann hadn't been sent off and the majestic Robert Pires hadn't been substituted I really think we would have won it. Two big ifs I know

Buntingford Cougars

I played for Buntingford Cougars. I wore number eight. I mainly played midfield or right wing. Our kit was blue and didn't fit very well. I played for my county a few times as well. My football career deteriorated as my hair got longer.

Arsenal JVC, circa 1983/84

It was the Arsenal one from 1983 or '84. It was sponsored by JVC. It was made by Umbro and had a v-neck. I think the current kit is the best one in ages. I need to purchase it.

Shakin Stevens, 'Shaky'

It would have been a cassette and it was either Shakin Stevens 'Shaky' or 'The Bop won't Stop'. At the end of that cassette there was a Shaky computer game for a Spectrum. We didn't have a Spectrum but I used to listen to the electronic bleeps it produced from the cassette player. I think this is why I love electronic music.









Fujiya & Miyagi's latest single 'Sixteen Shades Of Black And Blue', taken from their critically acclaimed album Ventriloquizzing, is released on March 14th.