Author Archives: Paul

Tonight against Manchester United, West Ham play their last ever game at the famous old ground. Back in the 90s, I had a memorable trip to see that very fixture at that very ground. At the time, I was friendly with a photographers’ agent called Denise Chapman whose brother Lee was playing up front for […]

90 today and a truly great man. I have nothing to add to the tributes that have been pouring in all day from every corner of the globe. Except to say that the lyrics of this classic song could have been written about him. And that, although Nat King Cole has been dead for more […]

I finally got to see Don Cheadle’s superb performance as Miles Davis in the biopic Miles Ahead last night. But jazz buffs aren’t like the rest of us. You don’t go and “see” a jazz band, you go and “hear” them. A rock concert will have all sorts of visual elements but at Ronnie Scott’s […]

I’ll never get a better chance of winning. London votes for its new mayor today but it’s hard to imagine two less inspiring candidates than Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan. One, the son of a billionaire, comes over as aloof, privileged and out of touch. The other, the son of a bus conductor, seems to […]

There’s a sentence I never thought I – or anyone else – would ever write. It’s quite simply the greatest sporting story of all time. Leicester, as everybody knows, were 5,000-1 outsiders at the start of the season. As recently as November, they were still 1,500-1 so for once, the bookies are having to pay […]

RIP Billy Paul. He died last week, aged 81, but with the media frenzy surrounding Prince’s death, Billy’s passing went largely unnoticed. He was Philly’s answer to Marvin Gaye and one of the greatest soul singers of all time. He’s most famous for Me & Mrs. Jones but I’ve always loved his version of this. […]

We’re having the house painted. I’m useless at any practical chore but can just about be trusted to visit Chris Stevens on the Holloway Road to buy the paint. It’s where the trade go and it’s where I pretend I’m one of them. My dad worked on building sites and most of my schoolmates went […]

You can’t switch on the BBC at the moment without encountering references to Shakespeare and the fact that it’s the 400th anniversary of his death. Am I allowed to say this? I don’t really like Shakespeare. Yes, of course, I recognise the brilliance of his writing, the breadth of his vocabulary, his peerless use of […]

It takes place today. It’s a wonderful tradition and raises millions for good causes. We all know people who’ve done it in the past or are doing it today. Just one question: Are they young, lithe and in peak condition? Or balding, desperate to prove they’re still fit but almost old enough to remember this […]

In 1988, Tom Jones was washed-up. A permatanned medallion man whose late 60s heyday was way behind him. Regarded as a bit of a joke, he’d spent years belting out the back catalogue in Vegas. But one TV appearance changed all that. Channel 4 had a new chat show called The Last Resort, hosted by […]