A lot of you will try and tell met hat the 2006 Cup final was a bit special. You’re wrong, it was rubbish but just happened to have a lot of goals, one of which was really good and scored in the last second of the match. The 1987 final, on the other hand, was bloody brilliant. Being young and having only really discovered footy a year or two earlier has probably helped to romanticize this match but for those of you who’ve never seen Keith Houchen’s goal, click on the pic:
Houchen’s brilliant goal
From an article in the Observer, February 3rd, 2002:
Houchen moved to Coventry at the start of the Cup-winning season, aged 26, with over 300 league games already under his belt for Hartlepool, Leyton Orient, York and Scunthorpe. He was the classic 1980s forward: big and bustling. It was an era Houchen loved: 'Football was at its best,' he says. 'We had got through the Seventies when people were kicking the shit out of each other. In the Eighties people liked good play but they liked to see a solid tackle as well.' There were no stars in the 1987 Coventry side, which relied on graft and teamwork. 'When people saw us play,' says Houchen, 'they would say "that is a team."' As they advanced to the final, the preparations took on a pattern. 'We used to go to Fuengirola in Spain before every Cup match,' Houchen reminisces. 'We'd be there for a couple of days then come back to a hotel in Bournemouth and play a bit of golf. And we would drink all week - do a little bit of training and then go out drinking. And we kept winning.'
Good lad. As we all know, football is crap nowadays but back then it really was different. I think it all went downhill when the players stopped being normal people. Earning a shitload of money probably caused this, along with lack of booze. Houchen’s biography is intruigingly titled A Tenner and a Box of Kippers.
John Peel, meanwhile, had reason to celebrate the demise of the Smiths that same year, as it meant that other bands actually had a chance of getting into the festive 50. The show you’re about to download is part one of the 1987 showcase, numbers 50 to 41 to be precise:
41. Jesus and Mary Chain - Nine Million Rainy Days
42. Big Black - L Dopa
43. New Order - 1963
44. Butthole Surfers - 22 Going On 23
45. Smiths - Shoplifters of the World Unite
46. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume
47. Colorblind James Experience - Considering a Move to Memphis
48. Gun Club - The Breaking Hands
49. Beatmaster/Cookie Crew - Rok Da House
50. Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh
The broadcast is for the whole show for the evening of 22nd December, 1987. I seem to remember getting a CD player for Christmas that year, early adopter that I was.
The rest of the ’87 festive 50 may well show up on the blog at some point in the future, depending on how many comments you buggers leave.
Houchen’s brilliant goal
From an article in the Observer, February 3rd, 2002:
Houchen moved to Coventry at the start of the Cup-winning season, aged 26, with over 300 league games already under his belt for Hartlepool, Leyton Orient, York and Scunthorpe. He was the classic 1980s forward: big and bustling. It was an era Houchen loved: 'Football was at its best,' he says. 'We had got through the Seventies when people were kicking the shit out of each other. In the Eighties people liked good play but they liked to see a solid tackle as well.' There were no stars in the 1987 Coventry side, which relied on graft and teamwork. 'When people saw us play,' says Houchen, 'they would say "that is a team."' As they advanced to the final, the preparations took on a pattern. 'We used to go to Fuengirola in Spain before every Cup match,' Houchen reminisces. 'We'd be there for a couple of days then come back to a hotel in Bournemouth and play a bit of golf. And we would drink all week - do a little bit of training and then go out drinking. And we kept winning.'
Good lad. As we all know, football is crap nowadays but back then it really was different. I think it all went downhill when the players stopped being normal people. Earning a shitload of money probably caused this, along with lack of booze. Houchen’s biography is intruigingly titled A Tenner and a Box of Kippers.
John Peel, meanwhile, had reason to celebrate the demise of the Smiths that same year, as it meant that other bands actually had a chance of getting into the festive 50. The show you’re about to download is part one of the 1987 showcase, numbers 50 to 41 to be precise:
41. Jesus and Mary Chain - Nine Million Rainy Days
42. Big Black - L Dopa
43. New Order - 1963
44. Butthole Surfers - 22 Going On 23
45. Smiths - Shoplifters of the World Unite
46. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume
47. Colorblind James Experience - Considering a Move to Memphis
48. Gun Club - The Breaking Hands
49. Beatmaster/Cookie Crew - Rok Da House
50. Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh
The broadcast is for the whole show for the evening of 22nd December, 1987. I seem to remember getting a CD player for Christmas that year, early adopter that I was.
The rest of the ’87 festive 50 may well show up on the blog at some point in the future, depending on how many comments you buggers leave.
7 comments:
I seriously want your babies for putting this up (but it sounds like the one you've got is keeping you busy!). Thank you, thank you, thank you for this, Adam, you're a star.
PS. Noticed the ironic 'free mp3 downloads' tag: I've taken the hint, why don't the rest of you who read Adam's stuff?!? We need blogs like this!!! Show some appreciation.
I already have all of this festive 50 broadcast,but please don't deprive others of the joy & post the rest.
Mike B
Yes! I'm currently searching under every pixel for John Peel shows and I'd love you to post all this FF.
Lots of love, OT
You'll get everything I have, just need to bide your time and deal with my lazyitis!
Thanks so much for putting this up
Brilliant, thanks. In them days tape space was precious, so I only taped bits of it and ended up with one C90 for the whole F50.
Yes please to getting the rest of it.
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