BLACK FLASH-CUTS A DASH

I am publishing this one again mainly because only 15 people read it originally and that Laurie Cunningham is the subject of another article by Dermot Kavanagh in today's Sunday Times.

Laurie Cunningham was a pioneer of football and the London Soul scene. He was born in 1956 to Jamaican parents living in Finsbury Park. A new biography " Different Class: Football, Fashion, Funk. The story of Laurie Cunningham" by Dermot Kavanagh (Unbound £20) tells his story and there are four YouTube clips based on the film "Black Flash".

In March 1976 for the first time, a black footballer, Cunningham, was the front cover of the Sunday Times Magazine, at a time when racism was commonplace. Many today will not have heard of him  but at the time he suffered overt racism from English crowds and coped with that with courage and dignity.

The Great Black Hope was tipped by Sports' writer Brian Glanville to be England's first black international. Glanville would have been delighted to have an interview with him, but Cunningham was not to be found, he was not at home, having been clubbing with girlfriend Nicky Brown. Glanville spent two hours chatting to his mother.

Cunningham was an amazing talent on the pitch and also very hot on the London Soul scene. He won cash prizes for his dancing, which were often used to pay his fines for being late to training. He was even offered an audition with the American Ballet Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Signed by Leyton Orient, he moved the West Bromwich Albion in 1977 and formed a trio of black footballers with Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson, known as the "Three Degrees". Cunningham became the first black footballer to play professionally for England, starting at Under 21 level, earning only 6 full caps. An outstanding match for the Baggies against Valencia in the Uefa Cup in 1978 drew the admiration of Real Madrid and he became a millionaire overnight.

In 1979 he became the first British player to sign for Real Madrid. In one Clasico, his performance was so fantastic that the Barca crowd gave him a standing ovation.

In 1981 he played against Liverpool in the European Cup Final, losing 0-1. For the next period he suffered from injury after having a toe stamped on and spent the early 1980s on loan, including at Manchester United with Ron Atkinson in 1983, a couple of Spanish and French clubs and then at Wimbledon, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1988.

In 1989 he was killed in a car crash in Madrid, aged 33. Having played nearly 350 games, he was soon forgotten as a star player and quickly named as a play boy or maverick.

Cunningham was well known for his love of dance, vintage suits and spending time pubs and bars in Soho such as Crackers in Wardour Street. Inspired by Robert Redford in "The Great Gatsby", he once found a trunk filled with original war time clothing and had the suit copied by an East End tailor. He also would visit flea markets in the Angel, Islington, gathering authentic fashions. He had style and also a reputation!

His funeral was held in Tottenham in 1989. Recently English Heritage agreed to place a Blue Plaque on his house In Finsbury Park. Here are four episodes of his career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiEk3-3uChs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dCqDbTDG6Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tjc5tVcOks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JKoSflSjI

Laurie cut a dash in fashion and his 1940s style suit and fedora was not out of place in the London nightclub scene.