Author, singer, artists, footballers: Chelsea players’ off-pitch talents and pursuits
4. Terry Venables: Writer and singer
Terry Venables would now be a Chelsea rarity. He was one of the “kids” that actually came through the youth system to make it into the first team. Of course, in the late 50’s and early 60’s, his formative years, that was the norm. He went on to become one of (Tommy) Docherty’s Diamonds before eventually falling out with him, having broken an enforced curfew along with several other players. He was sold on to Tottenham Hotspur: the ultimate punishment.
Venables was never one to sit still. If he wasn’t playing he was coaching and if he wasn’t coaching he was managing. However, that was still not enough. During the mid-70s, he co-wrote a novel, along with Chelsea’s Commercial Manager at the time, Gordon Williams. It was called “They Used To Play On Grass” and predicted the end of the green stuff as the beautiful game’s playing surface.
Following that the two created a series of books around a London-born private detective called “Hazell.” Out of that came a TV series of the same name that ran for 22 episodes. But that was still not enough for the man who simply had to be doing something.
Having finished playing, Venables went on to manage in London and Barcelona before taking charge of the England and Australian national sides. With football management ticked off his CV and his career limited to TV punditry, he turned his hand, or more appropriately, his vocal cords, to singing.
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Unfortunately for him, it didn’t take up too much of his time. For the rest of us, it was a blessing. He recorded “England Crazy” with the band Rider. It was England’s 2002 World Cup song. To be fair, that was one of England’s better attempts at World Cup glory as they reached the quarter-finals, narrowly losing out to Brazil. Eight years later he covered the Elvis Presley song ‘If I can Dream’ for various charitable causes.
With football out of the picture, and writing and singing distant memories, El Tel is still not static. He now owns and manages a small hotel and restaurant in Penaguila, Spain, along with his wife, Yvette. Be careful if you’re planning a visit, though. He probably does a Saturday night slot behind the microphone.