Along with Chairman Cozzo I attended the launch of this new Burnley video on 27 November in the Centre Spot (now called the Clarets Foundation Bar apparently – new name, but still no real ale). On entering we were given a red rose buttonhole to celebrate Lancashire Day. (As I recall this is supposed to commemorate some obscure parliamentary document from, I think, the 13th Century, in which Lancashire was first referred to as a county in its own right as opposed to just being part of some ill-defined northern wilderness on the way to Scotland.) Still, it was a nice touch.
After coffee Andrew Watson opened the proceedings by introducing the video’s producer and director, the BAFTA award winning documentary film-maker Stewart Binns, a native of Burnley and a life long Claret, who made the TV series Britain at War and the Rhapsody in Claret and Blue video. The other guests included Mrs Lord and Mrs Potts along with Albert Maddox and Jimmy Holland and the following players: Jimmy McIlroy, Alex Elder, Brian Miller, Jimmy Robson, Ray Pointer, Willie Irvine, Andy Lochhead and Freddie Smith. In all I estimated an audience of around 70, which, according to Andrew, included some 16 media representatives.
Stewart then briefly explained how the video was intended to commemorate the remarkable record of a great club from a time when it was world famous, and when its supporters were privileged to watch their team take on the best in the world. He also referred to the fantastic reception that those players received when they paraded around the pitch before the Grimsby match, and this from a crowd a large proportion of which must have been too young to see them play. This showed how integral its history is to Burnley Football Club, and it was his hope that the video would preserve a record of this era for future generations when those who could remember it are gone.
Turning the video itself, I now realise that I am effectively writing one of its first reviews. Anyone who has seen Rhapsody will expect high production values and intelligent, exiting content, and will not be disappointed. It starts with footage of the current team whilst Stewart’s commentary gives the briefest of potted histories of the club's highs and lows, and refers to the huge burden of expectation borne by the existing squad. I was struck at this point by the crowd shots, and by the obvious passion and enjoyment displayed by the younger supporters, which nicely underlined Stewart’s earlier point.
Footage of the Championship victory at Maine Road and a rare colour film of the celebrations at the Town Hall lead into the European matches themselves. It was clear from Andrew’s and Stewart’s intros that no stone has been left unturned in finding previously unseen footage of these matches, including some from a German TV station of a match played at the Turf. However, it also seems apparent that there is a worryingly small proportion of old match film which still survives, and this may explain why, to my mind, the video includes rather more footage of the European Cup Campaign than of the Fairs Cup.
There are extended sections covering the Rheims and Hamburg matches, which really enables the viewer to get into the ebb and flow of the games and heightens the tension, especially if, like me, you can’t remember the scores. Kenneth Wolstenholme’s commentaries sound both fresh and good humoured (some of it unconscious) compared to today’s frenetic efforts, and amusing and revealing interviews with the players and back room staff are nicely interspersed with the action.
The Fairs Cup section is more of a collage of short clips, news extracts and interviews, but the formula works well, and Jimmy Holland’s reminiscences of the Battle of Naples alone are worth the cost of the video. Other highlights for me included Harry Potts’ antics at the Parc de Princes, a fantastic save by Adam Blacklaw, reminiscent of Banks against Pele in 1970, great goals from Connelly, Pilkington, Harris and Dorfeldt, and the interviews with Uwe Seeler and Willie Irvine, who was one of my boyhood idols. But this is one of those videos where I am sure there will be much more to take in on further viewings, and everyone will have their own favourite bits.
After the showing there was a good buffet lunch and an opportunity to chat with the players informally. We also asked them to sign their autographs inside the cover of our complimentary video, which we hope to include in the raffle at the Christmas Social.
I told Willie Irvine how I used to keep a scrapbook of pictures of his goals from the Burnley Express (78 in 123 matches before he received a broken leg at the young age of 23 and was transferred to lowly Preston) and how I wish I had kept it. Willie said not to worry, he could remember every one of them. By now people were drifting off. Incredibly, some of these great players had to go back to work. Cozzo and I stayed on for a while, chatting with Tony Scholes of the Clarets Mad website and with Stewart Binns about his future projects. London Clarets - last to leave as usual!
