64 replies to this topic

[simonlewisbooks]

RADIO TIMES carries a column by Stuart Hall each week in which he pours forth his poetic prose on sporting matters in general, spiced with razor edged and deliciously un-PC opinions. Frequently, among the football and cricket, he makes reference to Motor Sport (four wheels and two) which he clearly loves, and it's always a joy to read his views.
This week he comments on the forthcoming documentary FORMULA ONE THE DEADLY YEARS (or whatever it's called) and describes witnessing the 1951 British GP and the 1954 Italian GP first-hand as well as recalling his own racing exploits at "tree lined" Oulton Park and the fact three of his friends died while racing. Far from being all modern and hand-wringing about it you can tell he pines for the days when risk was a matter from those who chose to take it willingly. He ends by declaring his worship of Valentino Rossi and the still-heroic world of Moto GP.

Top bloke

Does anyone recall Hall the racer , long before IT'S A KNOCKOUT and football commentary (and that laugh) made him a household name in Britain?

[Gregor Marshall]

Stuart also had a Vauxhall Firenza Droop Snoot - The Droop Snoot Group were recently asked for it to be present for an interview and photo shoot but unfortunately it was too short notice and was not available.
Stuart also had a Jaguar XJS, TVR Tuscan around the same time as the Firenza, so definitely a petrolhead person.

[Alan Cox]

Yes, Simon, a most entertaining column this week. His racing would have been before my time at Oulton Park, but I know that he was one of the circuit commentators in the early days and I do recall seeing him racing a celebrity Escort in a SPARKS charity event.

[Sharman]

Raced a Healey as I recall. lived in Mottram-in-Longendale at the time.

[Tim Murray]

This is all I can find on him here on TNF:

Made me think of Stuart Hall in the UK (he of "It's A KnockOut" fame).

He won an Escort Celebrity race at Oulton Park in the early seventies and I'm sure it was his first race and I don't remember seeing him again...

Anybody here remember?

Stuart was something of a petrolhead and raced in the early 60s, I think -- I'm sure there's pictures of him racing in the autobiography/collection of football pieces he brought out a couple of years ago. Massive TVR enthusiast in the 70s, he was always seen in one of Blackpool's finest when he was opening supermarkets/village fetes in the North West.

Coincidentally, we were discussing him, after hearing his football match report on the radio last Saturday in the car on our way back from our excellent club visit to Prodrive, and, on checking, found he was born on Christmas Day 1929. A remarkable man.

[Sharman]

I believe there was quite a BBC furore about him demanding money to be seen on screen driving--racks brains---a TR7(?) during "It's a Knockout".

[Alan Cox]

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that he has come up with some memorable quotes over the years. He also ran a travel business, about which he is quoted a saying:

On his firm Stuart Hall International Travel: "I've never been brilliant in business. If you have an artistic bent, you're never going to be good at the logistics of business. I've no time for all that. I'm the man who ran **** Travel - what a great venture that was."

And another great comment about the style of modern broadcasting:

"Young people used to come from school to see me when I was at the BBC in Manchester, to talk about a career in broadcasting, and I would always tell them, 'You must develop your own style.' There's no point taking a degree in 'media studies', whatever that is. You may as well do embroidery at Bolton university because that would be just as useful. No, give me the quirky, the off-piste, the stylish."

[La Sarthe]

And he's a keen Man City fan

Apart from his still-legendary match reports on Radio 5 Live, who can forget his 'laughing policeman' act when try to comment on Jeux Sans Frontieres? In particluar the all-time classic penguin game (must be on You Tube somewhere...ooh, there it is)

Stuart Hall Penguins

[Garagiste]

Uncanny, I just thinking it would be fun to hear him commentate on F1.
"The Italians, always good for a laugh!"

[Giraffe]

Has lived in/around Wilmslow for years. Owns a fabulous collection of clocks.

You're winding me up, Pete?;)

Over to Stuart: "Culture comes into play at precisely the point where biological individuals become subjects, and that what lies between the two is not some automatically constituted ‘natural’ process of socialization but much more complex processes of formation"
—

Edited by Giraffe, 24 March 2011 - 21:13.

[ensign14]

I remember a memorable report when we scraped a 1-1 draw at Blackburn (wearing an all-black change kit) thanks to the mercurial and infuriating skills of our World Cup winner. He signed off with "Christophe Dugarry, The Black Knight, appearing at La Comedie Francaise, St Andrews."

[LittleChris]

A little bit more to add

http://www.jsfnet.co.uk/bio_hall.htm

[delta44]

I did not know Stuart Hall was a racer. He does make me laugh and I am afraid to admit that "its a knock out " was one of my favorites. Radio 5 had a programme on him last year and one of his stories from his wife goes a bit like this. Stuart had arrived home after a night out and had a few drinks. He crept into bed trying not to wake his wife"as we all do without success".He then woke his wife alarmingly saying that he was paralyzed and could not move his legs. She then flew back the bed cover to find that Stuart had managed to get both his legs into one side of his pajama's.

[Slurp1955]

Stuart lives two doors away from a friend of mine. He never seems to see a poor game for 5Live, which is quite a feat when you are a Manchester City fan. A few months ago he was waxing lyrical on Radio 4 about the joys of residing in cul-de-sacs, despite of the fact that his house is on a busy (and very expensive) stretch of a main road out of Wilmslow

[Phil Rainford]

Stuart lives two doors away from a friend of mine. He never seems to see a poor game for 5Live, which is quite a feat when you are a Manchester City fan.

How true........no matter what the game you just have to listen to the match report when Stuart Hall is summing up

Are there any other other football commentators that command such attention??

PAR

Edited by Phil Rainford, 25 March 2011 - 19:04.

[Giraffe]

How true........no matter what the game you just have to listen to the match report when Stuart Hall is summing up

Are there any other other football commentators that command such attention??

PAR

A Wordsmith in the Simon Arron mould.

"I love words. Words like chocolate and custard and crystal and iconoclast."

But who the hell is Roberto di Savagio?!?!

[alansart]

But who the hell is Roberto di Savagio?!?!

If he's got a tenner he's probably the next inline to have the HRT drive.

[Paul Hurdsfield]

I remember a commentry of his at Oulton where he tried to convince the spectators that Old Hall corner was named after him

[ensign14]

But who the hell is Roberto di Savagio?!?!

Reminds me of the columnist in The Absolute Game, Bruno Glanvilla, who would wax lyrical about the Stadio del Ochilview...

[Giraffe]

"What will you do when you leave football, Jack, will you stay in football?" Reminiscent of Mr.R.Dennis.............

[Phil Rainford]

From Duncan Measor's book Twin Cities, Manchester and Salford

and his first commentary was on a Manchester United-Leicester City match at which the fog was so thick he only saw two of the seven goals.[/color]

Typical City fan


PAR

[Alan Cox]

From Duncan Measor's book Twin Cities, Manchester and Salford (written in 1988, a who's who and what's what of the twin cities, absolutely fascinating). Duncan, was one of the nicest blokes you could hope to meet, a superb wordsmith, he was with the Manchester Evening News from 1951 to 1968, was their motor-sports correspondent, always at Oulton and the European GPs and wrote the Mr Manchester column. I never saw him without his trade-mark spotted bow tie.

Hear, hear, Pete. I well remember him from his days in the Oulton Park press box - he carried on contributing reports well past 1968 IIRC - and he was a real gentleman of the old school and always helpful to those lesser mortals with whom he shared the box. Well worthy of mention alongside the great Mr Hall.

[Giraffe]

he only saw two of the seven goals.

Didn't matter then, & it still doesn't matter now.

Edited by Giraffe, 26 March 2011 - 07:30.

[simonlewisbooks]

I've got a box full of Duncan's original typed reports and features from the 60s-early 80s, some with photos and clippings of the finished article in print. Had them for years and cannot now recall who I bought them from! Mostly clubbie stuff relating to Oulton, one or two from Longridge and Aintree I think.

[Slurp1955]

Classic & Sports Car Magazine are running a feature on Stuart in the June issue (on sale 3rd May!).

I've asked my friend Gill (Stuart's neighbour) to point him in the direction of this forum, and she says he 's on twitter so she will twitterate him too. JohnP

[RTH]

I have some film of him commentating on a motorcyle trial in the snow/mud/ flowing rivers on the Yorkshire moors in the 1950s

[droopsnoot]

Stuart also had a Vauxhall Firenza Droop Snoot - The Droop Snoot Group were recently asked for it to be present for an interview and photo shoot but unfortunately it was too short notice and was not available.
Stuart also had a Jaguar XJS, TVR Tuscan around the same time as the Firenza, so definitely a petrolhead person.

From his autobigrahpy:

[Vitesse2]

Not only a household name, but now Stuart Hall OBE.

[simonlewisbooks]

Not only a household name, but now Stuart Hall OBE.

I may be wrong but it might not be the same Stuart Hall..... can anyone confirm?

[Bloggsworth]

I may be wrong but it might not be the same Stuart Hall..... can anyone confirm?

It is he, and about time too.

[Vitesse2]

http://news.bbc.co.u...ge/16369294.stm

[Phil Rainford]

..... Excellent interview only interrupted by his clocks going off




PAR

[RTH]

Interviewed on TV couple of days ago, now 82 but has no plans to retire from the flowery Dawsonesque descriptions of events.

[simonlewisbooks]

It is he, and about time too.

Here here!

[Gatmo]

He usually referred to Maine Road as either "The Shrine" or "The Theatre of Base Comedy"
His game reports always left me with a big, silly grin on my face. The guy is a total one off and a national treasure.

Edited by Gatmo, 02 January 2012 - 21:11.

[BRG]

He never seems to see a poor game for 5Live, which is quite a feat when you are a Manchester City fan.

Ah, what a difference less than a year can make....

[Slurp1955]

Ah, what a difference less than a year can make....

Well, this post could have well been served by a 24-hour delay, just to see if the light-blue rabble needed to hang on to their small tin of brasso keeping those darts club trophies in top nick.

Edited by Slurp1955, 04 August 2012 - 17:14.

[ryan86]

Though one needs some football knowledge, I enjoy the Hall & Oates quiz on Friday Night, where two contestants try and guess a football personality, one given clues from Stuart Hall, the other given clues by another reporter known for his fact strewn commentary, David Oates. Hall & Oates were a music-duo who were most successful in the early-80's for those that don't get the relevance of the title.

[Slurp1955]

Well, this post could have well been served by a 24-hour delay, just to see if the light-blue rabble needed to hang on to their small tin of brasso keeping those darts club trophies in top nick.

Edited after Pete's excellent proof reading. Daryl Hall and John Oates are still about, of course. Daryl presents a superb web-based show called "Live At Daryl's House", where a collection of bands turn up for weekend sessions set in one of a collection of Colonial Houses he owns. Stuart Hall is twittering my mate Gill "to go out for a couple more sessions ...... OF TENNIS OF COURSE"
And what a difference a day makes.

Edited by Slurp1955, 08 January 2012 - 17:31.

[elansprint72]

In view of the fact that this man has made fools of us all; would it be best if the Moderators removed the thread?

[Mallory Dan]

Why, Pete? Just because he's been found guilty, doesn't mean he's a 'non-person' now. Surely we don't want the Lawyers taking over TNF.

[Paul Parker]

In view of the fact that this man has made fools of us all; would it be best if the Moderators removed the thread?

I agree, he has become personna non grata by his own admission and it makes me laugh, metaphorically speaking, that this kind of thing has taken decades to expose, especially when so many people must have been aware of, or party to it, despite their denials.

Personally I don't feel a fool, being cynical nothing surprises me. Given the nature of the 'entertainment industry', its access to a constant throughput of young persons and the arrogance of too many of our institutions who treat us with barely veiled contempt I would not be surprised if there were many more such abuses, these apparent revelations are simply those we know of. Much the same tempations and problems apply to any profession or establishment that employs or places youth in employment, this is nothing new, now or then.

Meanwhile who else will be accused after 30 years or more and how many innocents will be caught up in the paranoia?

[elansprint72]

Why, Pete? Just because he's been found guilty, doesn't mean he's a 'non-person' now. Surely we don't want the Lawyers taking over TNF.

http://www.guardian....ve-instruct-sex

[ensign14]

Surely we don't want the Lawyers taking over TNF.

Et pourquoi pas?

[Vitesse2]

Locked, perhaps - with a note added that anyone who wishes to add or correct anything of relevance to the thread can contact a mod who will do it for them. But not removed. The history of the sport has enough lacunae, half-truths, omissions and downright lies without TNF adding to them. I'm thinking particularly of a couple of cases involving well-known Grand Prix drivers of past eras - and which I don't intend to drag up here: PM me if interested - but the ephemeral characters are just as important.

[Slurp1955]

Et pourquoi pas?

Jeux Sans Frontieres, surely. Meantime my mate Gill is looking for a new tennis partner................ I think Pete's stalinist approach of deleting this thread is a tad too far. I would lock it. The real scandal is that with the likes of Savile, Hall and no doubt a number of others is that their crimes and misdemeanors were common knowledge in the organisations that employed them, and it takes 40 years for the rest of us to find out. That doesn't make us fools.

Edited by Slurp1955, 03 May 2013 - 14:00.

[Tim Murray]

We have a number of threads devoted to motor sport people who are/were criminals, eg:

Roy James the 'Great Train Robber'... and other criminals

Driven to crime

Racing and drug-related busts

Some of these convicted criminals (eg Randy Lanier, John Paul Sr) have their own threads. To the best of my knowledge no-one has suggested that any of these threads should be closed or deleted. Why should we treat Stuart Hall any differently?

[Sharman]

Some where in these pages I recall a thread which referred to another well known driver from the 50s who was forced to move abroad because of his interest in little girls , that is not deleted. I am also aware of another figure who featured in Sport for Youth (I am not saying which sport) whose sole reason for participating was access. I KNOW but can't prove it if anybody wonders why I do not denounce him. In the case of Stuart Hall I even suspect that I know one of his "victims", in her case she was an absolute little minx but that is no excuse.
Even so, everybody here thought he was a good bloke, if this had not been made public he still would be "nor all thy piety and nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line,Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it"
STET

[Doug Nye]

Locked up maybe - erased, surely not...

DCN

[elansprint72]

He did not steal a car; he did not rob a bank (although he was a convicted serial shop-lifter at Safeway's Wilmslow store, who lied repeatedly in court, when charged).

He now admits that he violated a nine year-old girl (plus many others, the numbers are not yet finalised). Three weeks ago he was still saying that this was all fantasy.

http://www.macclesfi...-guilty-3316549

Shame on any of you who now have anything to say in support of this vile person; I repeat my request for this thread to be deleted.