The Big Leicester till I Die Interview - Dave Bartram

Born in March 1952, Dave Bartram has been lead singer with Leicestershire based rock band Showaddywaddy for nearly 40 years.

They have gone through many band line-ups over the years but the remaining originals, Bartram, Deas and Challenger, continue to perform, along with guitarist Paul Dixon and David Graham who plays saxophone, keyboards
and rhythm guitar.

Their hits include the No1 smash Under The Moon of Love as well as 10 Top 10 singles including Dancin' Party, Pretty Little Angel Eyes, When.
They also had self penned hits Hey Rock 'n' Roll, Rock 'n' Roll Lady & the 1974 Christmas hit Hey Mr Christmas.

A lifelong Leicester City fan, Dave still gets to The Walkers as LTID found out.....

LTID: Have you always followed Leicester City & from what age?
DB: FROM THE AGE OF 6!

LTID: Can you remember the first game you saw?
DB: EVERTON AT HOME, CAN’T QUITE REMEMBER THE YEAR, BUT JIMMY WALSH SCORED IN THE FIRST MINUTE AND WE WENT ON TO WIN 4-1

LTID: During the 70’s when your band ‘Showaddywaddy’ were at height of their fame were you able to get to many matches & if you did what was the fans reaction to you?
DB: I STILL WENT TO A LOT OF GAMES, AND WAS PRIVILEDGED TO SIT IN THE DIRECTORS BOX ON MANY OCCASIONS, OFTEN NEXT TO MATT GILLIES THE EX CITY MANAGER. WHAT A GENTLEMAN! LEICESTER FANS ARE REAL AND WHILST THEY ALWAYS SHOWED RESPECT, THEY NEVER CRAWLED OR BOTHERED ME.

LTID: People who remember the Bloomfield years of the 70’s remember them as being the years when we played our best football, although we didn’t win anything. Would you agree with this?
DB:A FANTASTIC ERA, WITH 4 ENGLAND INTERNATIONALS , I.E. SHILTS, WHITWORTH, FRANKIE & KEITH WELLER - IT’S UNBELIEVABLE WE NEVER WON ANYTHING.

LTID: Did they ever play a Showaddywaddy record at Filbert Street when you were there and how did it feel?
DB: OH YEAH, ALL THE TIME. I LOVED IT WHEN THEY DID!

LTID: If you hadn’t been in a famous band, would have wanted to be a footballer?
DB:I WAS A HALF DECENT KEEPER, BUT NEVER GOOD ENOUGH TO HAVE BEEN A PRO.

LTID: If you could have been either, which would you sooner have been?
DB: A MUSICIAN – I WOULDN’T STILL BE PLAYING FOOTBALL IN MY LATE 50’S!

LTID: Did you ever play for any teams as a kid growing up & if so what position did you play and how good were you?
DB: MAINLY AT SCHOOL, ALTHOUGH I HAD SOME GAMES FOR THE POST OFFICE TELEPHONES TEAM.

LTID: What has been your favourite ever Leicester City game & why?
DB: WE BEAT MAN CITY IN THE CUP IN THE 60’S 4-3 AFTER BEING 2 DOWN I WAS STOOD ON THE KOP AND TO THIS DAY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED AN ATMOSPHERE LIKE IT.

LTID: What was your biggest disappointment following Leicester City?
DB: THE WEMBLEY PLAY-OFF FINAL AGAINST SWINDON WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM 3-0 DOWN TO 3-3 AND THEN LOST TO A CRAZY LAST MINUTE PENALTY,
WHICH SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AWARDED

LTID :Who is your favourite Leicester player, past & present?
DB: WITHOUT A DOUBT BANKSIE! & IN THE CURRENT SIDE RITCHIE WELLENS

LTID: You have seen many managers come and go over the years, who would you say was the best manager LCFC have ever had & why.
DB: BLOOMFIELD. THE MOST ATTRACTIVE FOOTBALLING SIDE I’VE EVER SEEN

LTID: By comparison, who has been the worst you can remember & why.
DB: TATER PEELER – HE ALMOST SINGLE HANDEDLY DESTROYED WHAT M.O.N HAD BUILT!

LTID : Who are your footballing heroes?
DB: PELE, STEVEN GERRARD AND I THINK JACK WILSHERE IS AN AMAZING TALENT

LTID: Who are your musical heroes?
DB: JOHN LENNON. RAY CHARLES. RYAN ADAMS

LTID: Was there one game in particular you missed as you were touring with Showaddywaddy that you would say ‘wish I’d been there’?
DB : I WAS ON THE PHONE FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE CUP QUARTER FINAL FROM ABROAD AGAINST SHREWSBURY IN THE 80’S WHEN THE KEEPERS KEPT
GETTING INJURED . THE BILL WAS HUGE BUT WE WON 5-2 AND I WAS A HAPPY BUNNY

LTID: The change since Sven took over has been immense, but was letting Nigel Pearson go a big mistake?
DB: MASSIVE! I CAN JUST SEE HIM SQUEEZING HULL INTO THE PLAY OFFS. A GREAT NO NONSENSE MANAGER, WHO HAD THE RESPECT OF THE WHOLE SQUAD

LTID o you think Sven can get us promoted this season, or is it too big an ask?
DB: HIGHLY UNLIKELY NOW!

LTID: On the UK panel show Mock the Week, comedian Hugh Dennis does an impersonation of Jimmy Saville announcing Showaddywaddy as a recurring joke
in the "Scenes we'd like to see" round. Does this make you smile or do you find it irritating?
DB: IT MAKES ME LAUGH, BUT MY OWN SAVILE IMPRESSION IS BETTER!

LTID :You are currently on tour with Showaddywaddy have you had the chance to see any games since Sven took over?
DB :I’VE SEEN 8 HOME GAMES THIS SEASON. I STILL FEEL THAT WE LACK A GREAT LEADER, AND DROPPING WEALE WAS JUST STUPID!

LTID: You first came to prominence on the Talent Show ‘New Faces’. Were the judges as bad as (those of us who are ole enough to remember) they seemed and would you say they were nastier than Simon Cowell?
DB: NOEL GORDON, CLEMENT FREUD & MICKIE MOST WERE THE JUDGES WE WON EASILY AND NO ONE SAID ANYTHING NASTY. MICKIE TRIED TO SIGN THE BAND, BUT WE WERE ALREADY SPOKEN FOR.

LTID : If you could perform just 1 Showaddywaddy song at a pop concert at The Walkers, which would it be and why?
DB: HEY ROCK & ROLL – IT COULD'VE BEEN THE CLUB’S ANTHEM

LTID; Do you still enjoy touring?
DB: WOULDN’T DO IT IF I DIDN’T

LTID: Which was the concert that you have enjoyed doing the most & for what reasons?
DB: DE MONT IN DECEMBER 1978 WHEN WE FOUND OUT OUR ALBUM WAS NUMBER 1 FOR CHRISTMAS. AMAZING NIGHT!

LTID: Flipping the coin, which was your worst ever concert, maybe one where everything went wrong?
DB: THERE’S BEEN A FEW BAD ONES OVER THE YEARS FOR VARYING REASONS, BUT THE WORST HAS TO BE A CORPORATE WE DID FOR A LOAD OF
BUSINESSMEN IN BIRMINGHAM. THEY WERE MORE INTERESTED IN MAKING ADVANCES TOWARDS THEIR SECRETARIES THAN THE BAND & WE GOT TOTALLY IGNORED.

LTID: Are your audience ageing with you, or are you attracting younger fans to your shows?
DB: A REAL MIXED BAG. THERE ARE QUITE A LOT OF KIDS WHO ARE WELL INTO THE RETRO THING

LTID: Are footballers the new ‘pop stars’ of the celebrity world?
DB: YES I THINK SO. THEY EARN SO MUCH DOSH AND ARE IDOLISED THE WORLD OVER

LTID: If you had to choose a show for Showaddywaddy to appear on now would you choose Britain’s got Talent or X Factor?
DB: NEITHER! I HATE THEM BOTH. SHOWS LIKE THAT ARE NOT FINDING GENUINE TALENT

LTID: A group has never won the X-Factor, if Showaddywaddy went on how do you think they would do?
DB: WIN OF COURSE. PLUS LOUIS WALSH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF THE BAND.

copyright Leicester 'till I Die 2011