Tony Crow Interview

Jimmy Saville, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, John Peel, Francis Grasso, Kenny Everett, DJ Kool Herc… pioneering DJs one and all but not one of them could read out a teamsheet and welcome visiting dignitaries like Tony Crow. For 10 years he twiddled the knobs on the Adams Park sound system and now for the first time since hanging up the microphone the man behind the voice speaks exclusively to SMBU.

So first things first, how, when, and maybe even why, did you become a Wycombe fan?

I was at school in the early 70s when Bryn Lee joined. We discovered that his dad was manager of WWFC. That's when I first started taking an interest in them although I didn't actively follow them until I gave up mobile DJing in England in 1995, when I could go to matches. I do remember though being gutted that my dad and brother went to Bournemouth in the 70s whilst I had to stay in Flackwell Heath as a Saturday boy in Budgen's.

What has been your most memorable moment in supporting Wycombe?

Two really, one as a fan and one as PA.

I was at Leicester for the FA Cup Quarter Final. As I wasn't a season ticket holder, I couldn't get a ticket for the match but Hutch arranged that I could stand in the wooden gantry with Sky and their camera crews. I was inches away from their main cameras and Martin Tyler and Alan Brazil commentating. Before the match, I was told that if Wycombe scored, I had to be quiet and not jump around in case I rocked the cameras. When Roy Essandoh scored, like most people, I was beside myself and it took all my will-power to obey their instructions. It gave Alan Brazil a good laugh though as he was watching me trying not to implode at the time.

As PA, the highlight happened within weeks of me starting. Hutch was manager for Dave Carroll's Testimonial in November 1997 so I was left to do all the PA work on the night. It was fantastic reading out the teamsheets for both halves. I'll hopefully never forget "and changing sides for the second half, .... Steve Guppy".

…and the worst?

Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the final game of the season against the scum ColU after the FA Cup run. I had prepared the FA Cup songs to play every 15 minutes leading up to the game. I had the two versions of the Quarter Final win and the Semi-Final "Proud" song. I'd also made a new one with both games featured. We were going to ram it down their throat that we had got to the Semi-Final. I got to the ground and Hutch came up to tell me that the PA system had failed on the Friday and they hadn't been able to mend it in time for the game. I was devastated. If you remember, I ended up walking around the ground with a megafone at half-time. What a disaster.

Another memorable one was when the scum scored in about the seventh minute of extra time to equalize. There was only supposed to be three. I was in a foul mood all weekend after that. Sanch told me not to stop the clock at 90 mins after that game so that we could see how many minutes we had really played. That earnt me the first of my two letters from the Football League warning me not to leave the clock running.

How did you get into the job?

I went to the Vere Suite before a Tuesday evening match and a mate (Eddy Belsham) told me that there was a job for me advertised in the programme. I worked with Andy Reston in the 80s at Equity & Law and I was always dead jealous that he was the WWFC PA. So, I applied the next day with my "International DJ" CV. I was asked to the next home match to see the gear then started the following match against Bristol Rovers in October 1997.

Why did you decide finish?

They banned smoking!

No, the management decided to change things this season and bring in a new team, which is their prerogative. I decided that perhaps it would be better if I leave them to it as it was obvious that I was going to be less involved than before.

I'd not missed a single home match, be it first team, FA Youth Cup, evening Reserves, B&B, etc. in 10 years, which is something I don't think many other employees can say, so I decided to quit whilst I was ahead.

Which WWFC director had the best taste in music? Is it true Alan Parry asked you to play Aga-doo at corners?

In 10 years, I had one chat with the Chairman early on. In the rest of the time, I was never told to play anything specific except for the Team Out, Goals and Corners music. I was the DJ. It was my job to decide what to play. I didn't tell the manager how to pick the team or the Directors how to run the club so they didn't tell me how to play music. Hutch was exceptionally good about that.

Whenever a new manager or CEO came along, they asked him what happened with the PA on match days. He always told them not to worry about that because Tony looked after that side of things.

So, I have no idea about Directors' taste in music and AP certainly did not ask me about anything other than the Team Out music.

Favourite album of all time?

As a DJ, you don't buy albums unless you think there will be several dancefloor fillers on it. I spent up to £150 a month on singles/12"s/CDs and rarely bought an album for myself since 1978 when I started mobile DJing.

In my teenage years, I was into MAN, Quo, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Led Zep and so on. I used to be bored rigid going to parties as all they played was namby-pamby disco music for what we used to call the "suede heads". It was one of the reasons that I started DJing. It seemed better to me to be behind the disco rather than in front.

Obviously, my taste in music changed to "what fills a dancefloor" rather than what was a good record. I remember doing a Christmas Party in a Heathrow hotel in 1994, I think. This girl came up to me and asked why I was playing "this crap". I pointed her to the room where everyone-else was up and dancing on the dance floor, carpets, tables, everywhere to Boney M's Rivers of Babylon. "That's what I'm paid for. Who cares how good the record is?".

When I first came to WWFC, people moaned that I played too much disco so I started playing indie music (or whatever it's called nowadays) more. By the end, I was probably playing more of that between 1:30 and 2:30 than disco.

If I was really pushed, my favourite album as a teenager was Status Quo's Hello. I still rate Reason for Living as one of my favourite tracks.

If Wycombe Wanderers were a band, who would they be?

Not sure. As I said, I'm not really into bands, more individual tracks.

You've been fairly critical of the Trusts' recent inactivity. What are your feelings on the proposed merger and even the state of the club in general?

I believe that the Trusts were set up for completely different reasons.

One was to protect the rights of the original members, the other to be in a position to rescue the club if it ever needed it. Instead of keeping to their original briefs, they both appear to want to be involved in everything the club does. I don't think that either of the two were set up for this reason.

The Founders' Trust should be heavily involved in looking at the club's proposals to move ground and little else.

The Supporters' Trust should be raising money like mad to take over if any of the Directors die or remove their financial support as I can't see anyone-else doing this.
Neither of the Trusts need to be involved in day-to-day decisions to achieve their aims. The Directors can't tell the Trust what they hear in the boardroom so where has it got us?

Ooh look, we played a match on a Friday because the fans wanted it. Whoopee. Oh, we haven't sold Adams Park because the Founders Trust blocked it. Now, that would be a result.

I am on record as saying that I was staggered that members of the board that got the club into a serious financial position were allowed to take over the club for themselves. My view is that they've realised that the only way they will get their money back is to sell Adams Park and move to a free stadium, thereby releasing the cash to wipe out their debts.

I'm not convinced that this is for the benefit of the club.

How many times did you play Simply The Best in the early 1990s?

Hardly ever. I was a Dance DJ so it wasn't high on my play list.

What did you think when Sanchez wanted drum beats played at corners?

Whatever people think of Sanch, he was the only manager that talked directly to me about what he wanted to hear. I met him in the team hotel in Bristol just after he took over. I was working there at the time and happened to be in the same hotel that the club used before Rovers matches, He immediately talked about the music. All the other managers made occasional comments to Hutch but Sanch was the only one who wanted to talk directly to me.

Having said that, I hated the Corner music as it caused me a lot of grief.

From my position, especially when the Hospital Radio crew were next door, I could only just see the near corner by the terrace if I leaned over the desk and almost smacked the window with my head. For evening games, it was a nightmare trying to work out in a second whether the linesman had given a corner, goal-kick or throw. People didn't half moan if I missed one.

Also, he wanted the lead in drums from Apache by The Shadows. Have you ever listened to that? It's only just audible. I had to record it about three times to try and amplify it so that it could be heard in the stadium. It was years before I had the digital technology so it was all done with tape decks and a mixer. It was crap.

I was so glad when Huddersfield put in an official complaint to the referee and we got a letter from the Football League telling us to stop playing it. We always thought that it was a bit ironic that Huddersfield complained it was distracting. They beat us on the night so it can't have been that bad.

What are your memories of the parachute debacle at home to Torquay in 1994?

Wasn't there. I was gigging at the time and I didn't attend a Saturday football match anywhere for about 15 years.

I did a gig in Slough the night we won the first FA Shield at Wembley though. I had fun that night. The second was on a Sunday so I went to that one. I was DJing in Denmark and spent the afternoon listening to the BBC World Service for the score during the Play-Off match.

Did the club say anything when you said 'Welcome to Adams Park' once during the Causeway era?

This was one of the famous occasions when the Chairman wanted to hang me from the Floodlights. I was very lucky in my time at WWFC. I had two very good managers who took the flack for me. Hutch intercepted the Chairman when he heard that he was on the way and told him that it was a mistake that anyone could make. I didn't find out until the Monday morning when Alan phoned to tell me what had happened.

Did you ever get sent any demo tapes from local bands wanting their songs to be played at home games? If so what was the best and worst?

I might have had one in ten years. I can't remember getting any to be honest. I used to get promos from a local company for a couple of seasons and I played some of the better ones. I have no idea now what they were. A mate asked me to push a girl that his son was trying to break. Her songs weren't bad, pretty inoffensive so I played them a couple of times but nothing ever came of it.

Did any of the board members/players ever ask for any requests? If so who and what?

As I mentioned, the board left me to do my job.

Loads of people used to suggest music. I was always in the Vere Suite before and after a Saturday match and most people in there at 12 spoke to me on one occasion or another. I was asked to play various tracks over the years, some of which I did, some I didn't.

A memorable one was Anthony Grant. He was in the Press Box for an FA Youth Cup game and went on and on about Gangsta Rap. I just said "No". I could imagine the Board's reaction if I started playing some of those lyrics.

There were always problems with getting "clean" versions of records. Quite often, I didn't play a major hit because I couldn't get the "radio" version.

What was the worst track you were ever asked to play?

Without a doubt, it was the record for Mark Philo after his death.

Mark Philo's favourite record (R Kelly I Wish) was over five minutes long and contained language not suitable for broadcasting, for example it was riddled with the "N" word. In the end, I spent a few hours editing it with digital software and cut it down to just under three and deleted all the bad language.

It didn't help that it was by a sex offender. I did ask at the time what would have happened if it had been by Gary Glitter. Would we have played it?

We remember one incident where we were chasing an equaliser with about 5 minutes to go, I think Darren Currie was just taking a corner when suddenly your voice could be heard advertising the club shop. Please put us out of our misery and tell us the club forced you into this, maybe with a menacing threat of violence?

No, it was all me and it was deliberate.

Mark Austin asked me to do an advert for the new kit at half-time. Unfortunately, it was pre-laptop, where everything was typed into a script, and so it was one of many scraps of paper I had on the desk. I forgot to do it.

I only realised about halfway through the second half.

It was a free-kick, as I remember it.

There was an injury and the physio came on to the pitch. Fantastic. A break where I could stick the advert in.

This was another occasion when the Chairman was going to hang me from the stanchions after the match.

This time, it was Mark Austin who intercepted him and he took the hair-dryer treatment.

Once again, I only found out about it a few days later.

As I said, I was very lucky to have Hutch and Mark. They never let anyone get directly to me.

If you had to pick a fantasy band line up - drums, bass, two guitars, frontman, organ, brass section - who would you pick?

No idea, sorry. I used to like the Prince's Trust super bands with Clapton and co.

Who are your favourite DJs?

Or were.

Steve Porter in Denmark. Without him, I probably wouldn't have gone back every year from 1986 to 1999. He either used his connections to get me gigs or let me work with him at his for up to a month every year. He was a great mate although I haven't seen him for years now.

Capital has never been the same since Tarrant left the breakfast show.

John Peel was probably my hero as a DJ. I rarely listened to him but his attitude to music was fantastic.

People used to complain to me that I'd played music they'd never heard before. So, how are you going to know whether you like something if you never get the chance to hear it? At least if you hear it, you can make an informed decision. I never played a record in my life that I thought people would hate. I listened to it and thought, "Yere, that's ok to play". Everyone has to hear their favourite track for the first time somewhere along the line.

What’s your favourite piece of equipment?

Over the years:

The Technics 1200 record deck. It's what made mixing possible.

The MiniDisc Recorder. It made such a difference to editing music. The FA Cup compilations would never have been practical if I hadn't had an MD recorder.

The music CD recorder. That meant I could make my own compilations. What made it even better was that I could use fibre optic cable to record it digitally straight from the MD after I had edited and created the compilation.

The Pioneer CD deck. It was the CD version of the Technics but unlike that and all the other CD players, it had proper pitch control. You can speed up the music but the vocals stay the same so people don't know you've done it. I had the originals which were huge and still have a pair of the smaller versions. Fantastic use of technology.

The 120GB drive and the laptop. I've replaced a studio that used to contain tape decks, MD recorders, music CD recorder, DVD player, Video recorder, the afore-mentioned Pioneers, TV monitors and a mixing desk with one laptop and a couple of pieces of software. I did the Carling Cup compilations on the laptop.

And, once 120gig drives came under £100, I could take my entire music collection everywhere I went after I used Norton Ghost to copy my 40gig drive on to the 120 and then add my mp3s. Before that, I had to have a separate drive for my mp3s which wasn't ideal to transport around.

The Archos PVR. I go on holiday, take loads of photos, copy then on to a pocket size drive with a preview screen, blank the SD card and take more photos. Also, it plays MP3s and DVDs if you copy them on to it so I can watch a film on the plane if theirs are rubbish or listen to music.

The Palm TX. I have one that I could use to play the music at WWFC via a jack plug, read out the script for the day and keep up to date with the latest scores via the Wireless Internet at the ground. All in something not much bigger than a fag packet.

Do you download much music or do you prefer digging through crates of dusty old vinyl?

I used to spend hours trawling through secondhand shops and CD Fairs. Now, I use iTunes like everyone-else.

What are your favourite record shops?

Don't use them anymore.

I grew up in Bourne End.

When I started in 1978, I did a deal with Cliftons Toy and Record shop to buy my records from them if they gave me discount.

I used them almost exclusively for over 20 years until their CD department bit the dust. The former manager, Terry Smith, is still one of my best mates.

Your last set, you can play any 10 tracks, what would they be?

In no particular order because I've given up trying to decide on 10:

Fat Larry's Band - Zoom
Heard it on the radio when it first came out as I was getting up for work. Went in and phoned Terry at Cliftons demanding he got me the 12" asap.

Chris Montez - Let's Dance
My all time RnR favourite.

Status Quo - Reason For Living
Great lyrics. Ask for nothing and you might get something.

Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret
I was a "Ringo Starr" Beatle. They say you can tell what sort of person you are by which was your favourite. Not sure what it says about me, probably that I like the underdog.

Alice Cooper - Only Women Bleed
Just blew me away when I first heard it in the 70s. It was so unexpected from someone like Alice Cooper.

Glenn Jones - I Am Somebody
Don't let the b'ds grind you down.

Gwen McCrae - Keep The Fire Burning
My top club record in the early 80s. It reminds me of when I worked in Baileys in Watford.

Luthor Vandross & Janet Jackson - The Best Things In Life Are Free (both K Klass & C J Mackintosh 12" remixes)
Best thing Luther ever did but the 12" mixes really made it.

MUD - Show Me You're A Woman
and I'll show you that I'm a man. When you are 16, as I was in 1975, what more is there to say?

Rod Stewart - Reason To Believe
I'm old enough to have bought this as the A side of the single that featured Maggie May on the B side. Both are great tracks but I probably play this more than Maggie nowadays. Another thing about it was that it was in mono on the single. You had to buy the album to get it in stereo!

Vanity Fayre - Early In The Morning
One of those cheerful, let's be happy records from the 60s that I've never forgotten.
Could have included:

All the WWFC Cup songs, Aretha Franklin - Say A Little Prayer, Audio Bullys - We Don't Care, Brook Benton - Rainy Night In Georgia, Chris Spedding - Motor Bikin', D Train - You're The One For Me 12" remix, virtually all Deep Purple's singles, Led Zep - Rock 'n' Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Quo - Caroline, Down Down, Roll Over Lay Down, Johnny B Goode, etc., David Essex - If I Could, Depeche Mode - Get The Balance Right Combination Mix, Master & Servant Slavery Whip mix, Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short, Man Parrish - Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop), Class Action - Weekend, Mary Jane Girls - All Night Long, Koto - Japanese War Games, War - Cinco de Mayo, Robbie Williams - Strong, Human League - Love Action 12" remix, Felix - Don't You Want Me, Usura - Open Your Mind, Yazoo - Situation US 12" Remix, Huey Lewis - I Want A New Drug, the list is endless.

I put about 400 tracks on my 2gig micro SD card on my mobile phone for a while and I could still have chosen others.

You always give the away fans and dignitaries a warm welcome but have you ever been tempted to throw them a bit of banter instead like the guy at Cardiff?

Always, especially the Scum or where the away fans booed one of our players.

Is there anything better than making an announcement for a man to get to the hospital because his wife is giving birth?

When Wasps came to Adams Park, I went there for their first friendly to show them how to use the gear. Their DJ didn't turn up so I ended up doing their first match then a few others for a couple of years until they got their own permanent DJ.

I got to know Pete, who PAs them and nowadays Charlton (including against us), but previously QPR for years. He told me a better one, "Would Mr x please go to the front gates, where his family is waiting to go on holiday".

Am I making this up or did you once ask someone to return to their car because they had left the engine running?

Absolutely correct.

One of the stewards phoned me and told me that someone had left their engine running. I was a bit dubious but I did it. I found out afterwards that it was one of those cars where the fan keeps turning after you have turned off the engine so that the water doesn't boil over in a hot engine because it is still moved around for a few minutes.

Can you scratch?

Only when I itch.

I was playing in Denmark and Norway in 1984 when scratching and mixing really took off.

When I realised that the stylus could leap off the record and break whilst you were scratching, I stopped doing it.

I spent two weeks in a night club in Denmark with one deck and blagging it with a microphone as I took a record off and put another one on after I broke a stylus and they didn't have any spares. Never again.

What do you really think of playing music after a goal?

Crap.

THIS IS NOT AMERICA.

We don't need music to tell us when to cheer.

How do you feel about the club's future?

Mixed feelings.

Obviously, I want the club to do well but in 10 years, I never got the chance to announce "We've been promoted".

It will be difficult when it happens and I'm not there to announce it.

What’s next for Tony Crow the DJ?

Not sure. I thought that I'd retired in the UK in 1995. I still did a month a year in clubs in Denmark until 1999 but basically I'd hung up my microphone.

I couldn't turn down the chance in 1997 to PA at Wycombe so who knows, perhaps something I can't turn down will come up again. I've always fancied doing voice-overs for adverts but I have no idea how to start.

At the moment, and I'm 49 in February, I'm probably finished now.

By the way, you didn't ask what I would choose for the Team Out song.

I tried for years to get hold of the Stingray theme tune without the vocals. I thought that the drum beat on that was brilliant. Dum de dum dum dum, dum de dum dum dum, etc. I was going to turn the intro into "Anything could happen in the next hour half".

25.01.2008. 10:57

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