Catalyuna says… Yes?

These days I get asked to work on lots of varied and interesting projects – mostly, but not always, football related. Hmmm … so there’s a theme developing here. I admit it. In front of the camera again. This time to record a piece for Scottish Television (STV).

With the Scottish Independence referendum coming up in September there was an (accurate) feeling that here in Catalunya many people, politicians, media, voters, are studying very closely the build up to Scotland’s vote.

Catalunya had a parliament less than five years after the death of the hated dictator Franco. So they were semi-autonomous from 1980 and Scotland’s devolved Parliament only opened in 1999. But here we are with Scotland about to take a free decision about whether to leave the UK or not … and Catalunya has just been told that a vote on independence would be anti-constitutional and illegal. Eighteen years ahead of Scotland in terms of a devolved parliament and now forced to watch the Scots get a democratic chance at whatever ‘freedom’ may constitute.

Shrewd politicians here have been over to talk to opinion-formers in Scotland. Catalan President Artur Mas continually emphasises that “All we want is what Scotland has … the democratic right to vote”.

So it was that the award-winning STV producer, Peter Smith, came over to Barcelona and we filmed for a couple of days all around the city including interviews with Joan Laporta, Steve Archibald and a Catalan MEP who actually strongly opposes Catalan independence.

I don’t think that Madrid will every grant Catalunya the vote but it was surprising, during the voxpops that we filmed, to find how many everyday Catalans were either unwilling to talk publicly on the subject … or were actually scared that there would be repercussions for them, particularly at work, if they did. Of course we filmed at the Camp Nou, too, which was great fun.

Doesn’t matter which stadium, but if you are a football journalist and you get the chance to swap places from the media tribune and trot out of the tunnel on to the pitch – where the stars you report on usually jog out, it’s a thrill. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or should be in a different job.

Watch Graham’s STV piece here

Spain: Behind the Camera Lens

I love filming. At least when I’m in front of the camera. Not because of some ego trip or dreams of fame. It’s just great to get so many people you like together in one spot and then talk about football.

Filming can be complicated and there are far more inter-dependent things involved in getting it right. So, there can be tension and that’s when I’ve always thought / hoped that a little bit of dexterity with words can get you through. In fact, I really enjoy getting everyone focused, ready to roll and then putting a good script into practice, but the best laugh is when you are doing a soundcheck – or a particular ‘take’ gets spoiled by someone else – and there’s a chance to fool around. Words come tumbling out and they are always, without exception, just to entertain myself.

But they seem to keep most of the crew vaguely amused.

For these short films, which you can watch on my new website, the lads from BackPage Press made the great decision to involve Zoom Sport International. Run by Duncan McMath, who used to work at Real Madrid and Gol Television with me, it was a fabulous experience. Good locations, friendly fun with Xavi, Jamie Carragher, Vicente del Bosque, Pepe Reina and Santi Cazorla.

Martin Greig (BackPage) and Duncan also proved to be good editors. They’d pick up if a story could be told better, if there had been repetition. It’s also true that in our cameraman /editor, Ivan, we had a legend on board.

We filmed at the Bernabéu, Las Rozas (Spain’s training centre), the Calderón for a Spain training session, in the Madrid neighbourhood where Vicente Del Bosque grew up, Plaza Colón where Spain celebrated their Euro 2008 title, and at the Spain v Italy game in March 2014, won by Pedro’s goal. So much fun. But unless the films tell the story of the historic treble in a fun, digestible way, then I’ve not fulfilled my aim. Hope you enjoy them.

Spain: The inside story of an audiobook

Now I know how Weller feels. Two days at the mic, trying to get everybody up to my standards, fixing the mistakes of others on the hoof…

While it is been thrilling when people enjoy the stories and interviews from which I’ve constructed the Barça and Spain books, the truth is that it was one hard slog writing them.

So, for that reason, I often don’t read the book for months on end once it’s published. Then it comes time to record the audiobook.
You turn up at a studio and suddenly the pressure is on to read well over 100,000 words, with as few glitches and stammers (or swear words) as possible in under three working days.

The Barça book was done in the RNIB studios in Camden – a really cool location right by the canal – while Dom Joly was recording one of his books at the same time. He used to wander about the office during breaks with his mobile glued to his ear. I was REALLY tempted to do his old, “I can’t talk I’m on THE PHONE” routine … because nobody will ever have done that to him before.

The Spain book was with Rushforth Media, in Archway. A roasting hot studio (pictured above), pegged to a microphone with an editor listening to my every word, every comma, every breath.

They don’t get many authors reading their own books – it’s mostly done by actors. Okay, I’m certainly the Gene Hackman of sports writers but you know the story. We wanted Joan Collins but she was doing her hair; Ian McKellen begged but we didn’t really believe he knew the offside rule and Jack Nicholson mistook the first one for Basketball: The Making of the Greatest … we’ve not spoken since.

So there I sat, officially an ‘actor’ as far as Equity is concerned, calling everyone “luvvie” and doing some of my best ‘out loud’ reading since primary school.

Because it’s usually an actor reading someone else’s book there’s not normally a single change. But I can read ahead of what I’m saying and would often try to weed out repetition or phrases which read okay in print but do not sound so smooth out loud. On agreeing that it was my book and I could do what I liked, the editor told me that Germaine Greer was the only other author/reader who’d adopted this approach – on her world-famous book The Female Eunuch – so I think she’s in good company.

t was refreshing and enjoyable to read it again particularly after so many months. I found myself getting wrapped up in the anecdotes and descriptions of the action – remembering being there, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck as Spain won Euro-World Cup-Euro. What a ride.

Hopefully this audiobook will make you feel slightly closer to the remarkable events which brought Spain’s historic treble.

Football Writers’ Association Interview

Following Graham’s Barça book being voted Football Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards in 2013, Graham sat down with Christopher Davies of the Football Writers Association to discuss his career path,  https://analbeads.pro/ from Aberdeen to Barcelona. “I’d grown up adoring Spanish football.”

Read on Football Writers' Association