Absolute Pandemonium by Brian Blessed

Author:Brian Blessed [Blessed, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780283072307
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

5

LIFE ITSELF IS A FIGHT

This particular chapter indulges my life-long passion for all things boxing. ‘Oh no! Not more fisticuffs,’ I hear you cry. ‘We thought Brian was a lover, not a fighter?’ Well I suppose I’m a bit of both really, but with the emphasis falling more on the lover part. Like it or not, though, boxing has played a very big part in my life and was to be the subject of one of the biggest films I never quite made.

I mentioned in the last chapter that I’d wanted to make a film about Bruce Woodcock, which fell through in the spring of 1971. Bruce had been a childhood hero of mine, and boxing a passion that was handed down to me through the generations. My father absolutely adored boxing. It was probably the most popular sport in Goldthorpe back in the 1940s, more popular even than football, and there were some huge teams back then. You had Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers; and you had Arsenal, Manchester United and Blackpool. But boxing was what fascinated us Blessed men most.

We used to listen to a lot of boxing matches on the radio when I was a child. We’d sit there, my father and I, open-mouthed, riveted by the mesmeric commentaries delivered by Raymond Glendenning and W. Barrington Dalby. These days, you have awful laser beams and fireworks before a boxing match, which I think detracts from the actual bout. Too much razzmatazz! In my day, when the star attraction made his way to the ring, he did so to a Henry Bliss fanfare, but because we had no television then and could only listen via the radio, it was Glendenning and Barrington Dalby’s job to bring it all to life.

‘We’re here at the Harringay Arena for the match between Freddie Mills and Gus Lesnevich. The actor Stewart Granger and his wife Jean Simmons are here, as is James Mason. Cary Grant is also here, I see. There really are film stars galore here tonight. And here’s Winston Churchill. We’re in for a marvellous evening’s entertainment, don’t you think, Barrington?’

‘Absolutely, Raymond. I’ve just seen the world light heavyweight champion Gus Lesnevich make his way to the ring. My word, he’s looking very dangerous indeed. He’s the favourite tonight, not surprisingly, with Mills the challenger. Hold on, Raymond, the fanfare’s started, I can hear it. I think I can see Mills? Is that him coming through the crowds? YES IT IS, IT’S MILLS! The crowd are on their feet and they’re cheering him into the ring.’

Wonderful stuff!

The majority of you delightful readers probably remember the great Harry Carpenter, more than Glendenning and Barrington Dalby. He was their contemporary, of course, and a damn fine commentator.

Anyway, my passion for boxing wasn’t limited to listening to it on the wireless. I was a live-action kind of boy – I’m a live-action kind of man, for that matter – and I soon found myself following in the footsteps of my fighting heroes. I

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