Jimmy Hill and Theatre Clwyd

no.9- les chamberlain

Peter Davies says a big 'Hello' to veteran local soccer writer Les Chamberlain

Background: Les Chamberlain needs no introduction: the man who writes about Wrexham FC every week in the Leader. He's an experienced all-round journalist and, most importantly, a GENTLEMAN.

Setting: It's 11am, we're sitting in the front room of Les's bungalow, and a pot of freshly-brewed tea is sitting on the nearby table. Les says: 'Fire away!'

Can you tell us a bit about your background?
'I was born in Aberystwyth and I went to the grammar school there. I didn't get any qualifications - no school certificate. I started my journalistic career at Cambrian News - I spent two and a half years there. I then moved to the Nottingham Evening Post and then the Coventry Evening Telegraph. Then, I worked in the Coventry office of the Birmingham Mail for eight years. This meant that I covered Coventry City - home and away.'

Tell us about that period…
'It was the era when Jimmy Hill was manager. It was fascinating. He was a brilliant manager and he always provided the press with good copy. I think you could say that he and I had one or two rows but there was a lot of mutual respect. He was always ready to speak to the press. My son was also born in Coventry.'

What about your move to North Wales?
'At the Coventry Evening Telegraph I was theatre critic for two or three years and then deputy news editor. But being Welsh, I think I always wanted to come back to Wales. A job came up on the Leader, but I didn't know Wrexham as a place. I joined as a general reporter - and I also did theatre stuff for the weekly. Ron Chaloner was sports editor at the time; he became ill, stood down, and eventually died. I became deputy news editor on the Evening Leader, and I also did Terrace Talk and theatre for the weekly. And five years ago, when I was deputy editor of the Wrexham Leader, I took early retirement. I actually started at the Leader on 1 March 1978, so for virtually 21 years I've done Terrace Talk and theatre reviews. And it's funny you know, people stop me in the street and ask me things like, "Do you remember this or that shop?", and I've got to say I don't actually come from Wrexham. People are amazed!'

What explains your interest in the theatre?
'I did Gilbert and Sullivan at school. I acted, I took parts in plays, and I joined a local dramatic society. It all started then - I've always been interested in the theatre. When I moved to Nottingham the theatre critic had no deputy so I became his stand-in. He got quite good stuff; I just got nude shows and Benny Hill to review! When I was working for the Birmingham Mail in Coventry I did a lot of theatre in addition to the soccer. I've interviewed all the top stars - people like Ken Dodd and Jimmy Tarbuck. I could give a talk on name-dropping!'

What kind of theatre do you particularly like?
'Comedy stuff, pantomime. I love the stuff that's not very serious - it's just my personality and character. I like to act the clown - and I just like watching comedy stuff. I also covered Royal Shakespeare stuff while I was in Coventry and for the Leader I've reviewed lots of shows in Llandudno, Chester and at Theatre Clwyd. I've done stuff like As You Like It and Alan Aykbourn - the complete spectrum. In a way I suppose theatre and football have a lot in common - live entertainment. I'm not really into TV and the cinema like I'm into the theatre. It's probably 25 years since I went to the cinema. I watch a bit of TV drama - I suppose my main love is light entertainment. I don't like sadness and misery. I would have loved to have been a comedian.'   

So, as a journalist, you're a bit of an all-rounder?
'Yep, I suppose I've done a bit of everything - from council and courts stuff to theatre and sport. I've even reviewed the odd gangster movie - Edward G.Robinson and the like. Now I work freelance for the weekly Leader. I do occasional holiday stuff for the Evening Leader and anything special they need.'

How would you describe the Evening Leader and Wrexham Leader as a papers?
'The Wrexham Leader draws heavily on the Evening Leader for news. They've both had to cutback on staff recently. The weekly paper is now pushed through doors. It's a good read if you don't get the Evening Leader and has a good set of special features: Bystander, Look Back, and the sport is done in a different way to the Evening Leader. As regards sport, there's no Terrace Talk piece in the Evening Leader, but obviously David Lovett covers everything in-depth for that paper. My stuff comes out every Friday - but I've really got to get it ready for the Monday of every week.'

What do you think of the Wrexham press generally?
'Very good. The town has got an excellent evening paper. All aspects of it are good. It's an effective campaigning newspaper - on issues like city status and Nightingale House. The Wrexham Mail is another good free paper. Their football man Jon McEvoy is a good, lively and bright writer. And there's obviously Nick Hilton and Mark Currie on the Daily Post as well. Everybody's in it together and I think that overall the town and the football club receive excellent coverage. There's always a bit of competition to get stories first. I remember when I was in Coventry for the Birmingham Mail the big thing was always to beat the Coventry Evening Telegraph. I really liked competition - I was keen to get the big scoops. That's the essence of journalism. This might put someone like Flynn in a difficult position, but he's always very fair in his dealings with the press. The stuff I do for the weekly Leader is now mostly chat: Terrace Talk or, as my colleagues call it, Terrible Talk.'

Tell us about David Lovett…
'He's a colleague and we've worked together for 14 years. He's got a unique one-off style and he's got a hard job. He's got to get a back-page Wrexham story every night and he does it very well. At Coventry when I was there Jimmy Hill was always slagging off journalists. But newspapers are commercial enterprises and football clubs in particular should be grateful for the free advertising that papers give them. They get thousands of pounds' worth of publicity every night. Other firms would die for this publicity.'

les chamberlain - top trivia
Favourite food: Faggots and mushy peas
Favourite drink: Scotch and dry
Least favourite drink: Tomato juice - ugh!
Favourite music: Brass bands
Least favourite music: Rap etc
Favourite holiday destination: Norway
Favourite footballer: Gareth Southgate
Favourite all-time Wrexham player: Dixie
Favourite football pundit: Pat Collins of the Mail on Sunday - brilliant
Favourite newspaper: Daily Mail, especially for Ian Wooldridge and Keith Waterhouse
Favourite TV programme: BBC and ITN news
Least favourite TV: Hospital programmes
Favourite book: Funny Way to be a Hero by John Fisher
Hobbies: Music (brass/classical/brass bands), reading, walking
Favourite film: The Day of the Jackal
Least favourite sport: Motor racing

Have you got any footballing affiliations?
'Aston Villa. My uncle took me to watch them against Arsenal when I was a kid; and when I was growing up in Aberystwyth I wrote to Villa and they sent me a full set of team autographs. When I was working in Coventry the game against Aston Villa was obviously the big derby - so that was a bit special. And I always remember the day that John Lloyd - the Wrexham-based referee - took me on the pitch with him at Villa Park prior to a game against West Ham he was refereeing. It was a brilliant moment. When I was living in Aberystwyth the nearest team was Swansea, but I think my first game was Cardiff-Orient. But Villa took over.'

Thanks a lot Les - Cheers RP

In the second half of this interview Les talks about Wrexham: club, players and team.