Their Blood Is Red & White
& Sponsored By
No.7 Ian Roberts
Red Passion continues its in-depth chat with legendary Kop choirmaster
‘Jacko’
* * * * *
Q. Tell us about your choir singing…
A. “To be honest, my choir singing is more important to me than the
football. I sing with the Fron Male Voice Choir. I’ve sung with them for about 12
years and I’ve got loads of brilliant memories. We’ve sung not only in South
Wales, but also in Greece, Germany, Holland, Austria, the USA and Malta. I think
you’d describe us as serious amateur professionals - if that makes sense. Put it like
this: we deserve professional status!”
Q. What does it all involve?
A. “First and foremost. practice every Monday and Thursday nights - the
practice is vital. If Wrexham ever had a game on a Monday night I’d face a rather
large dilemma. I don’t know what I’d do - it would depend on the opposition! I
really don’t like missing choir practice though - you’ve got to be 100 per cent
committed. Fortunately, there haven’t been many football-choir clashes - so I
haven’t had to make many big decisions! There are a few other Wrexham fans in the
choir - so they’d have the same dilemma as me!”
Q. What about performances?
A. “We’ve recently performed in Wrexham and Rhyl, for the poppy appeal.
We’ve also appeared with Max Boyce.”
Q. How would you compare singing in a choir and
singing in the Kop?
A. “Well, at the football I’m just a spectator, whereas in the choir
I’m, if you like, part of the squad itself.”
Q. How good are you?
A. “I’m OK - but not that good! We do traditional male voice choir
stuff - and I suppose my ambition is to do sing solo.”
Q. How competitive is it all?
A. “Very - especially the North Wales-South Wales thing. Choirs compete
against each other and it’s all very formal - there’s a judge and a jury, for
example.”
Q. So, which are best - North Wales or South
Wales choirs?
A. “I couldn’t possibly comment on that.”
Q. Tell us a bit more about your choir…
A. “Well, I suppose the average age of singers in the Fron choir is 55-60,
but some are as old as 70. We’re always on the lookout for new recruits - especially
younger voices. The choir pays 50 per cent of our expenses - we pay the rest.”
Q. Are male voice choirs flourishing?
A. “To be honest, I’d say there are slightly fewer in Britain than
there have been. I think it’s all about changes in lifestyle - TV, for example. Sky,
in particular, is taking over the world and things like male voice choirs are suffering as
a result.”
Q. Is singing in your genes?
A. “Yes, my mum was a treble in her chapel. Also, I think it’s all
about being Welsh. It’s the national tradition and singing does bring out a lot of
patriotism and pride inside me. After every concert we sing the Welsh national anthem -
and that’s obviously a very moving moment.”
ian roberts: top trivia
Favourite food? I’m a pig - I eat anything. Hot
dogs, chicken, steak…
Least favourite food? Nothing
Favourite drink? Lager and bitter mixed
Least favourite drink? Arsenick, Domestos
Favourite Wrexham player? Mickey Thomas
Favourite TV? Football, news programmes
Least favourite TV? Eastenders, soaps
Favourite newspaper? Daily Post, Leader
Favourite Wrexham memory? Lyngby, winning against Cardiff at the Arms
Park
Favourite music? Jean-Michel Jarre, Sex Pistols, Clash, U2, Motown, choir
music
Favourite current non-Wrexham player? Steve Watkin, David Hughes
Q. What have been the highlights of your
singing career - so far?
A. “All the trips abroad. We did a tour of army bases in Holland and Germany
and also took part in the D-Day celebrations. We’ve competed against professional
choirs in Malta and won a gold medal in a competition in Athens. Not bad!”
Q. And what’s the technical phrase that
describes what kind of singer you are?
A. “First tenor - that’s very high!”
Cheers Ian - much appreciated!
In Part 3 of this interview Ian talks about WFC