| Mr
Virgo, sir, what's your favourite colour? |
|
Red.
Why? Manchester United. I was born in Salford so I'm a proper
United supporter. I don't get up there as much as I used to
as a lad, mainly because every game they seem to play nowadays
is on a Saturday lunchtime.
|
| Who
or what would you put in Room 101? |
|
How
does that work? I've never watched the programme. [Small Talk
explains] Oh, probably one of Julian Clary's outfits. It's
safe to say that I'm not a big fan. [Small Talk then wonders
aloud whether John Virgo might suit one of Julian's outfits]
No, I wouldn't.
|
| Hmm,
OK, you've got a ringside seat as a lion takes on a tiger. Who's
your money on? |
|
I'd
have to go for the tiger because, from what I've heard, it's
the female lions that do all the hunting and the male lions
are all lazy and overweight. I think the tiger's a bit fitter
so it should probably come out on top.
|
| What's
the greatest snooker shot ever played? |
|
I'd
have to say a shot I played at an English Amateur match in
about 1969 at the Eccles Conservative Club. It was the best
shot I've ever seen, but it wasn't on television. They had
some seating at one end which was raised, and to get to the
pink, I had to stand up on this raised section and strike
down on the ball. It was about on the baulk line, just off
the cushion, and I hit it as hard as I could and with a lot
of left-hand side. I potted the pink, the cue ball hit the
cushion, jumped in the air, hit the baulk cushion with all
the spin and went zooomph, right back down behind the black.
As the applause of a packed, 50-strong crowd rang out, I remember
thinking, 'Don't miss the black now, whatever you do'. I didn't.
|
| And
one we might have seen? |
|
It's
hard to narrow it down to just one shot, but I'd go for Alex
Higgins' shot on the blue in his clearance against Jimmy White
in the 1982 World Championship semi-final. He screwed off
the side cushion with all the side and finished up back down
behind the black. It was sensational. I don't know how he
did it to this day, and I'm not sure even he does.
|
| And
what's the greatest match you've ever seen? |
|
There
have been so many, but I'd have to say Jimmy White against
Stephen Hendry before Stephen had won the world title. It
was a second-round match at the Crucible and Jimmy won 13-12,
with an 80-odd break in the last frame to win it. That was
just a sign of how good Hendry was going to be. Jimmy might
have been more experienced, but Hendry just kept coming back
for more. You could see then that he was going to be the man
for the future.
|
| What's
in your pockets? |
|
[Off
the top of his head] Some money, wallet and car keys. Oh yeah,
and a mobile phone.
|
| What
was the last CD you bought? |
|
Oh
I know this, 'cos I buy 'em pretty regularly. Oh, it's BB
King's Greatest Hits. It's terrific.
|
| What
was the last book you read? |
|
I'm
reading Sea Biscuit [by Laura Hillenbrand]. It's about this
American horse which won the Triple Crown over there. It's
not as good as I thought it would be, and I'm getting pretty
bored with it. I know the horse won the Triple Crown so I
don't really need to finish it, but it was a Christmas present
so I've got to.
|
| Favourite
TV show? |
|
I
like Frasier, I find it very funny. I just wish we could do
sitcoms as well as the Americans, although I'm very impressed
with My Family, that's also very funny.
|
| What
newspapers or magazines do you read? |
|
I
get the Daily Mirror, purely and simply because they put the
Racing Post prices in. As for magazines, I get Race Form Update
every week [laughs]. You can probably tell I like the horses
[laughs again].
|
| What
colour underpants are you wearing today? |
|
[Ponders
for a good 10 seconds] Dark blue, yeah, they're dark blue.
|
| Who
was the biggest snooker hustler in your day? |
|
Probably
Cliff Thorburn, he used to do a lot of hustling in Canada,
or a lad who was around when I first started, Ginger Danny
from Blackpool. He had ginger hair and his name was Danny,
funnily enough. There were always plenty of challenge matches
back when I played, because there wasn't so much money in
the game. Basically, you were attached to a snooker club,
and if someone, let's say Cliff, for example, came down to
your club, all the members of your club would back you, and
Cliff would bring a load down who'd back him, and there was
quite a gambling atmosphere. It's not like that now, of course,
because they're playing for much higher stakes.
|
| What's
your favourite Alex Higgins story? |
|
There
are so many, but it's probably the time he came back from
New York with an ink pad and stamp, and on the stamp in capital
letters was 'A HIGGINS'. Instead of signing autographs, he'd
just stamp their autograph books. Only Alex could get away
with that.
|
| How
much is a pint of milk? (about 40p) |
|
Wouldn't
have a clue. I'd say 90p. [Small Talk suggests it would be
nearer 40p] Oh, I must be getting extra-thick double cream
or something.
|
| Favourite
player ever? |
|
Definitely
Alex Higgins. He used to excite me, he was great for the game,
he created tremendous excitement and I just loved watching
him play.
|
| And
your least favourite player? |
|
No
one really. I admire anyone who can get to the top. It's fair
to say that I always found it hard work playing Cliff Thorburn
or Terry Griffiths, but that was the way they got the results
and you've got to admire them for that.
|
| Tea
or coffee? |
| Tea,
with just a dash of sugar. I don't like tea that's too sweet.
|
| Lager,
Bitter or Guinness? |
|
Bitter,
definitely. I usually get it recommended by the landlord.
I don't mind a bottle of lager but I don't drink pints of
it, and if I go to a pub - and I only go occasionally - a
half of their best bitter will do me.
|
| Stephen
Hendry or Steve Davis? |
|
Well
the record books will say Stephen Hendry, but I believe Steve
Davis at his best was a slightly better all-round player.
|
| Kylie,
Britney or Holly? |
| I'd
have to go for the bottom on this one, so that would be Kylie
Minogue. |
| Tell
us a joke... |
|
A
clean joke? I don't know many clean jokes. Erm, when I first
went to Sheffield, somebody asked me: 'Is there a B&Q
in Sheffield?' I said 'No, there's an S, an H, an E, two Fs...'
[At Small Talk's request, he didn't go on].
|
| Cheese
or chocolate? |
|
Chocolate,
definitely chocolate. Cheese gives you nightmares, and Victor
Spinetti told me that if you eat too much cheese, you'll end
up with very bad phlegm. I don't mind cheese with a nice glass
of port, but I prefer chocolate.
|
| Where
are you off to now? |
|
Back
home to Derbyshire. After that I've got 17 days at the Crucible
Theatre in Sheffield for the World Championships. I'm really
looking forward to it, as I do every year and as I did when
I play, only these days I feel far more relaxed and don't
use the toilet as much as when I played.
|
|
| John
Virgo's dulcet tones appear on World Championship Snooker 2003,
released by Codemasters on X-Box, PlayStation2 and PC this summer.
|
