Express & Star

Warts and all in Gazza's live Wolves show

Live and uncensored - there wasn't much holding back in Paul Gascoigne's one-off show at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

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The former England midfielder, known to absolutely everybody as 'Gazza,' was in the Black Country last night on his UK tour.

He was supported by master of ceremonies Jed Stone and fellow comic Frankie Allen. Both were hilarious, but the expletives was frequent. Gascoigne was on stage just after 9pm.

No subject was taboo and there was nothing about his life that he couldn't turn into a joke. By rights, the 48-year-old has been to hell and back since he hung up his boots.

Widely regarded as the most gifted English player of his generation, it will be 10 years on Saturday since he last had any active involvement in the game.

Much-publicised alcohol, drug and mental issues have blighted his retirement, but he's been sober for nine months now. And it hasn't really affected his personality.

He won't entertain temptation, with the back bar at the Civic closed so there wasn't a drop of booze around when the VIPs had their photos taken with him. It's understandable.

He took to the stage to a booming reception, eliciting chants of 'there's only one Paul Gascoigne' from his fans. He's as popular as he's ever been.

Despite his god-given talent, it was accepted even in his heyday that he was daft as a brush. By his own admission, he's as "mad as a hatter."

It sure is fun to hear him talk about his rise to prominence, from starting out at his beloved Newcastle United where he first became a star. Agent Terry Baker presented the questions.

He was scared to death of Vinnie Jones, culminating in the famous image where the Wimbledon hard-man grabbed him by the wotsits in a less-than-riveting goalless draw with Newcastle.

He was Britain's most-expensive player when he was sold for £2.2million to Tottenham Hotspur in 1988. His first instruction from manager Terry Venables was to behave himself.

Instead he visited a zoo before arriving for a first day of training, turning up with an ostrich in the back seat of the car that joined in the session. The worst thing is you can believe it.

Then came his move to Italy to join Lazio for £5.5m in 1992, where he'd regularly go AWOL to Disneyland in France when the club's bosses tried to keep him in check.

Their patience finally snapped in 1995 and they sold him to Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers for £4.3m. That lasted until 1998.

The 'mock flute' in a game against Celtic led to death threats from a member of the IRA, who Gascoigne claimed he met to smooth things over.

His time at Ibrox up until then had been relatively successful, even if he spent most of his time trying to dodge reporters.

One such tale saw him dress in drag to meet his Rangers team-mates for a drink, dodging the press on his way into the pub.

He reckons his disguise was so believable that defender Gordan Petric tried to chat him up. The Serbian stopper will be red-faced if that's true.

He made his way back to the North-East to sign for Middlesbrough, where Bryan Robson was then the manager. He reckons his former England team-mate was the best he ever played with.

Commandeering a team bus was among his antics there before his playing days winded down at Everton, Burnley and a spell in China at Gansu Tianma.

He joined Boston United as a player-coach, joking that he thought he was heading to America instead. An ill-fated 39 days as boss of non-league Kettering United went unmentioned.

It's what followed that becomes uncomfortable to hear, on occasion, particularly when the speech was almost at an end when his manager brought up Raoul Moat.

The gunman shot three people, killing one, before turning the weapon on himself. Gascoigne, apparently a friend of his, turned up at the stand-off with cans of lager, chicken and a blanket.

He now freely admits that was the result of an alcohol and cocaine fuelled binge, so he was unaware of what had actually happened. It explains a lot, but best to draw a line under that one.

But, for the most part, it was great to recall the man in his pomp and remember the times when most of his mischief was harmless enough.

He left the stage to more rapturous applause with, as when he emerged, the strains of David Baddiel and Frank Skinner's 'It's Coming Home' blaring out of the speakers.

He walked off, before reappearing to clap for the crowd like it was Euro 1996 all over again. That's the 'Gazza' we all know and love.

By Craig Birch

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