Evening of great stories and laughs as Steve Bull comes to town
Wolves fans still sing his name 23 years after he played for the club and dozens of them piled in to hear Bully share stories of his life and career.
Steve Bull was in Bilston as part of Wolverhampton Literature Festival for “An evening with Steve Bull” at the Robin 2.
About 100 people headed to see the Black Country born and bred legend as he celebrated the city he calls home.
It was an evening organised by youth charity “Support Futures”, which works to change young lives through sport and education.
Fans got a signed photograph and, for those who brought VIP tickets, an opportunity to have a meet-and-greet with Bully.
The event was compered by his friend Jaz Khunkun and started out with Jaz interviewing Steve about how he got into football and how he ended up joining Wolves in 1986.
Candid, knowledgeable and, at times, very funny, Bully pulled no punches as he described being given a pair of Dalglish Puma football boots a size too small when he was young and finding his feet as a striker for Tipton Town.
He had the room rocking with laughter as he described thinking he’d made it at West Bromwich Albion, only for manager Ron Saunders to tell him he had no first touch for Division two and leaving to go to Wolves and seeing cockroaches on the walls at the then-decrepit Molineux.
He also went into great detail about events in his life, including being told to leave Albania in the middle of the night on England Under 23 duty in 1989 to join the senior squad in Scotland, making his England debut and making Paul Gascoigne pass him the ball.
He said as a vice-president of the club, he couldn’t sit with the other directors as he was too passionate about the game, while telling a funny story about how Bobby Robson put him on the pitch against Scotland and how he realised too late he was celebrating in front of the Scotland fans when he scored in the game.
Humble and honest, Steve said he wouldn’t change a thing and was immensely proud of what he had and lucky to have lived the life he had.
The second half was a question-and-answer session and saw fans get the chance to ask Steve about everything from the hardest player he’d ever faced (to which he replied Gerry Taggart), clubs he could have moved to while at Wolves and who could have replaced him at Wolves if he had left, with Ian Rush the big answer.
Every question was answered, with some very funny answers given and stories told, including how he and the team had got drunk the night before a game against Newcastle United and still managed to win 4-1, with Steve scoring all four goals.
He also said during the session that if he played now, it would be for Manchester City as he’d never have to run backwards, how he and strike partner Andy Mutch got on despite not being able to understand each other and the night Brian Law borrowed a bus and went for a joyride.
It was clear to see from those in attendance how much they still respect Steve Bull, 23 years after he last played for the club.
