Part of the beauty of football is that the game attracts fans from all walks of life.
While the roots of the sport came from the working classes’ desire to be entertained after they’d finished their Saturday shift in their Victorian factories, billionaires and global celebrities will now flock to matches.
That’s also true for movers and shakers within the music industry, with the likes of the Gallagher brothers die hard Manchester City fans, Ed Sheeran providing shirt sponsorship for his beloved Ipswich Town, while Elton John was famously the owner of Watford.
James Arthur on getting Nicole Scherzinger to Boro
Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium from above (Image credit: Getty Images)Former X Factor winner James Arthur grew up as a massive Middlesbrough fan and after winning the ITV show in 2012 it didn’t take him long to combine his love for Boro with his newfound status as a chart-topping hit maker.
Arthur had been mentored by former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger during the show and she would join him for a gig in Middlesbrough, with Boro giving the pair of them shirts.
James Arthur playing for England at Soccer Aid in 2021 (Image credit: Getty Images)But is Scherzinger still a fan?
Arthur laughs as he tells all to FourFourTwo: “I was trying to tell her that this is a proper football club, but she asked “Where are all of the trophies?”
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
“I said, “Don’t worry about that…” I think she’s more familiar with American football, but she had a good time!”
Arthur’s debut single ‘Impossible’ was the most successful winner’s single at the time, shifting 2.5 million copies, meaning the Middlesbrough-born artist saw doors open for him back home.
Middlesbrough players celebrate their League Cup final win over Bolton Wanderers in February 2004. (Image credit: Getty Images)This has included a headline gig at the Riverside Stadium last year.
“It couldn’t have meant more – growing up, the Riverside was my happy place,” he continues. “As a kid, I felt a very small piece of a big picture there, then to know that people were going through the turnstiles to see me was unfathomable.”
James’ new album, ‘Pisces’, is out now. Visit betweendreamsandreality.com
